Champions Showdown: Caruana leapfrogs So in the leaderboard

Decisive results in rapid and semi-classical

The second day of action at the Champions Showdown in Saint Louis featured several competitive encounters, with players demonstrating defensive skills to secure draws in critical positions. The exhibition event, which no longer follows the chess960 format used in previous editions, continues to provide entertainment for competitors and fans alike.

The key pairing of the day saw former leader Wesley So facing Fabiano Caruana. The blitz game ended in a draw after Caruana had amassed an advantage early on. In the rapid game, Caruana made the most of his chances and secured a win, gaining enough prize money to move into the lead. The semi-classical game also ended in a draw, with So showing tactical awareness to hold a difficult position. Despite falling to second place in the standings, So managed to avoid a larger setback by drawing two of the three games.

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In the other matchups, Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian each won their mini-matches by scoring one win and two draws. Nakamura's victory came in his rapid game against Ray Robson, while Aronian defeated Leinier Dominguez in their semi-classical game. Robson remains in third place in the overall standings and will face leader Caruana on the final day of action in the exhibition event.

Caruana 2 - 1 So

The one decisive game of the mini-match saw Caruana winning with black after showing strong strategic play and proficient technique for conversion.

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Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Crystal Fuller

Nakamura 2 - 1 Robson

The blitz encounter, the first one of the day, featured a sharp pawn race which ended drawn. Grandmaster Karsten Müller highlights the key moments of the endgame.

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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 | Photo: Crystal Fuller

Arnoian 2 - 1 Dominguez

In the one decisive game of the mini-match, Aronian gained a couple of pawns in the middlegame and converted his material advantage in an ending with rooks and bishops of opposite colours. However, on move 28, he failed to find a fine tactical shot which would have probably led to a quicker win.

Aronian's 28.c5 is very natural and keeps White's advantage, but 28.Bd5 is much more forcing - 28...exd5 fails immediately to 29.Rxe7, while the threat is to break open the centre via a temporary sacrifice on e6.

Still, the Armenian-born star got the win by move 52.

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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.

Leinier Dominguez facing Levon Aronian | Photo: Crystal Fuller

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)