After achieving a flawless 3/3 on Monday, Fabiano Caruana maintained his lead at the Chess9LX event in Saint Louis by securing a win and two draws in rounds 4-6. Caruana started the day with a quick draw against Levon Aronian, but he capitalised on Wesley So's crucial blunder to take victory in round 5. His final game saw him narrowly escape with a draw against Sam Sevian, preserving his undefeated record and placing him at the top of the standings with a score of 5/6 points.
Close on his heels is Hikaru Nakamura, who delivered the strongest performance of the day, scoring two wins and a draw. Nakamura's victories over Sevian and Leinier Dominguez showcased his form before he faced Garry Kasparov with the white pieces. In their round-6 matchup, Kasparov managed to create a winning position but opted for caution and accepted a draw due to significant time pressure. This half-point kept Nakamura well-positioned just half a point behind Caruana and in strong contention for the top spot.
Although he missed an opportunity to topple Nakamura, Kasparov had an encouraging day overall. Entering with an even score, the 61-year-old secured a +1 after drawing against Grigoriy Oparin and Nakamura and defeating Sam Shankland. Kasparov's 3½/5 score currently ties him for third place, and he'll benefit from two white games in the final three rounds. Outperforming active grandmasters like Aronian and Dominguez, Kasparov's return to the board has proved he can still compete at a high level.
The competition for first place is set to intensify on Wednesday, as Caruana looks to build on his recent US Championship success while Nakamura aims to add another title to his extensive list of achievements.
Having fun and performing well - Garry Kasparov | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Starting position
With the rooks on the a and h-files, the round-4 starting position invited for setups resembling normal chess. All players with white opened with 1.d4, with games then entering configurations approximating the King's Indian Defence and the Benoni.
Nakamura's victory in round 4 set the tone for what was a good day for the famed streamer. Facing Sevian with white, the 5-time US champion prompted his opponent's resignation after gaining full control of the open f-file.
With the dominating knight on e6 controlling the g7-square, Black would need to make major concessions to prevent his rival from giving checkmate. 1-0
Defending champion Sam Sevian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Starting position
A more unorthodox position was seen in round 5, with the rooks much more close together and knights on the g and h-files. Players with white went for 1.e4 or 1.f4. The king's pawn was pushed first in three games, with Black responding either with 1...e5 or 1...d5 - the latter move was chosen by Nakamura, who defeated Dominguez.
Playing black against Caruana, So played the wrong rook to d8 on move 19, which led to a quick, rather unexpected defeat.
The problem with 19...Rbd8, instead of 19...Rfd8, is that the latter frees the f8-square for the g6-knight, which would defend the h7-square from that spot. After the text, White has 20.Rh3 Ngxe5 (the queen defends h7 from c2) 21.d3
It is likely that So missed this pawn push in his calculations, blocking the diagonal. Resignation came after 21...f6 22.Bxe5 Nxe5 23.Qxh7+
Enjoying chess (960) | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Starting position
Mainly due to the positioning of the bishops, all players opened the game with the exact same three moves: 1.f4 f5 b4. The players with black then continued either with 2...b5 (three games), 2...b6 (one game) or 2...Nb6 (one game).
In the following position, a threefold repetition led to a draw in the game between Nakamura and Kasparov: 37...Bb6 38.Ra6 Bc5 39.Ra5, etcetera.
Black is clearly better, though, as his queen and bishop can coordinate to infiltrate the opposite camp along the dark squares - not to mention the three extra pawns. However, Kasparov had 1 minute left on the clock to Nakamura's 6, so the former world champion understandably decided to call it a day.
Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Crystal Fuller
