Caruana leads with two round to go

For a third time in the event, all games ended drawn at the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest. This means Fabiano Caruana continues to top the standings with a half-point lead over a chasing trio consisting of Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Alireza Firouzja. In the final two rounds, set to take place on Thursday and Friday, Caruana will face Pragg (with white) and Anish Giri (with black).

The fact that all games ended drawn does not mean there was a lack of fighting spirit in the tournament’s seventh round. Most notably, Giri and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave entered a complicated middlegame out of an English Opening before suddenly agreeing to a draw by threefold repetition, while Caruana and Wesley So failed to make the most of clear winning chances against Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, respectively.

Caruana gobbled up a pawn in a major-piece endgame that was evaluated as drawn by the engines. A mistake by Gukesh, however, gave Caruana a tactical chance which he failed to find with a bit over 2 minutes on his clock (Gukesh had less than a minute at that point).

So, on his part, ably consolidated the position of an advanced central passer before letting his large advantage slip amid a tactical struggle with both kings vulnerable to attacks. Abdusattorov defended resourcefully and was rewarded with an 86-move draw.

Results - Round 7

A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings Vol.1 & 2

This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.

Praggnanandhaa, Anish Giri and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on the stage of the Grand Hotel Bucharest during round 7 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Gukesh ½ - ½ Caruana

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

Draw agreed | Photo: Lennart Ootes

So ½ - ½ Abdusattorov

The handshake | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Opening package: 1.b3 and Black Secrets in the Modern Italian

Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!

A smiling Wesley So... | Photo: Lennart Ootes

...and a smiling Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 7

All games

Links

• Official site
• Fabiano Caruana outright winner at Superbet Chess Classic in Romania (2023)
• Vachier-Lagrave has a brilliant day, wins Superbet Chess Classic (2022)
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins Superbet Chess Classic (2021)