8/11/2026 – Fabiano Caruana was the only winner in the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup, defeating Jorden van Foreest to take the early sole lead in Saint Louis. The remaining four games were drawn, though Javokhir Sindarov missed chances to convert a favourable endgame against Levon Aronian. | Photo: Austin Fuller / Grand Chess Tour
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Caruana scores, Aronian escapes
Fabiano Caruana emerged as the sole leader after the opening round of the Sinquefield Cup, defeating Jorden van Foreest with white while the other four games finished drawn.
The tournament, which carries a $475,000 prize fund, is also the final event of the Grand Chess Tour before the season-ending Finals, also set to take place in Saint Louis. The four qualifiers for that event will be confirmed by the result of the ten-player single round-robin.
Round 1 results
Among the drawn encounters, Javokhir Sindarov came closest to joining Caruana in the lead. Facing Levon Aronian, the World Championship challenger reached an opposite-coloured bishop endgame with rooks still on the board and established a sizeable advantage.
Sindarov was two pawns ahead at one stage and believed the position should be winning (as he later told Maurice Ashley in the post-game interview).
Commentators, including GMs Peter Svidler and Yasser Seirawan, pointed out that 32.f3?! by Sindarov was a crucial mistake while he tried to convert his two-pawn advantage. The pawn push allowed Black to gain a couple of key tempi with 32...Be6 33.Re4 Bd5. Aronian continued showing good defensive technique until obtaining what might turn out to be a very valuable half point.
The Leningrad Dutch Defence is a dynamic and aggressive opening choice for Black, perfect for players who want to add some adventure and spice to their repertoire.
Video produced by the Saint Louis Chess Club
Javokhir Sindarov facing Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The round's only decisive game followed a theoretical variation of the Italian, an opening often seen in elite classical tournaments. Caruana and Van Foreest moved quickly through the early stages before the American adopted an unusual-looking arrangement in which his queen sat on f1, boxed in behind rooks on e1 and e2.
Caruana used more time than his opponent in the early middlegame, but the balance on the clock shifted when Van Foreest was forced into a lengthy think on move 18, spending close to 15 minutes from the roughly 50 he had remaining.
A knight move by the Dutchman soon after, on move 20, proved inaccurate and allowed Caruana to take control. He gained a pawn a bit later and steadily increased the pressure thereafter. Van Foreest resisted, but Caruana converted the extra material with precise technique to secure victory after 55 moves.
Round two will see Caruana take the black pieces against Anish Giri. Van Foreest, meanwhile, will have Black for a second consecutive round when he faces Wesley So on Tuesday.
The recent winner of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz event, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, turned 21 years old on Monday | Photo: Lennart Ootes
This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas. Looking for an opening that gets your opponents thinking on move one? Grandmaster Andy Woodward has relied on 1.b3 for years in blitz and bullet, using it to defeat strong masters and grandmasters who underestimated its hidden venom. While many players dismiss the opening as harmless, they often find themselves caught in unfamiliar positions, tactical traps, and uncomfortable middlegames. This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas that matter most when the clock is ticking.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: King's Indian Setup
Happy birthday, Pragg! | Photo: Lennart Ootes
What it takes to produce a top-notch online broadcast experience | Photo: Austin Fuller
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.
8/11/2026 – The Sinquefield Cup is taking place on 10-20 August at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It is a 10-player single round-robin with a classical time control. Besides battling for a share of the $475,000 prize fund, players battle to get one of the four spots in the upcoming Grand Chess Tour Finals. Follow the games live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes
6/5/2026 – The 14th edition of the Norway Chess super-tournament is taking place from 25 May to 5 June at Deichman Bjorvika in Oslo. An open event and a women's event are being played concurrently with an identical number of players, the same format and an equivalent prize fund. Wesley So, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Alireza Firouzja enter the final round with chances to take the title. Key pairings: Firouzja v. So and Pragg v. Keymer. | Follow the games live starting at 17.00 CEST (11.00 ET, 20.30 IST) | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
What to do against the Pirc? Many players find it difficult to play against Black’s set-up. Try the Austrian Attack! It is a solid but dangerous weapon and guarantees White an effective attack from the very start! Learn the key tricks of this deadly line and crush the Pirc with ease!
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
The major part of the material on which the Petroff Defence Powerbook 2026 is based comes from the engine room of playchess.com: 357 000 games. This imposing number is supplemented by another 17 000 from Mega and from correspondence chess.
Petroff Defence Powerbase 2026 is a database which contains 6475 high class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 682 annotated.
Videos: Felix Blohberger presents the surprise weapon 4…a6 in the Four Knights Game. Mihail Marin analyses the English Opening with 1.c4 e5 2.g3 g6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bg2 Nc6. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 37 analyses by Berg, Radjabov and others.
Renowned for its solidity and strategic soundness, it has been a cornerstone of the repertoires of elite grandmasters including Fabiano Caruana and Ian Nepomniachtchi, who relied on it successfully in the Candidates Tournament.
The Benko Gambit is back at the very highest level - and it's easy to see why. Black sacrifices a pawn to seize the initiative on the queenside, obtaining long-lasting pressure, active pieces and open files that make life difficult for White.
The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon is fast, from the very first moves, your bishop heads to g7, seizes the long diagonal, and turns into the most feared piece on the board.
It rewards players who love initiative and clear attacking plans.
€39.90
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