Masters of Mayhem: The Candidates
Tables of ContentsHello, welcome to Masters of Mayhem Part Two - a blog where I show everyone the brilliancy of elite grandmasters.
I look at the moves, the mistakes, and the ideas behind them. With the Candidates just finishing, I felt a better urge to write a blog about some of the games and... hope you like this new blog!
Chess can get messy sometimes, and that’s what makes it fun.
1. FABIANO CARUANA VS HIKARU NAKAMURA, Candidates 2026 Round 1
2. ZHU JINER VS TAN ZHONGYI, Candidates 2026 Round 1
3. ANNA MUZYCHUCK VS BIBISARA ASSAUBAYEVA, Candidates 2026 Round 7
4. ANISH GIRI VS PRAGGNANANDHAA RAMESHBABU, Candidates 2026 Round 8
5. ENDGAME: DAVID NAVARA VS BASSEM AMIN, Djerba Masters 2025
6. POSITION: TITAS STREMAVICIUS VS WESLEY SO, World Cup 2025
FABIANO CARUANA VS HIKARU NAKAMURA, Candidates 2026 Round 1
Let’s kick things off with a fan-favorite matchup: Fabiano Caruana vs. Hikaru Nakamura. In this intriguing Candidates Tournament game, Caruana opened with 1.Nf3!?—a Réti, and a bit of a surprise from Fabi, who we usually expect to start with 1.e4. Still, he steered the game into rich, unfamiliar territory.
But honestly, the real highlight came later. The endgame was especially cool—subtle, precise, and a great example of high-level technique from two of the best players in the world.
ZHU JINER VS TAN ZHONGYI, Candidates 2026 Round 1
This was a really fun battle between Zhu Jiner and Tan Zhongyi. Even though it ended in a draw, it never felt dull—both players kept finding interesting ideas and putting each other under pressure. Zhu went for the Italian to start, and the game slowly unfolded into a rook and bishop endgame where everything was balanced, but still tense right up to the end.
ANNA MUZYCHUCK VS BIBISARA ASSAUBAYEVA, Candidates 2026 Round 7
In Round 7, women's tournament leader Anna Muzychuck comes face to face with Bibisara, who comes into the game with 2 consecutive losses. Anna Muzycuck, who lost to Bibisara Assaubayeva once in the World Blitz Championship, will certainly look for revenge in this game……
ANISH GIRI VS PRAGGNANANDHAA RAMESHBABU, Candidates 2026 Round 8
In Round 8, Anish Giri outplayed R Praggnanandhaa in a steady, technical game.
The position stayed balanced early on, but Giri slowly took control with small, accurate improvements. Pragg defended well for a while, but eventually slipped under pressure, and Giri converted the advantage cleanly.
ENDGAME: DAVID NAVARA VS BASSEM AMIN, Djerba Masters 2025
The year 2025 has contained many hundreds, thousands must see endgames ranging from Magnus Carlsen's famous fist bump to a tournament game I played, from professional or club players but this endgame really caught my eye. It was on the American Chess Magazine (credit for them for this endgame!) and I decided to put it in here. Enjoy!
TITAS STREMAVICIUS VS WESLEY SO, World Cup 2025
In this interesting position in the 2025 World Cup Round 5, top 5 seed, Wesley So resigned. However, when later analyzed, it was determined that the position was actually drawable! Let's take a look:
FUN FACT: In the same round, Indian player, Gosh knocked out Ian Nepomniachtchi while Greek player Kourkoulos Arditis knocked out Nihal Sarin. Round 3 continued the disruptions at the top. World Champion Gukesh lost to Germany's Frederik Svane and Anish Giri also lost to another German player, Alexander Donchenko. Hard time for the top seeds!
This blog was a combination of sharp endgame grinds, tactical mistakes and real messy positions. And that's all, hope you had fun!
