Sinquefield Cup: Firouzja grabs sole lead, So escapes against Pragg

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
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

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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

Rook endgames are (almost) always drawn.

Round 5 results

NameRtg.Nt.Pts.Pts.NameRtgNt.
2749
2
½-½
2751
2793
2
½-½
2
2721
2767
2
½-½
2
2745
2751
1-0
2746
2762
½-½
2
2766

Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren

The contenders of the 2023 World Championship match | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Praggnanandhaa ½ - ½ So

Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Praggnanandhaa R2749½–½So, Wesley2751
GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 2024
Saint Louis23.08.2024[Mueller,Karsten]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a5 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.0-0 g5 10.Bg3 0-0 11.a3 Nh7 12.Kh1 h5 13.h4 Bg4 14.hxg5 Ne7 15.Qe1 Ng6 16.d4 Re8 17.Qe3 Kg7 18.Rae1 Qe7 19.Nh2 h4 20.Nxg4 hxg3 21.Nf3 Rh8 22.Kg1 exd4 23.cxd4 Ne5 24.Ngxe5 dxe5 25.Nxe5 Nxg5 26.Qxg3 Raf8 27.Rd1 f6 28.Nf3 Rh5 29.Nxg5 fxg5 30.Qe5+ Qxe5 31.dxe5 g4 32.Rd7+ Kh6 33.g3 Rxe5 34.Rxc7 Rxe4 35.Rxb7 Bc5 36.Bf7 Re2 37.Kg2 Bd4 38.Rd7 Rd2 39.b4 axb4 40.axb4 Rb8 41.b5 Kg5 42.Rd5+ Kf6 43.Bh5 Ke6 44.Rg5 Kf6 45.Rg6+ Kf5 46.Rxg4 Rxb5 47.Rf4+ Kg5 48.Bg4 Rb3 49.Kh3 Rbb2 50.Rf5+ Kg6 51.Kg2 Rb6 52.Rd5 Rbb2 53.Be2 Kf6 54.Re1 Ra2 55.Kf3 Kg6 56.Rd6+ Kg7 57.Rd7+ Kf6 58.Bc4 Ra5 59.Kg4 Rg5+ 60.Kh4 Re5 61.Rxe5 Kxe5 62.f4+ Kf5 63.Kh3 Bc3 64.Rf7+ Ke4 65.Kg4 Rg2 66.Rd7 Rg1 67.Rd3 Be1 68.Rb3 Kd4 69.Ba6 Bf2 70.Rf3 Be1 71.Bb7 Rh1 72.Kf5 Rh5+ 73.Kg4 Rh7 74.Ba6 Rg7+ 75.Kh3 Ke4 76.Kg2 Rd7 77.Rf1 Bd2 78.Rb1 Re7 79.Rb3 Rc7 80.Rb5 Re7 81.Bc8 Be1 82.Rb1 Bd2 83.Ra1 Rc7 84.Ra4+ Ke3 85.Bf5 Ke2 86.Re4+ Be3 87.Re8 Rc3 88.Bg6 Kd2 89.Rd8+ Ke1 90.Bd3 Kd2 91.Bb5+ Ke1 92.Bd3 Kd2 93.Bf5+ Ke1 94.Bg6 Ra3 95.Rd6 Bc5 96.Rd5 Be3 97.Kf3 Bd4+
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.Kg2 is the right direction due to Ra2+ 98...Bb6 99.g4 Bc7 100.Rd4+- 98...Be3 99.f5 Bg5 100.Rd6+- 99.Kh3 Rd2 99...Bg7 100.g4 Ke2 100...Ra3+ 101.Kh4+- 101.Rd3 Ra4 102.Kg3 Rd4 103.Rxd4 Bxd4 104.g5+- 100.Rxd4 Rxd4 101.f5 Rd6 102.g4 Kf2 103.Kh4 Kf3 104.Kg5 Rd4 105.Bh5+- Ke4 106.f6 Ke5 107.f7 Rd8 108.Kg6 Ke6 109.Kg7 Ke7 110.g5+- 98...Bb6 99.g4 99.f5
does not win due to 99...Rxg3 100.Bh5 Rg5 101.Bf3 Kf2 102.Rd7 Bc5= as even the pawnless endgame rook and bishop against rook is usually drawn.
99...Kf2 100.f5 100.Kf5 Kg3 101.g5 Rf3 102.Ke5 Bc7+= 100...Ra4+ 101.Ke5 Rxg4 102.Be8 Ke3 103.Bc6 Rd4 104.f6
104...Rxd5+ 105.Kxd5 Bd8 106.f7 Be7 107.f8B Bxf8
½–½

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Wesley So

Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes


Expert analysis by GM Daniel King


Standings after round 5

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TBPerf.
1
2751
3.5
5
7.50
2907
2
2751
3.0
5
7.00
2832
3
2766
2.5
5
6.50
2755
4
2721
2.5
5
6.50
2764
5
2793
2.5
5
6.00
2746
6
2745
2.5
5
6.00
2765
7
2749
2.5
5
5.75
2749
8
2767
2.5
5
5.25
2746
9
2762
2.0
5
5.50
2684
10
2746
1.5
5
4.00
2604
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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