The event of the year

Every time I type out Candidates Tournament, I want to adorn it with an apostrophe, as with Parents’ Evening or Residents’ Association. Hear me out: Women’s Tournament sounds natural whereas Women Tournament sounds clumsy; the word is possessive rather than attributive. Be that as it may, the prevailing wind has swept the apostrophe away.

Anyway, the greatest chess event of the year has begun in Toronto, and in an important sense it does belong to the players. Its legitimacy depends on the fact that qualifying spots are awarded not by invitation, but fiercely contested in elite events throughout the previous year.

In the Candidates Tournament, the favourites are Ian Nepomniachtchi (who has won the previous two events), Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, the world no. 2 and 3 respectively. Alireza Firouzja’s recent form has been patchy, but at his best he is undoubtedly capable of winning it. The remaining four players are making their debut at this elite event, and three of them are from India: Santosh Gujrathi Vidit and the brilliant teenagers Dommaraju Gukesh and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa.