Sinquefield Cup: Firouzja takes down Caruana

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/20/2024 – The two most anticipated matchups of the Sinquefield Cup were seen in the very first round of the event. The duel between World Championship contenders Ding Liren and D Gukesh ended drawn after Ding went for a trying line with the white pieces only to see Gukesh defending the position accurately. Meanwhile, the two frontrunners in the Grand Chess Tour standings, Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja, played a tense, 85-move game. Firouzja ended up prevailing with the black pieces. | Photo: Crystal Fuller

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Ding attempts to surprise Gukesh

After signing a 28-move draw with white against D Gukesh, world champion Ding Liren confessed in the post-game interview with Cristian Chirila:

I wanted to surprise Gukesh in the opening and, in the meantime, save my preparation.

The line played by Ding from the white side of an Italian Opening granted him the initiative and a considerable advantage on the clock. Gukesh spent over 20 minutes before playing his 18th move, which was an inaccuracy.

Ding v. Gukesh

Better than 18...d4 would have been 18...Kh8, preventing 19.Qh6, as played in the game. However, after 19...g6, Ding failed to find the most trying continuation - the Chinese GM played 20.Bd3, when 20.Re1, threatening to transfer the rook to the h-file, was stronger.

Gukesh further pushed his central pawns with 20...c4 21.Be4 d3

Black's central pawns look truly disturbing for White, so Ding understandably chose to force a perpetual check with 22.Bxg6 fxg6 23.Rxg6+ hxg6 24.Qxg6+ Kh8 25.Qh6+, etcetera.

It was an interesting theoretical battle which served as a prelude to the match for the World Championship, set to start in November in Singapore.

Gukesh, Ding Liren

Gukesh and Ding Liren will play the much anticipated 14-game match three months from now | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Firouzja scores crucial win

Ding v. Gukesh was one of four draws in the first round of the Sinquefield Cup. Wesley So and Anish Giri played an interesting 41-move battle in a Benoni structure, while Praggnanandhaa failed to find an accurate move which would have granted him a dangerous kingside attack against Nodirbek Abdusattorov out of a Sicilian Defence.

Once all the draws had been signed, though, Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja were still dealing with a tense position in their key encounter. Firouzja and Caruana are the frontrunners in the Grand Chess Tour overall standings.

Caruana played an interesting pawn sacrifice in the opening, but it was Firouzja who prevailed in the end. There was no lack of evaluation swings in the 85-move encounter.

Caruana, Fabiano27930–1Firouzja, Alireza2751
GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 2024
Saint Louis19.08.2024[CC]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.b4 Bb6 7.a4 a5 8.b5 Ne7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.d4 Not the most popular choice in this line. Caruana showed here and soon after that he was fully prepared to play this variation. The main line goes 11.Bb3 c6 12.Nc4 Bc7 13.Re1 Re8 14.Bg5 11...Bg4 12.Qc2 Qd7 13.Re1 Rfe8 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Nxf3 exd4 16.Bb2
Caruana plays this novelty instantly, giving up a pawn to get the more active pieces. 16...dxc3 Firouzja grabs the pawn after spending 17 minutes. Caruana had more than 2 hours on his clock still. 17.Bxc3 Ne5 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.Rad1 Qe7 20.Rd3 Red8 21.Rf3 Rd7 22.Rf5 Only at this point did Caruana take his time (in the previous two moves, actually). He needs to be precise to make the most of his initiative, as he is material down. Also playable is 22.g4 h6 23.Kg2 Bd4 24.Bd2 22...Bd4 23.Bd2 c6 24.bxc6 bxc6 25.Bg5 Rb8 26.Bxf6 gxf6 White has permanently weakened Black's kingside. Importantly, the black bishop on d4 is disconnected from the defence of the king. On his part, Black can create active plans on the queenside. 27.Qc1 Rb4 28.Bf1 Caruana misses a chance to put more pressure on his opponent. Stronger is 28.Qh6 Rxc4 29.Rf3 White is threatening checkmate, thus the following line is forced: Rc3 30.Ree3
30...Rxe3 31.fxe3 Kh8 32.exd4 and now Black must defend with Rd8 Not 32...Rxd4 33.Rg3 and checkmate cannot be prevented.
28...Rd6 29.Qh6 Qf8 30.Qh5 Black has dealt with the most obvious threats, but still needs to be careful going forward. Qg7 31.Kh2 Qg6 32.Qf3 c5 33.Rc1 Rb2 34.Qd1 Better is 34.Qd3 indirectly defending the f2-pawn due to the pin along the d-file. 34...Rdb6 35.Be2 Qh6 36.Bb5 White blocks the b-file, and the manoeuvring battle continues, with a rather static structure on the board. Kf8 37.Rc2 Rb4 38.Qd3 Rd6 39.Bc4 Ke7 40.Qg3 Rd8 41.Qf3 Qg6 42.Qe2 Rdb8 43.Bb5 Rd8 44.Qf3 Rd6 45.g3 Qg8 46.Kg2 Rb6 47.h4 Rd6 48.Qe2 Rb6 49.Kh3 Qc8 50.Kg2 Qg8 51.Kh3 Qc8 52.Qg4 Caruana has made some progress, but he is still a pawn down. Rb8 53.Bc4 Qg8 54.Qe2 R8b6 55.Bd5 Rd6 56.Rc4 Qc8 57.Qg4 Qd7 58.Qg7 Kd8 This is a mistake. Firouzja had less than 1 minute on his clock at this point - the time control in the Sinquefield Cup is 120 minutes for the game plus 30-second increments from move 1 (i.e. no extra time after moves 40 or 60). 59.Bxf7 Caruana fails to find the winning idea. Strong is 59.Rc2 defending the f2-pawn, and Black cannot defend f7 anyway - this move simply prevents Firouzja from getting counterplay. E.g.: Kc7 60.Kg2 Rxa4 61.h5 Ra1 62.Rxf6 Rxf6 63.Qxf6 59...Kc7 60.Qg8 Bxf2 61.Qa8
Another error by Caruana, apparently based on a miscalculation. Correct is 61.Rxb4 and after axb4 62.Bc4 Be3 the battle continues. 61...Qxf7 62.Rxb4 cxb4 63.Rxf2 Perhaps Caruana had foreseen that he had Qa8-a7+, failing to notice that the bishop on f2 defends the a7-square. Thus, he is forced to enter a major-piece endgame which is favourable for Black. Qd7+ 64.Kh2 Kb6 65.Qb8+ Ka6 66.Qa8+ Qa7 67.Qc8+ Qb7 68.Qc4+ Ka7 69.Rc2 Qd7 70.Qc5+ Ka6 71.Qf2 A crucial mistake, allowing Black to push the b-pawn. Better is to keep the queen on the c-file via: 71.h5 h6 72.Qc4+ and Black still needs to find a way to break through. 71...b3 72.Rb2 Qxa4 73.Qf3 Rb6 Black is clearly winning with his connected passers. 74.Qd3+ Ka7 75.Qd5 Qa3 76.Qd2 Qb4 77.Qd8 a4 78.Rd2 b2
A huge misstep by Firouzja. The position is now objectively drawn - though Caruana needs to find the precise path to equality. 79.Rd7+ Rb7 80.Rxb7+ The decisive mistake by Caruana. What the US grandmaster failed to find is 80.Rd5 perfectly coordinating his queen and rook by threatening a deadly check from a5, e.g.: b1Q 81.Ra5+ Qxa5 82.Qxa5+ Kb8 83.Qd8+ with a perpetual check. 80...Kxb7 81.Qd7+ Kb6
The black king will escape the checks and the b-pawn will win the game for Firouzja. 82.Qd8+ Kb5 83.Qd5+ Qc5 84.Qb7+ Qb6 85.Qd5+ Kb4
0–1

Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja

Fabiano Caruana resigns the game | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 1

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TBPerf.
1
2751
1.0
1
0.00
3593
2
2767
0.5
1
0.25
2721
3
2766
0.5
1
0.25
2745
4
2762
0.5
1
0.25
2749
5
2751
0.5
1
0.25
2746
6
2749
0.5
1
0.25
2762
7
2746
0.5
1
0.25
2751
8
2745
0.5
1
0.25
2766
9
2721
0.5
1
0.25
2767
10
2793
0.0
1
0.00
1951
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

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1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 0 Nc6 0 3.Bc4 0 Nf6 0 4.d3 0 Bc5 0 5.c3 0 d6 0 6.b4 0 Bb6 0 7.a4 0 a5 0 8.b5 0 Ne7 0 9.0-0 0 0-0 0 10.Nbd2 0 Ng6 0 11.d4 0 Bg4 0 12.Qc2 0 Qd7 0 13.Re1 0 Rfe8 0 14.h3 0 Bxf3 0 15.Nxf3 0 exd4 0 16.Bb2 0 dxc3 14:53 17.Bxc3 0 Ne5 2:23 18.Nxe5 0 dxe5 1:24 19.Rad1 0 Qe7 19 20.Rd3 0 Red8 11:57 21.Rf3 1:49 Rd7 11:11 22.Rf5 29:13 Bd4 1:08 23.Bd2 5 c6 10:28 24.bxc6 16:34 bxc6 1:09 25.Bg5 10 Rb8 22:23 26.Bxf6 8:01 gxf6 9 27.Qc1 7:23 Rb4 9:19 28.Bf1 8:14 Rd6 4:24 29.Qh6 5:46 Qf8 3:07 30.Qh5 4:29 Qg7 3:33 31.Kh2 3:12 Qg6 1:10 32.Qf3 2:25 c5 2:04 33.Rc1 2:02 Rb2 46 34.Qd1 5:47 Rdb6 3:23 35.Be2 3:54 Qh6 51 36.Bb5 1:18 Kf8 49 37.Rc2 32 Rb4 51 38.Qd3 1:44 Rd6 25 39.Bc4 1:17 Ke7 35 40.Qg3 56 Rd8 41 41.Qf3 30:28 Qg6 30:43 42.Qe2 53 Rdb8 32 43.Bb5 12 Rd8 22 44.Qf3 1:06 Rd6 36 45.g3 28 Qg8 25 46.Kg2 15 Rb6 37 47.h4 34 Rd6 28 48.Qe2 11 Rb6 22 49.Kh3 1:47 Qc8 18 50.Kg2 38 Qg8 38 51.Kh3 36 Qc8 4 52.Qg4 10 Rb8 57 53.Bc4 9 Qg8 41 54.Qe2 43 R8b6 33 55.Bd5 40 Rd6 25 56.Rc4 42 Qc8 35 57.Qg4 17 Qd7 27 58.Qg7 19 Kd8 49 59.Bxf7 39 Kc7 19 60.Qg8 38 Bxf2 41 61.Qa8 59 Qxf7 18 62.Rxb4 1:25 cxb4 5 63.Rxf2 4 Qd7+ 14 64.Kh2 46 Kb6 20 65.Qb8+ 2:29 Ka6 4 66.Qa8+ 2 Qa7 25 67.Qc8+ 3 Qb7 8 68.Qc4+ 16 Ka7 11 69.Rc2 5 Qd7 18 70.Qc5+ 2:33 Ka6 7 71.Qf2 2 b3 1:20 72.Rb2 55 Qxa4 7 73.Qf3 29 Rb6 20 74.Qd3+ 8 Ka7 1:20 75.Qd5 3 Qa3 1:13 76.Qd2 23 Qb4 27 77.Qd8 24 a4 1:14 78.Rd2 5 b2 42 79.Rd7+ 17 Rb7 33 80.Rxb7+ 4 Kxb7 5 81.Qd7+ 27 Kb6 11 82.Qd8+ 18 Kb5 4 83.Qd5+ 1:04 Qc5 9 84.Qb7+ 34 Qb6 7 85.Qd5+ 7 Kb4 13 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2793Firouzja,A27510–12024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20241.1
Praggnanandhaa R2749Abdusattorov,N2762½–½2024C42GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20241.2
Nepomniachtchi,I2767Vachier-Lagrave,M2721½–½2024C56GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20241.3
Ding,L2745Gukesh D2766½–½2024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20241.4
So,W2751Giri,A2746½–½2024A14GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20241.5
Giri,A2746Ding,L2745½–½2024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20242.1
Gukesh D2766Nepomniachtchi,I2767½–½2024E04GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20242.2
Abdusattorov,N2762Firouzja,A2751½–½2024C65GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20242.3
So,W2751Caruana,F2793½–½2024E51GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20242.4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2721Praggnanandhaa R2749½–½2024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20242.5
Praggnanandhaa R2749Gukesh D2766½–½2024E11GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20243.1
Firouzja,A2751Vachier-Lagrave,M2721½–½2024D02GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20243.2
