Six years later
Wesley So has participated in every edition of the Sinquefield Cup since 2015. In 2016, amid what turned out to be an astounding run of good form, So won the event with an undefeated 5½/9 score and a 2859 rating performance. Six years later, he is the favourite to grab a second title, as he leads the event with three rounds to go.
Since the leader was supposed to face Magnus Carlsen — who withdrew from the event on Monday — in round 7, he will get a rest day on Friday before playing his two final games, against Alireza Firouzja and Leinier Dominguez respectively.
Facing Hans Niemann with black in the sixth round, So played the Petroff Defence and managed to get a favourable position in the early middlegame.
So considered that his opponent’s h2-h4 push on move 20 was not accurate. The engines disagree, but their justification is a tough-to-find variation that required extreme accuracy by White. In the game — between humans — Black got an edge, first psychologically and then in the position, as Niemann, aware of the danger, spent over 20 minutes on move 21.
In the diagram above, Black had just played 22...f6, to which Niemann responded by 23.Bb8, using the fact that the knight on d6 is hanging. So found the correct 23...Kf7 after thinking for 10 minutes, and after 24.g4 Qxb8 25.gxh5 Nf4 26.Nxf4 Qxf4 Black’s advantage was evident, even for the casual audience member.
So had the better structure (after 27.hxg6+ hxg6, White was left with a weak h-pawn), the stronger minor piece and a small initiative.
The rooks soon left the board, and So had the tough task of converting his advantage in the endgame. Lately, the use of computers has resulted in better showings by players on the defensive side of slightly imbalanced positions, and for a while, it seemed like this would be yet another of those cases.
So admitted that in the following moves he “messed it up”, giving his opponent drawing chances while being unable to find an effective winning plan.
The man from Bacoor was still slightly better, but White definitely had drawing chances, until move 42, when Niemann faltered by playing 42.Ke2.
Niemann apparently was busy calculating 42...Bf4 and thought that placing his king on e2 could make a difference in this case, but in doing so he missed Black’s 42...Bh2, which is a powerful resource. Now White is forced to jump with his knight either to f3 or h3, when it would have been better placed to defend the position from e2 (42.Ne2 was the strongest try to keep the balance, in fact).
So swapped the queens, activated his king and went on to grab a 59-move win.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bf5 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 0-0 9.Nbd2 Nd6! 10.Nf1 c6 11.Bf4 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Na6 13.Ne3 Nc7 14.b3N 14.Re2 Ne6 15.Bxd6 Bxd6 16.g3 Qd7 17.Rae1 Rae8 18.b3 Nc7 19.c4 14...Ne6 15.Be5 Ne4 16.c4 Nf6 17.Rad1 g6 18.g3 a6 19.Re2 Re8 20.h4 Nh5 21.cxd5 cxd5 22.Ng2 f6 23.Bb8 Kf7! 24.g4! 24.Rde1? Bb4 25.Rxe6 Rxe6 26.Rxe6 Kxe6-+ 24...Qxb8 25.gxh5 Nf4 26.Nxf4 Qxf4 27.hxg6+ hxg6 28.Rde1 Bd6 29.Rxe8! Rxe8 30.Rxe8 Qg4+ 31.Kf1 Kxe8 32.a4 32.Ng1 32...Kf7 33.Qe3 Bf4 33...Bb4 34.Qd3 Qh3+ 35.Ke2 Qe6+ 36.Kf1 Qe4 37.Qc3 Bd6 38.Kg2 38.Ne1= 38...Qg4+ 39.Kf1 Ke7 40.Ng1! Qf5 41.Qe3+ Qe4 42.Ke2 42.Ne2= 42...Bh2!-+ 43.Nf3 43.Nh3 43...Bf4 44.Qxe4+ dxe4 45.Ne1 45.Ng1 45...Ke6 46.Ng2 Bb8 47.Ne3 Ba7 48.d5+ Kd6 49.Ng2 Ke5 50.d6 Kxd6 51.Nf4 51.Kf1 Ke5 52.Ke2 51...g5 52.hxg5 fxg5 53.Nh3 g4 54.Ng5 Ke5 55.Nf7+ Kf4 56.Kf1 Bb6 57.Nd6 Kf3 58.Nc4 Bxf2 59.Nd2+ Kf4 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Niemann,H | 2688 | So,W | 2771 | 0–1 | 2022 | | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.2 |
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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!

Arbiter Chris Bird following the final stages of the game between Hans Niemann and Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Firouzja: “I take it anyway”
Much earlier in the day, Alireza Firouzja had won his game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. It was not a clear win, though, as the youngster mixed up the move order in the opening and found himself on the back foot early on.
