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Out of the 5 games played in the penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup, 3 featured draws lasting fewer than 30 moves. The remaining 2 encounters also finished drawn, though Wesley So v. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lasted 48 moves and Ian Nepomniachtchi v. Alireza Firouzja lasted 80 moves. In both cases, the evaluation remained close to equal throughout.
The round of draws kept the status quo in the standings - i.e. Firouzja still has a 1-point lead over Fabiano Caruana in the standings. The Iranian-born grandmaster thus only needs a draw in his Wednesday game with white against R. Praggnanandhaa to win the single round-robin. If Pragg manages a win, Caruana would need to beat Anish Giri (also with white) to catch Firouzja in the final standings and set up a rapid playoff.
These results also granted Firouzja overall victory in the Grand Chess Tour series, as he will at least finish tied for first place, and that is enough to outscore second-placed Caruana in the yearly standings. Firouzja and Caruana are the two latest winners of the Tour, and both players had grabbed the title after obtaining back-to-back victories in the Saint Louis events -i.e. if Firouzja wins the Sinquefield Cup, we will see the winner of the GCT ending the series with consecutive tournament victories for a third year in a row.
Out of the 10 Sinquefield Cup participants, 8 will be playing at the upcoming Chess Olympiad. Only Nepomniachtchi, who has not transferred from the Russian Chess Federation (which is banned from participating in official team events), and Firouzja will be missing.
Round 8 results
Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
The ever-fighting R. Praggnanandhaa will be Alireza Firouzja's round-9 opponent | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Out of a Four Knights Opening in which the players entered a line akin to the Scotch Opening, Firouzja did not shy away from going for the initiative with an exchange sacrifice on move 15.
The 15...Rxe3 sacrifice is often seen in these structures, as Black attempts to gain the initiative on the dark squares while making the most of his bishop pair.
Nepo was excellently prepared, though, and continued to blitz out his moves while dealing with his opponent's threats. He eventually gave back the exchange to enter a line which led to simplifications that left him in a favourable endgame.
There followed 23.Nxg6 hxg6 24.Bxf7+ Kh7 25.Qc3 Qg3 26.Rf1 Nd5 27.Bxd5 Rxd5 reaching a major-piece endgame in which White is a pawn up.
Power Play 27: The King's Gambit
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. This DVD contains all you need to know to tackle your opponent.
Black's active pieces grant him enough compensation in this endgame. Nepo kept looking for chances until move 80, though, when a draw by threefold repetition was finally agreed.
Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: Lennart Ootes
