Duda withdraws due to health issues
On Thanksgiving Day in the United States, Polish grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda announced his withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup due to health reasons. Since he had only played one game in the tournament, his draw from round 1 with Anish Giri will be simply taken out of consideration, making this edition of the event a 9-player single round-robin.
Leinier Dominguez, who was supposed to face Duda on Thursday, thus automatically received a free day — and he decided to visit a coffee shop with his famed trainer, Vladimir Chuchelov.
The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical motiA consequence of Duda’s withdrawal will be that only four players will receive points for the FIDE Circuit — according to the regulations, half the field of each eligible tournament grabs points for the circuit. This factor mildly affects Anish Giri, who is the frontrunner in the race to reach the Candidates via this ranking, and now needs to get at least fourth place to improve his score in the leaderboard.
Anish Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Round 3 saw Giri and Wesley So each keeping seven pawns on the board in a completely closed position, which resulted in a 39-move draw. Levon Aronian and Ian Nepomniachtchi, in the meantime, also showed great opening preparation to keep their encounter balanced throughout — and a draw was agreed after 32 moves.
It was not all a display of deep theoretical knowledge, though, as we could count on the creative duo of Richard Rapport and Alireza Firouzja to produce an exciting confrontation.
Rapport ½ - ½ Firouzja
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Most players prefer to attack rather than defend. But what is the correct way to do it? GM Dr Karsten Müller has compiled many rules and motifs to guide you, along with sharpening your intuition for the exceptions.
Richard Rapport | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The game between Rapport and Firouzja featured some good-looking tactical lines, but nonetheless finished before reaching the 40-move mark.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave versus Fabiano Caruana did reach the time control, on the other hand. An endgame with rook against two minor pieces was eventually reached, with Caruana (the side with the rook) showing good technique to keep the balance.
Vachier-Lagrave ½ - ½ Caruana
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
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.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Fabiano Caruana
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