Candidates 2024 - Round 2 speculation

The best first round match for me was Alireza - Pragg (Fabi-Hikaru was a close second). Most underwhelming player was Nepo who seemed pretty content with a draw vs. the weakest player. Most surprising (to me) was Vidit who played quite well compared to my expectations. Fabi looked as strong as expected even though he couldn't quite pull out the win he always kept the game in a state where he has a draw in the pocket. I was a bit surprised by his time management. that being said, Hikaru will be very pleased with his start drawing the strongest player with black. He seems to be better prepared than people give him credit for.

1) Hikaru Nakamura (½) - Vidit Gujrathi (½)
 Hikaru seems strong out of the gate and many people will probably predict a win. If he does win it'll be a pretty tough one but my gut feeling is that Vidit is in excellent shape and will draw with black.

2) R Praggnanandhaa (½) - Gukesh D (½)
The game I'm looking forward to the most. Pragg played cool and composed game 1, Gukesh was solid. Battle of the young guns, I see a draw with slight chances of a Pragg win. If I have to pick, I'm going with draw.

3) Ian Nepomniachtchi (½) - Alireza Firouzja (½)
 I think Ian will be in for a tough game. I understand why he played the way he did in game 1 but I was hoping for a bit more risk taking. I loved Alireza's style in game one. He's always looking for attacks. I want to predict the upset win by Alireza (which could trigger meltdown mode for Ian) but I think it'll be a hard fought draw (I also think Ian will play towards a draw).

4) Fabiano Caruana (½) - Nijat Abasov (½)

Not surprisingly, I'm picking Fabi to win with white vs. the weakest player. He's playing strong chess and the opening schedule seems good for him. One match against Hikaru done and now the chance to take the lead and put pressure on the other players.

What are your predictions? Discuss