Fabiano Caruana wins Chess 9LX Showdown in Saint Louis

Kasparov misses chances, still gets 50% score

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.

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.

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

Opening package: 1.b3 and Black Secrets in the Modern Italian

Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!

Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 7

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

Round 8

How to play the Najdorf

Between 2004 and 2007 the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov recorded a large 3-volume Najdorf video course. ChessBase is publishing this great classic in a complete edition in the current ChessBase Media format. Look forward to this classic of chess!

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

Round 9

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.

Master Class Vol.7: Garry Kasparov

On this DVD a team of experts gets to the bottom of Kasparov's play. In over 8 hours of video running time the authors Rogozenko, Marin, Reeh and Müller cast light on four important aspects of Kasparov's play: opening, strategy, tactics and endgame.

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

Final standings

All games

Links

• Official website
• 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)