Shakh reacted with active play and seemed to be on his way to a remarkable victory, as he played the good-looking 19...Bxf2+ to emphasize White’s vulnerabilities in the position.
After 20.Kxf2 Qf5+ 21.Ke1 Qxd5 White played the correct 22.Rf1, and Mamedyarov was faced with the task of creating a plan to convert his positional edge into something concrete.
As noted by Firouzja, Shakh was probably “annoyed” after realizing that White’s position was still playable after the bishop capture on f2. This is a good hypothesis to explain why the Azerbaijani went for the strange 22...Nf8 after thinking for over 20 minutes, when 22...b6 would have kept his advantage without much hassle — the white king is still stuck in the centre and Black will continue to develop his pieces.
Firouzja had survived the opening mishap, and soon after found himself in a winning position, as Shakh could not adjust to the new situation on the board and blundered on move 25.
25...Nd4 is refuted by 26.e3. According to Firouzja, perhaps his opponent thought that advancing the pawn was never possible with the rook on e8. On the contrary, after the text move, Black will need to make major (losing) concessions to save the knight.
There followed 26...Qxa2 27.Ra1 Qe6 and White does not grab the piece immediately. Instead, he has 28.dxe4, winning.
In fact, playing 28.exd4 also wins, but gives Black more counterchances. Firouzja’s final shot was the most precise in the position, and prompted Mamedyarov’s resignation — note that the knight cannot move due to the checkmate on g7.
In the post-game interview, Firouzja was critical of his play in the opening, but also confessed:
With this blunder I cannot be too happy. But yeah, I take it anyway (smiles).
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1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.Nf3 e4 5.Nd4 d5 6.cxd5 Qxd5 7.Nc2 Qh5 8.h3 Qg6 9.Nc3 Bc5 10.b4!? Bb6 11.Bb2 0-0 12.Ne3 Re8 13.Qc2! Nbd7 14.Rd1 14...a5N 14...Bd4 15.0-0 Nb6 16.a3 Bd7 17.Na4 Bxb2 18.Nxb2 Qh5 19.g4 Qb5 20.Nbc4 Nxc4 21.Nxc4 15.b5 Bd4 16.Rb1 c5 17.h4 h5! 18.Ncd5 18.b6= 18...Nxd5 19.Nxd5 19...Bxf2+ 20.Kxf2 Qf5+ 21.Ke1 21.Nf4? e3+ 22.dxe3 Qxc2-+ 21...Qxd5 22.Rf1 Nf8 22...Qxa2?! 23.Bxe4 Qe6 24.Rf4= 24.Qc3? Nf6-+ 22...b6 23.Qb3 Qxb3 24.axb3 Rb8 23.Qc3! Ne6 24.Rf4 f5 24...Bd7= 25.d3! Nd4? 25...Qxa2 26.Ra1 Qd5 26.e3!+- Qxa2 27.Ra1 Qe6 28.dxe4 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Firouzja,A | 2778 | Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | 1–0 | 2022 | | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.4 |
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Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Aronian beats MVL’s Najdorf
Levon Aronian grabbed his first win of the event by taking down Maxime Vachier-Lagrave out of a Sicilian Najdorf, i.e. MVL’s pet defence against 1.e4. Aronian got to play a surprising novelty on move 16 — yes, Najdorf’s theory is often that deep!
Aronian vs. Vachier-Lagrave
Learn the opening of the masters from one of the world's most popular master trainers! Daniel King shows you a rock-solid and powerful Najdorf repertoire.
16.Rhf1, placing the rook behind a pawn, is the kind of move that is difficult to explain to a novice player (or even a seasoned club player). The more natural 16.Rhe1, placing the rook on the semi-open file, was in fact played only a month ago by Etienne Bacrot at the French Championships in Albi.
Alejandro Ramirez asked Aronian about this move, of course. After all, MVL spent close to a half hour trying to figure out what were the ideas behind such a mysterious manoeuvre. Aronian confessed that he had not found it, and went on to tell the story behind the novelty.
At the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, Aronian was struggling with health issues, but was nonetheless helping US team captain Robert Hess to prepare Caruana’s opening for his white game against Parham Maghsoodloo. Fabiano was likely to face the Najdorf, and it was Hess who came up with the idea.
The novelty certainly gave Aronian an edge on the clock, while its shock value might have as well affected MVL throughout the game. The Frenchman faltered on move 36 in an uncomfortable yet holdable endgame, and went on to lose the game. Vachier-Lagrave is the defending champion in Saint Louis.
