.jpeg)
Shortly after securing his fourth US Championship title, Fabiano Caruana captured a resounding victory at the Chess 9LX Champions Showdown in Saint Louis, scoring 7½/9 points with an impressive six wins and three draws over three days of chess960 action. The triumph marked Caruana's second Chess 9LX title, following his 2022 win over Alireza Firouzja in a tense playoff.
Caruana's path to victory on the final day included a draw against his long-time friend and collaborator Leinier Dominguez, followed by back-to-back wins over Garry Kasparov and Ray Robson. In his eighth-round game against Kasparov, the former World Champion held a clear advantage but faltered after a single blunder, allowing Caruana to seize control and claim victory. This fortunate turnaround bolstered Caruana's momentum going into the ninth and final round.
Entering the last day with a +1 score, Kasparov had shown that his fighting spirit and skill remained sharp despite his years away from competitive play. While he ended tied for fourth with a 50% score, his performance showcased moments of brilliance, especially in his seventh- and eighth-round games against Levon Aronian and Caruana. Although both games ultimately ended in defeat, Kasparov closed his campaign on a high note with a victory over defending champion Sam Sevian, confirming a successful outing for the 61-year-old retired grandmaster.
Hikaru Nakamura finished the event just half a point behind Caruana, clinching second place after a strong performance on the final day. Following his win over Robson in round 7, Nakamura was tied for first place. However, Caruana's successive victories in rounds 8 and 9 solidified the latter's lead and left Nakamura with a remarkable but ultimately second-place finish. Notably, Nakamura's only loss in the event came against Caruana in round 3, underscoring the rivalry that shaped the competition's outcome.
Rounding out the top ranks, Wesley So secured clear third place as the only other player to finish with a plus score. With 5½/9 points, So put in a strong showing on Wednesday, achieving 2½/3 points - his performance included only one draw across all nine rounds.
Garry Kasparov | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Starting position
Given the presence of bishops on the g and h-files, players in all five games decided to play g2-g3 and ...g7-g6 early on. The players with white, however, followed up with different systems, choosing either d2-d4, e2-e4 or c2-c4. This was the only round of the event which saw all decisive games (three) favouring Black.
With 34...Qb5, Aronian both defended against the mate-in-one threat on b7 and set up a winning infiltration via b2-e2.
35.Qe7 Qb2+ 36.Kd1 Qe2+ 37.Kc1 Qe1+ 38.Kc2 Qxe4+ and Kasparov resigned.
Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Starting position
Rooks again were placed on the a and h-files, much like in round 4. Players with white opted for quick central development, with all of them playing both e2-e4 and d2-d4 early on. The setups for Black were more varied, as some of the contenders chose systems with ...c7-c6 and others opted for ...c7-c5.
31.Qc1 was an elegant final move by Sevian in his game with white against Dominguez.
Black resigned, as 31...Kg7, defending the h6-rook, fails to 32.Ne8+ with a royal fork.
Sam Shankland and Sam Sevian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Starting position
The starting position in round 9 was coincidentally the same one that was employed in the final round of the 2023 edition. And much like in round 7, the bishops were placed on the g and h-files. Three out of five games started with the exact same opening sequence - 1.f4 f5 2.g3 g6 - while the most original path was seen in the game Kasparov v. Sevian, which started 1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Rxf5
Caruana showed good technique to convert the following pawn-up endgame position into a win in his final-round game against Robson.
This position was reached after Black's move 37, and Caruana had to work until move 81 to collect the full point that secured him tournament victory.
Time to analyse! | Photo: Lennart Ootes
