Sinquefield Cup: Firouzja grabs sole lead, So escapes against Pragg

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/24/2024 – By beating Anish Giri with white, Alireza Firouzja became the sole leader going into the rest day of the Sinquefield Cup. Firouzja has collected 3½ points and stands a half point ahead of Wesley So. The latter escaped with a draw after fiercely defending an endgame material down against R. Praggnanandhaa. Sunday's sixth round will see So playing white against Firouzja. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

A second missed chance for Pragg

Alireza Firouzja became the sole leader at the Sinquefield Cup after beating Anish Giri with the white pieces in round 5. This was Firouzja's second win of the event, as he had defeated Fabiano Caruana on opening day. With 4 rounds to go at the classical tournament in Saint Louis, Firouzja is the favourite to take first place in the yearly Grand Chess Tour standings - the Sinquefield Cup is the last event of the series.

In a crucial game for the standings, Wesley So - currently in sole second place - escaped with a draw in his game with black against R. Praggnanandhaa. Unfortunately for the Indian prodigy, he missed a chance to score a full point for a second day in a row, as he had failed to find the correct king move in a critical ending position against D. Gukesh in round 4. Pragg is 1 of 6 players with a 2½/5 score in the standings.

All three remaining games ended drawn on Friday. Perhaps the most curious position was seen in Ian Nepomniachtchi v. Ding Liren, not because the setup was particularly enticing but because Nepo reached the exact same rook endgame (with opposite colours) that he had lost against So the previous day.

So v. Nepomniachtchi - Round 5
Nepo lost this from the black side...
Nepomniachtchi v. Ding - Round 5
...and then saw Ding defending the same setup successfully in the following round

Rook endgames are (almost) always drawn.

Round 5 results

Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren

The contenders of the 2023 World Championship match | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Praggnanandhaa ½ - ½ So

Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Wesley So

Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes


Expert analysis by GM Daniel King


Standings after round 5

Loading Table...

All games

Loading...
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.

Links


Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.