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nbd7 11.Qd2 g6 12.0-0-0 Nb6 13.Kb1 Nbxd5 14.Bg5 Be7! 15.Bd3! 15.Bc4 15...Qc7= 16.Rhf1!N 16.Rhe1 Nb6 17.Qf2 0-0 18.h4 Nfd5 19.Bh6 Na4 20.g4 Nac3+ 21.bxc3 Nxc3+ 22.Kb2 Na4+ 23.Kb1 Nc3+ 24.Kb2 Na4+ 16...Nh7 17.Bh6 Nhf6 18.c4 Nb6 19.Bg7 Rg8 19...Rh7!? 20.Bxf6 Bxf6= 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Na5 Kf8 22.Be4 Kg7 22...Nxc4= 23.Nxc4 Qxc4 23.Qxd6 23.Bxb7 Nxc4 24.Nxc4 Qxb7= 23...Rac8 24.Bxb7 24.Qxc7 Rxc7 25.Bxb7 Rb8 26.c5 24...Nxc4 25.Qxc7 Rxc7 26.Nxc4 Rxb7 27.Rfe1 Rgb8 28.b3 Rc7 29.Re4 Rc5 30.Rd7 Rbc8 31.Re1 R8c7 32.Red1 32.Rxc7!± Rxc7 33.Nxe5 32...h4 33.h3 Bg5 34.a4 Bf4! 35.a5 e4 36.R7d4 f5 36...Re7!= 37.fxe4± Kh6 38.exf5 Rxf5 39.Rf1 Rcf7 40.b4 Kh5? 40...Bg5± 41.Rxf5 Rxf5 41.Nd6+- Bxd6 42.Rxf5+ Rxf5 43.Rxd6 Rf4 44.Rb6 g5 44...Kh6 45.Kb2 45.Rxa6 Rxb4+ 46.Kc2 Ra4+- 45...Rf2+ 46.Kb3 Rxg2 45.Rb8 Rf1+ 46.Kb2 Rf2+ 47.Kb3 Rxg2 48.b5 g4 49.Rh8+ 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Aronian,L | 2759 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | 1–0 | 2022 | | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.1 |
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Two good friends — Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Round 6 results
| Name | Rtg. | Nt. | Pts. | | Pts. | | Name | Rtg | Nt. |
---|
| | 2688 | | 2½ | 0-1 | 3 | | | 2771 | |
| | 2792 | | 2½ | ½-½ | 2½ | | | 2758 | |
| | 2778 | | 2 | 1-0 | 1½ | | | 2757 | |
| | 2759 | | 1½ | 1-0 | 2 | | | 2757 | |
Standings after round 6

All games
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e3 0-0 9.Rd1 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Qd3 h6 11.Bh4 Qb6 12.0-0 Rd8 13.Rfd1 Qxb2 14.Rab1 Qa3 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Nxd5 Qxd3 17.Nxf6+ gxf6 18.Rxd3 Bf5 19.Rxd8+ Nxd8 20.Rb2 Rc8 21.h4 Rc1+ 9...Be6 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 Nc6 12.Qa4 Qb6 13.Rd2 Rfd8 14.0-0 Rac8 15.Rfd1 15...Kf8N 15...Qb4 16.Qc2 d4 17.exd4 Bg4 18.Bf5 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Ra8 20.a3 Qb6 21.d5 Ne5 16.Bb5 a6 17.Bxc6 Rxc6 18.Qd4 Rdc8 19.Qd3 g5 20.Bg3 Bb4! 21.Be5 Ne4 22.Rc2 Bxc3 23.Bxc3 Bf5 24.Bd4 24.Qxd5? Rd6 25.Bg7+ Kg8 26.Rxc8+ Bxc8 27.Qxd6 Nxd6-+ 24.Ne5!? R6c7 25.Bd4 25.Qxd5 Nf6 24...Qb5 25.Qa3+ Kg8 26.Rxc6 bxc6 27.Qe7 27.b4= 27...Be6 27...Qe2 28.Rf1 c5 28.b4= a5 29.a3 axb4 29...Qe2!? 30.Rf1 g4= 30.axb4 Qb8 30...Qe2!? 31.Rf1 g4= 31.Be5 Re8 32.Bxb8 32.Nd4!? 32...Rxe7 33.Nd4 Rb7 34.Be5 34.Nxc6 Bd7 35.Ne7+ Kf8 36.Nxd5 Rxb8 34...Bd7 35.f3 f6 36.fxe4 fxe5 37.Nf3 Rxb4 38.exd5 cxd5 39.Rxd5 Bc6 40.Rxe5 Kf7 41.Kf2 Rb2+ 42.Kg3 Re2 43.Rc5 Be4 44.Rc3 Kf6 45.Ra3 h5 46.h4 g4 47.Ra6+ Kg7! 48.Nd4 Rxg2+ 49.Kf4 Bd3 50.Rd6 50...Rf2+ 51.Ke5 Kf7 52.e4 g3! 53.Rd7+ Kg8 53...Kg6 54.Nf5 Rxf5+ 55.exf5+ Bxf5 56.Rd6+ Kf7 57.Kxf5 g2 58.Rd1 54.Rd8+ Rf8 55.Rxf8+ Kxf8 56.Kf4 g2 57.Nf3 Ke7 57...Be2!? 58.Ng1 Bf1= 58.Kg3 Bxe4 59.Kxg2 59.Ng1 Kf6 60.Ne2 Kf5 61.Nd4+ 59...Bxf3+ 60.Kxf3 Kf7 61.Kf4 Kf6 62.Ke4 Ke6 63.Kf4 Kf6 64.Ke4! Ke6 65.Kf4 Kf6 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
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Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | So,W | 2771 | ½–½ | 2022 | D50 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 1.1 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | ½–½ | 2022 | B90 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 1.2 |
Firouzja,A | 2778 | Caruana,F | 2758 | ½–½ | 2022 | A34 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 1.3 |
Niemann,H | 2688 | Aronian,L | 2759 | ½–½ | 2022 | C67 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 1.5 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | Firouzja,A | 2778 | 1–0 | 2022 | E04 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 2.1 |
Niemann,H | 2688 | Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | 1–0 | 2022 | A28 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 2.2 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | So,W | 2771 | ½–½ | 2022 | C67 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 2.4 |
