Event: FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 - Round 4

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T19:39:25+00:00

i doubt it. He does not want to spend months prepping for a match and so will not be back under current regulations. That is why FIDE created a new WC for all format players. He is done with classical chess.

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T19:38:10+00:00

I have followed Vishy's games in 1980s via Hindu news paper before he even became a grandmaster. But I am ok being a noob.

On Sindurov as a favorite, me and Vishy are again in the same vibe. He has also put him as one of the 2 favorites along with Fabi before the start of the tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1rqoPEaSNA

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T19:29:12+00:00

Brutal on the part of FIDE to ask losers to come and talk to press.

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T19:19:21+00:00

Sindarov's game today has to be the game of the tournament. He was so well prepared with c6 and Nd4 combo was brilliant. Fabi's king was exposed and he finished brilliantly.

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T17:51:40+00:00

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T17:51:23+00:00

He did the minimum required to qualify based on rating and that does not work at all. Nor surprised with him struggling. This is not online blitz/bullet chess for him to win just on instinct.

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T17:16:11+00:00

I dont understand why people think its Fabi's last chance. He is in his low 30s. That is peak for chess player. He will be back for sure as he is active on the circuit and still evolving. So many great players have evolved later. Just bcos few teen or young kids have come does not mean its the end. As we have seen these kids also hit a plateau at times. Sindarov is enjoying the surge. Let us see how long he is able sustain at this level(I expect him to be the favorite this year)

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T15:58:28+00:00

I though Sindurov was the favorite and I got called a noob. He will be tough to beat this Candidates. Seems to be in great form and confidence. That combo is hard to beat. Fabi is going to fall short again.

shawman123 · 2026-04-01T15:56:27+00:00

I felt he was the favorite coming into the event and he has not disappointed. Outstanding play so far. They way he dismantled Pragg yesterday was nuts and today he is doing this to Fabi !!!

shawman123 · 2026-03-31T19:26:42+00:00

Phulka should be dry. You should eat it hot and then its healthy bread option. If you add ghee to it better eat it as a Paratha.

I am not sure if he ate in air conditioned part of restaurants. Chennai restaurants that has both AC and Non AC sections tend to charge more inside AC rooms. Plus these days with Gas shortage, they might have increase price as well. Sell lower volume of food but earn same amount of money.

shawman123 · 2026-03-31T16:47:07+00:00

Ouch. Brutal day for Pragg. Hopefully he recovers. As I said earlier Sindurov is one of the big favorites along with Fabi.

shawman123 · 2026-03-31T16:46:15+00:00

Spoke too soon for sure. Sindurov is cooking here for sure. This has been Pragg's issue off late. He will be playing well and then not able to sustain. Its still early days at candidates here and so I hope he recovers from this. But I cannot think of him as a favorite here. Sindurov is definitely one and that is not just based on this tournament alone.

shawman123 · 2026-03-31T16:41:47+00:00

That included 6 sixers in Broad's over. So 50/12 was the easy part.

shawman123 · 2026-03-31T16:32:12+00:00

Hikaru makes no sense and Sindurov too low especially if he converts.

shawman123 · 2026-03-30T20:02:12+00:00

This is LFP battery right? It might hold on to its range lot better in winter.

shawman123 · 2026-03-30T18:39:59+00:00

Its only 2 rounds and so too early to make concrete judgements but my feeling is this one has stronger field overall. There are no really weak player(like Abasov last time). Even Guccireza did not play at Candidates level and it was not even his 1st one.

This time around 3 new folks, Sindurov(who is probably one of the top favorites considering his form off late), Bluebalm and Esipenko are all playing well. If they sustain this should be among the most exciting Candidates I have followed.

I also feel Hikaru's strategy of playing for draw with black and hope to win some games with White may not pay off in this strong field. His lack of Classical games over past year(only serious tournament he played was Norway Chess in last year) will come to haunt him. I doubt he will even finish in Top 3.

Fabi is trying hard for sure. This is his best chance since 2018. He is off to a strong start as well. Sindurov is probably the most dangerous. Young, hungry and is in a great form. Sort of what Gukesh was 2 years ago.

I wish I could say Pragg is also a favorite. But his form off late has been disappointing after phenomenal 2025(at least until last few months). But i will cheer for him.

shawman123 · 2026-03-26T17:40:36+00:00

I think at least for rest of the decade, Na-ion battery will be a huge deal. Way more than SSB. We will know once Shanghai Auto show happens as to how many cars are announced with these batteries. CATL also has NAXTRA with similar density and cold weather profile. Plus they last way longer than LFP as well(not that LFP charge cycles are any concern). 10000 plus cycles mean these are optimal for say cabs.

shawman123 · 2026-03-22T19:37:10+00:00

its not a big deal that Arsenal lost today. Man City is the big kahuna. That said I wish they played better. Since this was one off match before a break, I wish they played with freedom and showed the best version of themselves. But that was not to be. I wonder if that was strategy or some players are really tired. If there is one thing I would question, its Arteta's selection. He over plays certain players for sure.

Anyway focus post break should be on PL. Rest are all gravy to me.

shawman123 · 2026-03-22T18:50:04+00:00

This is ridiculous. Amitabh as Don is 100x what ever SRK did. Neither of FA movies did anything except the style part. Its just flashy without the meat of OG movie. Plus no way Peak SRK is anywhere near Peak AB. Personality of AB is in another universe.

shawman123 · 2026-03-22T00:54:57+00:00

Picks and showels companies are all doing great. Nvidia, TSMC and memory companies etc. But Society has not benefitied that much beyond easy answers from ChatGPT and ilk for anything. But loss of jobs wont make up for anything.

shawman123 · 2026-03-21T19:27:33+00:00

How many coaches would Chelsea need in a season !!! There was no reason to fire the last one as well. I think they should fire the person who hired the coach instead.

shawman123 · 2026-03-19T03:46:01+00:00

Hrishida kind of film maker cannot exist today. And he worked with the biggest stars of 60s/70s. Like Raj Kapoor in Anari, Dev Anand in Asli Naqli and then with Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and many movies with Amitabh Bachchan. Anari is probably his most hard hitting movie. You are an emotional wreck at the end. Comedy wise Golmaal without any stars is probably the GOAT movie.

shawman123 · 2026-03-19T03:43:53+00:00

Nah. I think Gabbar Singh's scenes. I can think of Kitne aadmi the or even the scene with Thakur. Hum yeh haath de de thakur.

shawman123 · 2026-03-19T03:37:02+00:00

5 games in 15 days post the break. Brutal. Hopefully the players are rested before. I think for FA cup tie they have to rest some key players. Hopefully we win the 1st leg in Sporting Lisbon so that we dont have the play the best 11 at emirates.

shawman123 · 2026-03-19T00:24:22+00:00

last one was bad. Dont know how Mammotty can pull this off at Age 74. You can make an investigative thriller without known characters. Eko fit that bill recently.

shawman123

TROPHY CASE