Caruana obtains convincing victory at Champions Showdown

by André Schulz
3/7/2025 – Fabiano Caruana won the Champions Showdown 2025 in Saint Louis. On the last day of action, Caruana defended his lead in the three-game mini-match against Ray Robson with victories in blitz and the semi-classical game. Wesley So finished second, ahead of Levon Aronian. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Entertaining for fans, profitable for players

Fabiano Caruana emerged victorious at the Champions Showdown 2025 played from Tuesday to Thursday at the Saint Louis Chess Club. On the third and final day of the exhibition event, in which six of the eight best players in the United Stated played for prize money rather than points in a three-way battle in blitz, rapid and semi-classical (60 minutes plus 30 seconds) time controls. The challenger of the 2018 match for the World Championship, Fabiano Caruana, successfully defended his lead in his encounter against Ray Robson.

Caruana won the blitz game and the semi-classical encounter - the rapid game ended in a draw - and finished the tournament with a balance of 51,625 US dollars. Not a bad reward for three half days of work!

Wesley So 'only' earned 45,875 US dollars after winning the blitz game against Leinier Dominguez and drawing in the other two events.

Champions Showdown 2025

Levon Aronian lost the blitz game against Hikaru Nakamura, but was able to improve to third place in the prize money table with a win in the semi-classical game. In a Giouco Piano, Nakamura got a more active position out of the opening phase, but then misjudged the situation or miscalculated and came under decisive pressure on the kingside.

Aronian, Levon27451–0Nakamura, Hikaru2802
Champions Showdown Kings 2025
Saint Louis06.03.2025[Schulz,A]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 h6 5.0-0 Bc5 6.c3 d6 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.Re1 Bb6 9.a4 a5 10.Ra3 A new idea in this position. 10.h3 Be6 11.b3 Re8 12.Bb2 Ne7 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Nc4 Ng6 15.Nxb6 cxb6 16.d4 Qc7 17.c4 Rad8 18.Qd2 Rf8 19.Rad1 Nh5 20.Re3 Nhf4 21.Kh2 d5 22.cxd5 exd5 23.Rc1 Qf7 24.Qc2 dxe4 25.Qxe4 exd4 26.Nxd4 Rde8 27.Qc2 Rxe3 28.fxe3 Nd5 29.Re1 Nb4 30.Qe2 Ne5 31.Bc3 Qc7 0-1 Niemann,H (2733)-Nakamura,H (2802) Chess.com SpeedChess Final Paris blitz 2024 (2.16) 10...Bc5 11.Ra2 Be6 12.b3 Nd7 13.Rc2 Ne7 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.Nf1 Ng6 16.d4 exd4 17.cxd4 Bb4 18.Re3 c6 19.Ne1 e5 20.Rg3 Qf6
White has fairly active rooks, but his knights are certainly not ideally placed. The chances are equal. 21.dxe5 21.d5!? 21...Ndxe5 22.Ne3 22.Nd3 Nxd3 23.Qxd3 Rae8 22...Bxe1?! A rather strange decision. Black apparently did not like Nf3. 22...Rae8 23.Nf3 Nxf3+ 24.Rxf3 Qe6 23.Qxe1 Qe6 23...Nd3 24.Qd2 Nxc1 25.Rxc1= 24.Rd2
24...Nf4? The idea is Nd3, but White can easily parry this with a counterattack. 24...Qxb3? 25.Nf5+- 25.Qd1 Neg6 25...Rad8 26.Nf5± 26.Rxd6 Qxe4 27.h4 Many lines have now opened in front of the black king. White has an attack.
27...Qe8? 27...Rf7 28.Bb2 h5± 28.Rdxg6 Even stronger was 28.Qc2-+ and Ng6 is no longer well-defended. Nh8 29.Bb2 28...Nxg6 29.Qg4 White has a winning position. Rd8 30.h5 Rf4 31.Qxg6 Qxg6 32.Rxg6 Rd3 33.Bb2 Rf7 34.g4 Rxb3 35.Be5 Rb1+ 36.Kg2 Re1 37.Bd4 c5 38.Bc3 Rc1 39.Be5 Re1 40.g5 Kf8 41.Ng4 hxg5 42.Bd6+ Ke8 43.Ne5 Rf5 1–0

Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian

Two long-time members of the elite | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Caruana 2 - 1 Robson

