8/24/2024 – By beating Anish Giri with white, Alireza Firouzja became the sole leader going into the rest day of the Sinquefield Cup. Firouzja has collected 3½ points and stands a half point ahead of Wesley So. The latter escaped with a draw after fiercely defending an endgame material down against R. Praggnanandhaa. Sunday's sixth round will see So playing white against Firouzja. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
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A second missed chance for Pragg
Alireza Firouzja became the sole leader at the Sinquefield Cup after beating Anish Giri with the white pieces in round 5. This was Firouzja's second win of the event, as he had defeated Fabiano Caruana on opening day. With 4 rounds to go at the classical tournament in Saint Louis, Firouzja is the favourite to take first place in the yearly Grand Chess Tour standings - the Sinquefield Cup is the last event of the series.
In a crucial game for the standings, Wesley So - currently in sole second place - escaped with a draw in his game with black against R. Praggnanandhaa. Unfortunately for the Indian prodigy, he missed a chance to score a full point for a second day in a row, as he had failed to find the correct king move in a critical ending position against D. Gukesh in round 4. Pragg is 1 of 6 players with a 2½/5 score in the standings.
All three remaining games ended drawn on Friday. Perhaps the most curious position was seen in Ian Nepomniachtchi v. Ding Liren, not because the setup was particularly enticing but because Nepo reached the exact same rook endgame (with opposite colours) that he had lost against So the previous day.
So v. Nepomniachtchi - Round 5
Nepo lost this from the black side...
Nepomniachtchi v. Ding - Round 5
...and then saw Ding defending the same setup successfully in the following round
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.
Opposite-coloured bishops have two faces. Pure opposite-coloured bishop endings have a large drawish tendency, but with more men on the board they favor the attacker like in the middlegame:98.Ke4?The wrong king road.98.Kg2is the right direction due toRa2+98...Bb699.g4Bc7100.Rd4+-98...Be399.f5Bg5100.Rd6+-99.Kh3Rd299...Bg7100.g4Ke2100...Ra3+101.Kh4+-101.Rd3Ra4102.Kg3Rd4103.Rxd4Bxd4104.g5+-100.Rxd4Rxd4101.f5Rd6102.g4Kf2103.Kh4Kf3104.Kg5Rd4105.Bh5+-Ke4106.f6Ke5107.f7Rd8108.Kg6Ke6109.Kg7Ke7110.g5+-98...Bb699.g499.f5
does not win due to99...Rxg3100.Bh5Rg5101.Bf3Kf2102.Rd7Bc5=as even the pawnless endgame rook and bishop against rook is usually drawn.99...Kf2100.f5100.Kf5Kg3101.g5Rf3102.Ke5Bc7+=100...Ra4+101.Ke5Rxg4102.Be8Ke3103.Bc6Rd4104.f6
Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. These DVDs contain all you need to know to play the King's Gambit.
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos 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.
2nd Move Anti-Sicilian Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12090 games from Mega 2025 or the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 874 are annotated.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
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