Russian grandmaster Esipenko lost at the start of the candidates tournament

On March 29, Russian grandmaster Andrey Esipenko lost to Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan in his opening game at the candidates tournament for the world chess crown.

Esipenko played with black pieces. The meeting ended on the 41st move with White's victory.

The tournament with the participation of eight candidates for the match with the world champion is held in Cyprus in two rounds from March 29 to April 15. The winner will be given the opportunity to play for the world title with the current holder of the title, Indian grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju.

Magnificent Eights: who will win the Candidates and Contenders tournament

Andrey Esipenko, Alexandra Goryachkina and Ekaterina Lagno face off against the best chess players in the world.

On March 5, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced the list of participants in tournaments for the right to play with the current holders of the world chess crown. Russian Andrey Esipenko, Americans Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Dutch Anish Giri, German chess player Matthias Blubaum, Chinese representative Wei Yi, Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan, and Indian Rameshbabu Pragnanandha will take part in the men's tournament.

Indian chess player Hampi Koneru announced on March 22 that she had decided to withdraw from the FIDE candidates tournament in Cyprus for security reasons due to the escalation of the situation in the Middle East. Prior to that, the chess player had reported personal concerns about the situation in the region.

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