Caruana,F | 2758 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | ½–½ | 2022 | C42 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 2.5 |
So,W | 2771 | Caruana,F | 2758 | 1–0 | 2022 | C42 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 3.2 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | ½–½ | 2022 | B90 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 3.3 |
Firouzja,A | 2778 | Aronian,L | 2759 | 1–0 | 2022 | C50 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 3.4 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | ½–½ | 2022 | D27 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 3.5 |
Caruana,F | 2758 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | 1–0 | 2022 | B90 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 4.1 |
Aronian,L | 2759 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | ½–½ | 2022 | B30 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 4.2 |
Niemann,H | 2688 | Firouzja,A | 2778 | ½–½ | 2022 | C54 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 4.3 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | So,W | 2771 | ½–½ | 2022 | E05 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 4.5 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | Niemann,H | 2688 | ½–½ | 2022 | C54 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 5.1 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | Caruana,F | 2758 | ½–½ | 2022 | D38 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 5.2 |
So,W | 2771 | Aronian,L | 2759 | ½–½ | 2022 | E04 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 5.3 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | ½–½ | 2022 | C43 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 5.4 |
Aronian,L | 2759 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | 1–0 | 2022 | B90 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.1 |
Niemann,H | 2688 | So,W | 2771 | 0–1 | 2022 | C42 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.2 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | Caruana,F | 2758 | ½–½ | 2022 | B45 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.3 |
Firouzja,A | 2778 | Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | 1–0 | 2022 | A20 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 6.4 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | ½–½ | 2022 | E32 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 7.1 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | Firouzja,A | 2778 | ½–½ | 2022 | B90 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 7.2 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | Niemann,H | 2688 | ½–½ | 2022 | D73 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 7.3 |
Caruana,F | 2758 | Aronian,L | 2759 | ½–½ | 2022 | C65 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 7.4 |
Niemann,H | 2688 | Caruana,F | 2758 | 0–1 | 2022 | A21 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 8.1 |
Aronian,L | 2759 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | 0–1 | 2022 | C42 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 8.2 |
Firouzja,A | 2778 | So,W | 2771 | 1–0 | 2022 | C54 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 8.3 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | ½–½ | 2022 | C83 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 8.4 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2757 | Aronian,L | 2759 | ½–½ | 2022 | E35 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 9.1 |
So,W | 2771 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2745 | ½–½ | 2022 | D27 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 9.2 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2792 | Niemann,H | 2688 | ½–½ | 2022 | A21 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 9.3 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2757 | Firouzja,A | 2778 | ½–½ | 2022 | C67 | GCT 9th Sinquefield Cup 2022 | 9.4 |
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