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1.d4 2 Nf6 2 2.c4 1 e6 1 3.Nf3 2 d5 1 4.Nc3 3 Bb4 2 5.Bg5 3 h6 5 6.Bxf6 3 Qxf6 2 7.Qb3 4 Bxc3+ 16 8.Qxc3 23 c6 2 9.g3 10 0-0 8 10.Bg2 1 Nd7 3 11.0-0 15 dxc4 6 D43: Semi-Slav: 5 Bg5 h6. 12.Qxc4 20 e5 1 13.Rfd1N 19 Predecessor: 13.Rad1 Re8 14.e4 Nb6 15.Qc3 Bg4 16.dxe5 Qe7 17.Rd2 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Qxe5 19.Qxe5 Rxe5 ½-½ Grigorov,G (2507)-Chukavin,K (2370) Riga Tech op-A 2021 (8) 13...Nb6 5 White has an edge. 14.Qd3 43 exd4 14 15.Qxd4 4 Qe7 4 16.Qe5 18 Qxe5 11 17.Nxe5 1 Re8 1 18.Nf3 12 Not much happening anymore 18.Nxc6= Rxe2 18...bxc6 19.Bxc6 Ba6 20.Rac1 19.Na5 19.Rd8+ Kh7-+ 18...Rxe2 12 19.Rd8+ 2 Kh7 1 20.a4 23 Rxb2 20 21.a5 4 Be6 10 22.Rxa8 7 Nxa8 1 23.a6 1 Bd5 44 23...b5 ...c5 would now be deadly. 24.Nd4 Nc7 25.Nxe6 Nxe6 24.Ne5 1
24...Bxg2 41 Better is 24...bxa6! 25.Nxc6 Ba2 25.Kxg2 1       Endgame KRN-KRN. Black is two pawns up. c5 7 26.Nxf7? 7
This move loses the game for White. 26.Nd3= and White stays safe. Rb5 27.axb7 Rxb7 28.Nxc5 26...b5!-+ 8 27.Ne5 1 c4 4 Prevents Nd3 28.Nc6 3 b4 0 29.Ra4? 3 29.Nxa7 b3 30.Nc6 29...c3 4       30.Nxb4 1 c2 1 31.Nd3 1 Rb3 1 32.Nc1 2 Rb1 1 33.Nd3 3 Rd1 1 Resist 33...c1R 34.Nxc1 Rxc1 35.f4 33...c1B 34.Rc4 Ba3 35.Rc8 33...c1N? 34.Nf4-+ 34.Rc4 1 Rxd3 2 35.Rxc2 1 KRN-KR Ra3 3 36.Rc6 3 Nb6 1 Black is clearly winning. 37.h4 0 Rxa6 1 38.g4 1 Ra4 3 39.Kg3 2 Nd5 3 40.g5 2 White threatens g6+ and mate. Ne7 1 41.Rc5 3 hxg5 2 42.hxg5 0 Kg6 0 43.f4 1 Ra1 4 44.Rc7 3 Nf5+ 2 45.Kg4 1 Rg1+ 2 46.Kf3 1 Rg3+ 1 47.Ke4 4 Re3+ 1 48.Kd5 1 Re7 2 49.Rc1 7 Kh5 2 50.Rg1 3 g6 1 51.Kc5 3 Re4 2 52.Rf1 1 Kg4 1 53.Kb5 1 Rxf4 1 54.Rg1+ 0 Kh4 2 Weighted Error Value: White=0.47/Black=0.19 (very precise) Loses game: White=1 --- Mistake: White=2 Black=2 Inaccurate: White=2 Black=1 OK: White=9 Black=19 Best: --- Black=3 Strong: --- Black=1 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Robson,R2689Caruana,F28030–12025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.1
Robson,R2689Caruana,F2803½–½2025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.2
Caruana,F2803Robson,R26891–02025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.3

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Ray Robson, Fabiano Caruana

Ray Robson and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Aronian 1½ - 1½ Nakamura

