Three time controls

The three-day Champions Showdown began on Tuesday at the Saint Louis Chess Club. This year’s edition has moved away from the previous format featuring Chess960, known as Chess 9LX for marketing purposes, and now follows a six-player format with games in blitz (3+2), rapid (15+10), and semi-classical (60+15).

Each day, players are paired against a single opponent, with one player having white in both the blitz and rapid games before switching to black in the semi-classical encounter. Instead of a traditional points-based system, the standings are determined by the prize money accumulated, with semi-classical games awarding $14,000, rapid games $9,000, and blitz games $4,500, distributed unevenly between the winner and the loser.

The Art of Initiative - The key to Opening Success

Unleash your chess potential with this dynamic course focused on mastering the initiative.

Six of the top eight players in the US, according to the latest FIDE classical rating list, are participating in the event. Notably, Hans Niemann, rated 2734, is absent, while Sam Sevian, rated 2692, is also not competing. Ray Robson, whose rating is only slightly lower than Sevian's, is among the participants.

Ray Robson | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The opening day saw the two top seeds, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, facing each other. Nakamura missed a big opportunity in the blitz game, which ended in a draw. Caruana exerted pressure in the rapid game, but this, too, concluded peacefully. In the semi-classical game, Caruana entered a rook endgame with an extra pawn. Nakamura defended well but made a decisive mistake in the final stages, allowing Caruana to claim a very valuable victory.

Wesley So emerged as the most successful player on the first day, securing wins against Levon Aronian in both the rapid and semi-classical games after drawing the blitz encounter. The third mini-match saw Leinier Dominguez and Ray Robson winning one game each. Dominguez triumphed in the blitz game, while Robson prevailed in the semi-classical encounter, which meant Robson earned nearly $5,000 more than his opponent on the day.

Caruana 2 - 1 Nakamura

The semi-classical encounter between the two top seeds featured what turned out to be the highlight of the day, as Nakamura faltered decisively by playing a natural-looking capture after showcasing remarkable defensive skills in a rook endgame.

Nakamura, Hikaru2802

0–1

Caruana, Fabiano2803

Champions Showdown Kings 2025 Saint Louis04.03.2025[CC]

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Bg4 3.h3 Bh5 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Ne5 Nxe5 8.Bxe5 e6 9.c4 Be7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.d4 0-0 12.0-0 Ne4 13.g4 Bg6 14.f3 Ng5 15.Nc3 Rc8 16.Kh1 Re8 17.f4 Ne4 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.dxc5 Bxc5 21.Rc1 Qh4 22.Kg2 Red8 23.Qe1 Qxe1 24.Rfxe1 f6 25.Bb2 Be3

Nakamura played rather riskily in the opening, pushing his kingside pawns without getting any real attacking chances. Following simplifications, Caruana managed to gain material, as he is now threatening both to gain an exchange on c1 and to grab the pawn on f4. 26.Rc4 Trying to save the pawn with 26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.Kg3 fails to Rc2 26...Rxc4 27.bxc4 Bxf4 28.Bc1 Bd2 29.Rd1 e3 30.Kf3 Kf7 31.Ba3 b6 32.c5 b5 33.c6 Rc8 34.Bc5 a6 35.Bxe3 Bxe3 36.Rd7+ Kg6 37.Kxe3 Rxc6

A pure rook endgame has appeared on the board. At this point, Nakamura had 3 minutes to Caruana's 5. Nakamura is known for his defensive skills, so commentators noted that converting this into a win would be rather difficult for Caruana. 38.Rd3 h5 39.Kf3 h4 40.Ra3 b4 41.Ra4 Rc3+ 42.e3 Rc2 43.Rxb4 Rxa2 44.Rb6 a5 45.Ra6 a4 46.Kf4 a3 Caruana errs with less than a minute on his clock. Correct (and forcing) is 46...Rf2+ 47.Ke4 Rh2 48.Rxa4 Rxh3 and tke kingside passer should win the day for Black. 47.g5 Rf2+ 48.Kg4 Rg2+ 49.Kxh4 Rxg5 50.Rxa3 Rg1 51.Ra5 Nakamura has managed to restore the material balance, and the position is now drawn. However, Black's pawns are still a bit stronger than White's. Kf7 52.e4 Ke6 53.Kh5 Kf7 54.Kh4 Rg2 55.Rb5 Kg6 56.Ra5 Kf7 57.Rb5 g5+ 58.Kh5 Rg3 59.Rb7+ Ke6 60.Kg6 Rxh3 61.Rb6+ Ke5

62.Rxf6 The losing mistake! 62.Rb5+ Kf4 62...Ke6 63.Rb6+ Ke5 64.Rb5+ with a perpetual. 63.Kxf6 g4 64.e5 is the way to draw the game. 62...g4 63.Rf1 g3 Nakamura was visibly disappointed and resigned. 63...g3 64.Rg1 64.Kg5 g2 65.Rg1 Rg3+ 66.Kh4 Kf4 67.e5 Rg8 68.Kh3 Kf3 with a threat of checkmate from h8. 64...Kxe4 65.Kg5 Kf3 66.Rf1+ Kg2 67.Ra1 Kh2 68.Kg4 g2 69.Ra2 Rg3+ 0–1

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Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3

The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.

Hikaru Nakamura cannot believe what has just happened - he was inches away from escaping with a draw from a very tough position | Photo: Lennart Ootes

So 2½ - ½ Aronian

After winning the rapid encounter, So managed to beat Aronian for a second game in a row in their semi-classical encounter. With kings on opposite sides, So's attack came faster on the queenside. Eventually, Aronian's light-squared bishop found itself trapped in the middle of the board. So grabbed the piece and went on to collect the winner's share of the prize.

Aronian, Levon2745

0–1

So, Wesley2747

GM

Champions Showdown Kings 2025 Saint Louis04.03.2025[CC]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.h3 d6 6.c3 0-0 7.Bg5 a6 8.Bb3 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh5 11.Nbd2 Qf6 12.Qe2 Kh8 13.0-0-0 Bd7 14.Rdf1 b5 15.Bh2 Nf4 16.Bxf4 gxf4 17.g4 Rg8 18.Bd5 b4 19.Nb3 bxc3 20.Nxc5 dxc5 21.bxc3 Rab8 22.Qc2 Na5

White's pawn structure is less scattered than Black's, but this positional factor is much less important than king safety and piece activity in this setup. 23.c4 The light-squared bishop is running out of squares. Qb6 A remarkable, active move. 24.Kd2 Not 24.Bxf7 due to Ba4 and the threat of checkmate on the b-file means White cannot save his queen. 24...Qb4+ 25.Ke2 Ba4 26.Qd2

26...Qxd2+ 27.Nxd2 Black safely trades queens, as it is easy to calculate that the white bishop will fall soon. Kg7 Defending the f7-pawn. 28.Rb1 c6

No escape! The black minor pieces on a5 and a4 might look bad, but are doing a fine job "on the rim". 29.Bxf7 Kxf7 30.Rhc1 Rb4 31.Rc3 Rxb1 32.Nxb1 Rb8 33.Nd2 Rb4 So went on to convert his material advantage into a second win in a row. 34.h4 Nb7 35.g5 hxg5 36.hxg5 Nd8 37.Nf3 Kg6 38.Rc1 Nf7 39.Kf1 Rb2 40.a3 Bc2 41.Ne1 Bb1 0–1

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Chief arbiter Chris Bird having a look at Wesley So's game | Photo: Austin Fuller

Robson 1½ - 1½ Dominguez

The semi-classical game in this mini-match also ended decisively - all three slow games did, in fact. Robson showed great technique to beat Dominguez in a knight endgame with five pawns per side. Having the queenside majority and a more active king gave Robson the victory.

Robson, Ray2689

1–0

Dominguez Perez, Leinier2741

GM

Champions Showdown Kings 2025 Saint Louis04.03.2025[CC]

GM

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 d5 5.Bg2 0-0 6.Nf3 dxc4 7.0-0 Nc6 8.a3 Be7 9.e4 Na5 10.Be3 Nb3 11.Rb1 c5 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.Bxc5 Nxc5 14.Qe2 b6 15.Rfd1 Qe8 16.Qxc4 Ba6 17.Qd4 Rd8 18.Qe3 Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Na4 20.e5 Nxc3 21.exf6 Qa4 22.Rd2 Nd5 23.Qd4 Qxd4 24.Nxd4 Nxf6 25.Nc6 Bc4 26.Nxa7 Bd5 27.Rc2 Bxg2 28.Kxg2 Rb8 29.Kf3 Kf8 30.Rc8+ Rxc8 31.Nxc8 Nd5

Only kings, pawns and knights are left on the board. White has the upper hand with his queenside majority and more active king. 32.Ke4 f6 33.Nd6 g6 34.f4 Ke7 35.Nb5 Kd7 36.Kd4 Ne7 37.Kc4 Nf5 38.Kd3 h5 39.Nd4 e5 39...Nxd4 40.Kxd4 Importantly, pawn endgames favour White despite the material balance. 40.fxe5 fxe5 41.Ne2

41...Ke6 42.a4 g5 43.b4 g4 44.a5 bxa5 45.bxa5 Kd5 46.a6 e4+ 47.Kc3 Nd6 48.Nf4+ Kc5 49.Nxh5 Nb5+ 50.Kd2 Kd4 51.Nf6 e3+ 52.Ke2 Nc3+ 53.Ke1 Nb5 54.Nxg4 Ke4 55.h4 Kf3 56.Nxe3 Kxe3 After showing good technique, Robson gives up his knight. His three passed pawns are more than enough to secure a victory. 57.h5

1–0

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Master Class Vol.17 - Boris Spassky

In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

Ray Robson and Leinier Dominguez | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Links

• Official website
• Fabiano Caruana wins Chess 9LX Showdown in Saint Louis (2024)
• Sevian beats Kasparov and Caruana to win Chess 9LX tournament (2023)
• Caruana beats Firouzja in Armageddon, wins Champions Showdown (2022)
• Leinier Dominguez wins Champions Showdown in Saint Louis (2021)
• Chess 9LX: Carlsen and Nakamura share first place (2020)
• Caruana beats Kasparov with a day to spare (2019)