8/26/2024 – Alireza Firouzja is still the sole leader after round 6 of the Sinquefield Cup. Sharing second place are Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana, as the latter joined his compatriot in the chasing pack after beating Ian Nepomniachtchi with black on Sunday. Caruana took advantage of a perplexing mistake by Nepo, who played a game-losing blunder on move 18 out of a Sicilian Dragon. All remaining games finished drawn, though D. Gukesh and especially Anish Giri were close to getting full points. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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A Dragon slip-up
Earlier this year, Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi played one of the most dramatic and consequential chess games of the current World Championship cycle. In the final round of the Candidates, Caruana failed to convert his advantage into the win that would have gained him the right to face D. Gukesh in a rapid tiebreaker to decide the winner of the all-important event - the game lasted 109 moves. Once the draw had been agreed, Nepo told Caruana, "I'm very sorry", to which the American replied, "My fault".
Now, in round 6 of the Sinquefield Cup, Nepo made a baffling mistake out of a Sicilian Dragon, allowing Caruana to play a couple of good-looking sacrifices to get a devastating attack. Nepo could not believe what he had just done, as demonstrated by his gestures in the clip shared by Olimpiu Di Luppi on X.
Ian Nepomniachtchi after Fabiano Caruana's 18...Nxe4!! in the sixth round of the Sinquefield Cup, a Sicilian Dragon. pic.twitter.com/l03JhA2b6v
Only 7 moves after the blunder, Nepo resigned the game. This was Caruana's second win of the event. The US star is now sharing second place with Wesley So, a half point behind sole leader Alireza Firouzja, who safely held So to a draw with the black pieces on Sunday.
Much later in the day, Anish Giri and Gukesh kept trying to convert advantages into wins in their games against Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave respectively. In the end, both encounters finished drawn.
There are 3 more rounds to go in the all-play-all tournament. Firouzja will play white against world champion Ding Liren - who has so far drawn all his games - in Monday's seventh 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.
Wesley So happily posing for photos with chess fans on a beautiful sunny day in Saint Louis | Photo: Lennart Ootes
GCT 11th Sinquefield Cup 2024 Saint Louis25.08.2024[CC]
1.e4c52.Nf3g6Entering an accelerated version of the Dragon Sicilian.
While Caruana never plays this system, the likes of Dubov and Andreikin often
try this move in their games with black.2...d63.Bb5+Nd74.0-0a65.Be2Ngf6was seen in Firouzja v. Caruana earlier this year.3.d4cxd44.Nxd4Bg75.Nc3Nc66.Be3Nf67.Bc40-08.Bb3d69.f3
This whole line is
standard theory.9...Qa5The main variation here goes9...Bd710.Qd2Rc811.0-0-0Ne512.h4with typical opposite-side castling play in the Sicilian.10.Qd3An uncommon continuation, played instantly by Nepo.Ne511.Qd2Bd712.0-0-0Rfc813.Kb1Nc414.Bxc4Rxc415.g4Be616.Nb3Qa617.Bd4Rac8
White has begun the typical expansion on the kingside, while Black attempts to
create counterplay with his bishops, rooks and queen on the opposite flank.18.g5And here comes the bewildering mistake!18.Qe3would prevent Black
from playing the sacrifice seen in the game, and e.g.:b519.g5(now this
is not a mistake!)Nd7and the battle continues.Not19...Nxe420.fxe4Bxd4and the rook can capture first, unlike what happened in the game:21.Rxd418...Nxe4
19.fxe4Bxd420.Nxd4Rxc3The killer idea! A
topical exchange sacrifice in the Sicilian.21.a321.bxc3Qxa2+22.Kc1Qa1#Also losing is21.Nxe6Rxc222.Qxc2Rxc223.Kxc2Qc4+24.Kd2Qxe621...Qc422.b3Qc523.Rc1Qxa324.h4R8c5Black has all his firepower
ready for the final onslaught.25.Rcf1
At this point, Fabiano Caruana had it all figured out - Ian Nepomniachtchi is probably trying to deal with negative emotions before the game inevitably ends with a win for his opponent | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Right roads. Even in the endgame a direct attack against the king can be a topic:39...g5Black's counterplay arrives just in time.40.a4h541.a5g442.hxg4?!42.a6!?was a better try, but Black can hold, e.g.f343.gxf3gxf344.Nc3Rf2+45.Kg1Rg2+46.Kh1Bf247.Rf1Bd448.Rxf3Rxc249.Rf8+Kg750.Rc8Rxb251.a7Bxa752.Rc7+Kf653.Rxa7Rb354.Nd1Rxh3+55.Kg2Rd356.Nf2Rc357.Rh7Kg658.Re7Kf659.Rd7c560.Rd6+Kg561.Re6c462.Rxe5+Kf463.Rf5+63.Rxh5Rb3=63...Ke364.Rf3+Kd465.Rxc3Kxc3=42...hxg443.a6Now an amazing pawn race arises.f344.gxf3gxf345.Nc3Rh246.Kg1Bg347.a7f2+48.Kf1Rh1+49.Kg2Rxc150.a8Q+Kg751.Qb7+Kg652.Qxc6+Kg553.Qc4!The right retreat.53.Qb5?Rg1+54.Kh3Bf4-+53...Rg1+54.Kh3!The right king road to the right.54.Kf3?is met byKh4-+54...f1Q+Now54...Bf4can be met by55.Qg8+Kh656.Qh8+Kg657.Qg8+=55.Qxf1Rxf156.Kxg3Rc157.Kf3Rxc258.Nd1Rd259.Nf2!
The right knight road.59.Ne3?Rxb260.Nd5Rb3+61.Kf2Ra362.Ke2Kg463.Kf2Ra164.Ke2Kg365.Nc3Kf466.Kd3Ra3-+59...Rxb260.Nd3White has a fortress.Of course not60.Kg3??Rb3+61.Kg2Kf4-+60...Rb561.Ke3Kg462.Ke2Ra563.Ke3Ra364.Ke2Rxd365.Kxd3Kf366.Kd2Kxe467.Ke2White draws by opposition.Kd468.Kd2e469.Ke2e370.Ke1!
In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.
Dommaraju Gukesh on his way to the Saint Louis Chess Club next to second Grzegorz Gajewski | Photo: Lennart Ootes
In Calculation Training – Sharpen Your Game! a total of 73 examples have been selected, the vast majority containing multiple questions, and more than 160 questions of varying difficulty.
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.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
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In this dynamic and practical video course, IM Andrew Martin arms you with powerful antidotes to White’s most annoying sidelines.
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