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1.e4 1 e6 2 2.d4 9 d5 1 3.exd5 1 exd5 2 4.Nf3 1 Bd6 3 5.c4 2 c6 3 6.Nc3 5 Ne7 3 7.cxd5 14 7.c5 was preferable. Bc7 8.Bd3 7...cxd5= 2 C01: French: Exchange Variation. 8.Bd3 2 Nbc6 7 9.h3 1 0-0 19 The position is equal. has lost popularity (9...h6). 10.0-0 2 Bf5 2 11.a3 8 Qd7 15 12.Re1 16 Rfe8N 4 Predecessor: 12...a6 13.Ne5 Qc8 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Qf3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Qf5 17.Qe3 Ng6 18.Bd2 Rfe8 19.Qxe8+ Rxe8 20.Rxe8+ 1-0 Golubenko,V (2209)-Santos,I (1996) Titled Tuesday intern op 12th Dec Early blitz 2023 (8) 13.Be3 11 h6 45 14.Rc1 27 Rac8 15.Bxf5 0 Qxf5 6 16.b4 0 Ng6 27 17.Qc2 37 Qxc2 16 18.Rxc2 0 Nce7 5 19.Rec1 4 Not much happening anymore Rc6 8 20.Nb5 18 Bb8 1 21.Rxc6 6 Nxc6 1 21...bxc6!? 22.Nc3 Nf5 22.Nc3 3 Rd8 7 23.Na4 5 Nce7 11 24.Kf1 19 b6 4 25.Ke2 4 Nf4+ 14 26.Bxf4 6 Bxf4 2 27.Re1 1 f6 6 28.Kd3 3 Kf7 1 29.g3 1 Bd6 3 30.Nc3 3 h5 11 31.h4 2 Rc8 2 32.Nd2 4 a5 6 33.Nb5 4 Bb8 0 34.Nf1 4 axb4 2 35.axb4 0 Nc6 1 36.Rb1 1 Rd8 2 37.Ne3 1 Ke6 1 38.Nc3 2 38.Nc2 38...Ne7 3 38...Nxd4!= 39.Kxd4 Be5+ 40.Kd3 d4 39.Re1 5 Kf7 1 40.Ra1 7 Bd6 6 Better is 40...Nc6 41.Ra7 7 41.Ncxd5± and Ra7 should not be overlooked Nxd5 42.Nxd5 41...Ke6 2 42.b5 2 Bb4 3
43.Na4 2 White has more active pieces. A dynamic duo of knights. 43.Rb7!± Ba5 44.Ne2 43...Rd6 3
43...Rb8= and Black is okay. 44.Rxe7+ Kxe7+- 1       Endgame KRB-KNN. White is better. 45.Nf5+ 9 Ke6 4 46.Nxd6 1 Kxd6 2 47.Nxb6 1 g5 0 48.Na4 7 Ba5 4 49.Ke3 4 Bd8 3
50.g4! 4       hxg4 3 Weighted Error Value: White=0.15 (very precise) /Black=0.17 (very precise) Loses game: --- Black=1 Mistake: White=4 Black=2 Inaccurate: White=1 Black=3 OK: White=12 Black=16 Best: White=4 Black=2 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2802Aronian,L27451–02025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.1
Nakamura,H2802Aronian,L2745½–½2025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.2
Aronian,L2745Nakamura,H28021–02025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.3

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Hikaru Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Lennart Ootes

So 2 - 1 Dominguez

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1.e4 2 e5 1 2.Nf3 1 Nc6 1 3.Bc4 3 Nf6 2 4.d3 2 Bc5 1 5.0-0 6 a6 4 6.c3 4 d6 2 7.a4 5 h6 7 8.Re1 5 The main line 8.Re1 scores better than 8.Nbd2. C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3. Ba7 1 9.Nbd2 16 0-0 3 10.h3 1 White has an edge. Qe7 1 11.b4 12 Be6 1 12.Rb1 9 Qd7 2 13.Bxe6N 33 13.b5 Ne7 14.d4 Bxc4 15.Nxc4 exd4 16.cxd4 axb5 17.Rxb5 c6 18.Rb3 d5 19.Nfe5 ½-½ Dominguez Perez,L (2741)-So,W (2751) USA-ch Saint Louis 2024 (1) 13...Qxe6 2 14.b5 8 axb5 1 15.axb5 1 Ne7 3 16.d4 20 Ng6 9 17.Qc2 16 Rfe8 6 18.Nf1 18 Bb6 10 19.Ng3 7 Ra2 25 20.Rb2 10 Ra1 1 21.Rb1 4 Ra2 2 22.Rb2 1 Ra1 5 23.Rb1 2 Rxb1 2 23...Qa2 24.Qxa2 Rxa2 24.Qxb1= 1 Qc4 0       White is under pressure. 25.Qb2 20 Ba5 20
...exd4 would now be deadly. 26.Re3 7 26.Bd2= 26...Nf4 16 27.Nd2 9 Qa4 3 28.Qb3 7
28...Qa1 1 28...Qxb3! 29.Nxb3 Bb6 29.Qb1 3 29.Qc2= 29...Bxc3 8 Black has more active pieces. 30.Qxa1 1 Bxa1 1 31.dxe5 1 Bxe5 16 32.Nc4 5 Bd4 4 33.Rb3 1 Ne6 12 34.Be3 6 Nc5 3 35.Ra3 0 Bxe3 3 36.Nxe3 2 Nfxe4 13 36...Ncxe4 37.Nxe4 Nxe4 37...Rxe4 38.Ra7 38.Ra7 37.Nxe4 1 Rxe4-+ 10 KRN-KRN. Black is two pawns up. 38.Ra8+ 1 Kh7 1 39.Rc8 1 Ne6 1 40.Rb8 5 40.b6 cxb6 41.Kh2 40...b6 3 41.Rc8 3 Re5 2 Weighted Error Value: White=0.23 (precise) /Black=0.14 (very precise) Mistake: White=3 Black=2 Inaccurate: White=4 Black=1 OK: White=11 Black=12 Best: White=1 Black=2 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Dominguez Perez,L2741So,W27470–12025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.1
Dominguez Perez,L2741So,W2747½–½2025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.2
So,W2747Dominguez Perez,L2741½–½2025Champions Showdown Kings 20253.3

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Leinier Dominguez

Leinier Dominguez | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.
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