Sinquefield Cup, Rounds 8 & 9, and the Playoff
Firouzja leapfrogs So, then wins in a playoff. (And wins the GCT as well.)
Alireza Firouzja had two very good days, finishing a fantastic few weeks in St. Louis. As you may recall, he first won the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz by a dominating margin several weeks ago, and now he won the Sinquefield Cup as well - and with it, took place in the Grand Chess Tour. While he’d probably trade his St. Louis successes for a victory in the Candidates a few months ago, it’s still shaping up to be an excellent year for the youngster.
Going into round 8, he was on +1, as was Ian Nepomniachtchi, while Wesley So enjoyed a +2 score. His fate was in his hands, with White against So, but a couple of errors late in the opening left him with a lost position. Had So converted his advantage, he would have been an odds-on favorite to win the tournament and perhaps the tour; instead, he badly mishandled what should have been a winning attack, and lost quickly. It was a narrow escape for Firouzja - his second in three rounds, as he was also lost against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in round 6 before sneaking out with a win.
Nepo joined Firouzja in first, winning with Black against Levon Aronian, while Fabiano Caruana was the day’s third winner. Caruana’s win came at Hans Niemann’s expense - Niemann has unsurprisingly had a difficult go of things since the rumors of cheating surfaced, and he lost his second straight game with the white pieces. The fourth game of the round saw its only draw, though Leinier Dominguez should have defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Close to grinding out a win in a queen ending, Dominguez’ unfortunate 76.Qb7? let Mamedyarov escape.
In round 9 all the games were drawn, so Firouzja and Nepomniachtchi finished tied for first with 5/8, half a point ahead of So and Caruana. Dominguez finished fifth with 4/8 - all eight of his games were drawn! Niemann and Aronian both finished with -1 scores, while Mamedyarov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave tied for last with -2 scores.
Firouzja and Nepo were required to contest a rapid playoff to determine a winner. The first 15’ + 10” game was a well-played draw. With White, Nepo had a small edge for a long time, which he could not convert into a win against Firouzja’s fine defense. The second game was an anti-climax. Nepo played the opening poorly, got into lots of trouble, and then blundered a piece. He kept going for a while, without coming close to saving the game.
So congrats to Firouzja, who has been playing great chess again. May he continue to do so!
Games here, with my comments to Firouzja-So and the rapid games (really, just the second rapid game).