Ding,L2745So,W2751½–½2024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20243.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2767Giri,A27461–02024E28GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20243.4
Caruana,F2793Abdusattorov,N27621–02024C55GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20243.5
So,W2751Nepomniachtchi,I27671–02024A13GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20244.1
Ding,L2745Caruana,F2793½–½2024D38GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20244.2
Giri,A2746Praggnanandhaa R2749½–½2024A29GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20244.3
Vachier-Lagrave,M2721Abdusattorov,N2762½–½2024C70GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20244.4
Gukesh D2766Firouzja,A2751½–½2024C67GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20244.5
Caruana,F2793Vachier-Lagrave,M2721½–½2024B90GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20245.1
Firouzja,A2751Giri,A27461–02024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20245.2
Abdusattorov,N2762Gukesh D2766½–½2024C84GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20245.3
Praggnanandhaa R2749So,W2751½–½2024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20245.4
Nepomniachtchi,I2767Ding,L2745½–½2024C88GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20245.5
Ding,L2745Praggnanandhaa R2749½–½2024E94GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20246.1
Gukesh D2766Vachier-Lagrave,M2721½–½2024B90GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20246.2
So,W2751Firouzja,A2751½–½2024D91GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20246.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2767Caruana,F27930–12024B76GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20246.4
Giri,A2746Abdusattorov,N2762½–½2024A24GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20246.5
Vachier-Lagrave,M2721Giri,A2746½–½2024C67GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20247.1
Abdusattorov,N2762So,W27511–02024E42GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20247.2
Praggnanandhaa R2749Nepomniachtchi,I2767½–½2024C42GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20247.3
Firouzja,A2751Ding,L27451–02024C54GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20247.4
Caruana,F2793Gukesh D2766½–½2024C55GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20247.5
Ding,L2745Abdusattorov,N2762½–½2024E60GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20248.1
Praggnanandhaa R2749Caruana,F2793½–½2024A29GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20248.2
So,W2751Vachier-Lagrave,M2721½–½2024D06GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20248.3
Giri,A2746Gukesh D2766½–½2024C77GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20248.4
Nepomniachtchi,I2767Firouzja,A2751½–½2024C47GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20248.5
Gukesh D2766So,W2751½–½2024E21GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20249.1
Abdusattorov,N2762Nepomniachtchi,I27671–02024D95GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20249.2
Caruana,F2793Giri,A27461–02024A14GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20249.3
Firouzja,A2751Praggnanandhaa R2749½–½2024C12GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20249.4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2721Ding,L27451–02024C77GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 20249.5

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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