Sinquefield Cup: Ding and Gukesh to face off in first round

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/18/2024 – The final stage of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour, the Sinquefield Cup, will take place on 19-29 August in Saint Louis. Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana will be fighting for first place not only in the classical round-robin but also in the GCT overall standings. Meanwhile, chess enthusiasts will follow the performances of Ding Liren and D Gukesh closely, as they are set to play the World Championship match in Singapore in three months' time. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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A prelude to the World Championship match

Just three days after Alireza Firouzja convincingly won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, the final stage of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour will kick off in the chess capital of the United States. The Sinquefield Cup will decide the winner of the yearly series. All 9 'tour regulars' will be joined by world champion Ding Liren at the Saint Louis Chess Club for a single round-robin event with a classical time control.

Among the 'tour regulars' is D Gukesh, the 18-year-old who stunned the chess world by winning the Candidates Tournament earlier this year. The Indian star thus gained the right to challenge Ding Liren in the upcoming match for the World Championship. If Gukesh beats his Chinese colleague, he will become the youngest-ever world champion in chess history, a record currently held by Garry Kasparov, who gained the title at the age of 22 back in 1985.

As per the drawing of lots, the contenders of the match will face off in the very first round, and Ding will get the white pieces. A bit over 3 months after their game in Saint Louis, on 23 November, Ding and Gukesh will meet again at the Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, where a 14-game confrontation will decide who will hold the crown of world champion for the next two years or so.

Besides the prelude of the match, the Sinquefield Cup will also see Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana fighting to finish first at the 2024 Grand Chess Tour - and get a $100,000 bonus prize. Firouzja grabbed the lead in the standings after his victory last week, but Caruana stands less than 4 points behind him in second place. Wesley So still has a theoretical - yet very slim - chance of winning the series.

Sinquefield Cup participants

Sinquefield Chess Cup 2024

Grand Chess Tour standings

Grand Chess Tour 2024

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Topics: Sinquefield Cup 2024
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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