Sinquefield Cup: Firouzja takes down Caruana

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 18^th move, which was an inaccuracy.

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

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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 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, Fabiano2793

0–1

Firouzja, 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

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Fabiano Caruana resigns the game | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 1

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Links

• Grand Chess Tour website
• Carlsen astonishes: 10 wins in a row grant him Superbet Poland triumph
• Caruana scores 3/3 in rapid playoff, wins Superbet Chess Classic
• Unstoppable Caruana dominates SuperUnited Croatia
• With two rounds to spare: Firouzja bags Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz