The Candidates begins in Cyprus at full speed

The FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament got underway at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Cyprus amid major interest from the chess world. As the sixteen players entered the green-themed Field of Play, the atmosphere of the opening round was immediately felt; with the first round also falling on a Sunday, the venue was close to full capacity, underlining the level of attention the event has drawn from day one. The players were led into the hall by Anish Giri and Kateryna Lagno, while FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich made the ceremonial first move at Zhu Jiner’s board and Criton Tornaritis did the same in Fabiano Caruana’s game, adding extra prestige to the opening.

The most discussed result of round one was Fabiano Caruana’s win over Hikaru Nakamura. In the later stages of the opening, Nakamura failed to fully stabilize the position, and the game gradually began to flow in Caruana’s favour; once time pressure was added to the equation, the American star found himself under strain both on the board and on the clock. As always, Nakamura defended resourcefully and managed to create some drawing chances, but Caruana maintained his technical accuracy and secured the full point. After the game, the two players analysed the encounter together, offering a fine display of sportsmanship, while Caruana’s post-game admission that he felt tired and somewhat embarrassed, yet pleased with the result, captured the tension of the opening round perfectly. For anyone looking to understand how opposite-coloured bishop positions change in character with and without major pieces, this game stands out as an instructive example.

The other winners on opening day were R Praggnanandhaa and Javokhir Sindarov. As a result, three of the players widely listed among the pre-tournament favourites formed the early lead group right away. In Praggnanandhaa’s game, it was notable that Andrey Esipenko handled the opening well with the black pieces but then lost his way in the middlegame; it was another reminder that at a level as high as the Candidates, even a single loss of tempo can grow into lasting positional problems. With three decisive games out of four, the event is already signaling that it will not be defined only by cautious preparation battles, but also by dynamic and risk-laden contests.

In the Women’s Candidates, by contrast, the first day produced a more balanced picture, with all four games ending in draws. That fits the classic psychology of an opening round: in a long and demanding event like this, players often prefer not to take unnecessary risks on day one. Still, the drawn results should not be misleading; Candidates tournaments represent the most critical gateway to a world championship challenge and demand deep preparation, opening ideas, strategic patience and strong nerves in every round. If the first day has already delivered one clear message, it is this: the pace rose early in the open section, while the women’s event may simply be waiting for the storm to break.