2022 Sinquefield Cup: Niemann beat Carlsen to grab the lead
In a sensational upset GM Hans Niemann defeated World Champion Magnus Carlsen with the Black pieces in their first ever classical encounter, overtaking the sole lead in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup and crossing 2700 for the first time in his career. In the meantime, Alireza Firouzja won a brilliant game against Levon Aronian, while Wesley So jumped into clear second place thanks to an excellent win over Fabiano Caruana. CARLSEN – NIEMANN | 0-1, 57 moves In the clash between the two leaders, Carlsen tried the rare 4.g3 Nimzo, against which Niemann was unusually well-prepared for, having checked the line that morning. An early mistake by Carlsen landed him in an unpleasant endgame where it was only Niemann who could play for two results. Things quickly turned worse for Magnus as he tried to salvage a difficult rook and bishop vs. rook and knight ending but a further slip in time pressure left Niemann with a technical win. Niemann’s 13…Be6! was a powerful counter, forcing White into a slightly worse endgame, as 14.Qa4 is met with 14…Qa5! After the game, Niemann gave an honest interview where he discussed his ambitions to become World Champion, the difficulty of proving yourself as a player, and the importance of invites to elite events. Niemann: “I believe that these [first] three games have encapsulated my strength and potential as a player, but I’m still improving, I’m still learning…you don’t become World Champion in a day, it’s a gradual process. […] If I didn’t have this opportunity, who knows how long it would take me to show that I can beat top players. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes FIROUZJA – ARONIAN | 1-0, 38 moves An early contender for the event’s brilliancy prize, the game started in a quiet Italian with Aronian winning the pair of bishops early on. But an extremely risky decision by Levon (11…g5) allowed Firouzja a powerful piece sacrifice, completely exposing Black’s king. From there Firouzja just needed to bring all of his pieces into the attack, after which Aronian’s position became simply indefensible. 12.Nxg5! gave Firouzja two pawns and an irresistible attack for the piece. A fantastic comeback win for Firouzja, who got back to 50% with today’s victory. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes SO – CARUANA | 1-0, 67 moves So’s rare 5.Bd3 Petroff worked out rather well, as he gained an early lead on the clock as well as the more pleasant position in a symmetrical structure. Caruana did not seem comfortable with the situation, as he started to burn lots of time and soon sacrificed a pawn in exchange for some activity rather than having to defend a passive position. But Black’s counterplay wasn’t enough, as So expertly traded down to leave himself with queen and knight against queen and bishop, retaining the extra pawn. Caruana’s king was also quite weak as So slowly marched his kingside up the board, eventually weaving a deadly mating net around Black’s king. 57.Nh6! was a kill shot, leaving Black without a good defense to White’s mating attack. The current GCT leader took one step closer to winning the 2022 tour. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes DOMINGUEZ – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | ½-½, 42 moves Instead of his usual Petroff, Nepomniachtchi returned to his previous weapon, the Najdorf, for today’s battle. In response, Dominguez deviated from his main approach in the English Attack (6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3) with the more positional 7.Nf3, and quickly earned a clear strategic edge after Nepo misplayed the early middlegame. A further mistake allowed Dominguez a winning tactical sequence, but he couldn’t calculate the line until the end and chose a safer continuation, after which his winning chances were more or less gone. After 22…Bxd2, Dominguez underestimated the winning intermezzo 23.Bxd6!, with idea 23…Qxc4 24.Qxb7+, followed by Bxf8. Instead he played 23.Rxd2 and the game was later drawn. Dominguez let his opponent off the hook, missing a big chance to defeat Nepomniachtchi. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes MAMEDYAROV – VACHIER-LAGRAVE | ½-½, 36 moves Coming off of yesterday’s loss, Mamedyarov chose an ultra-safe variation against MVL’s Queen’s Gambit Accepted, exchanging queens right out of the opening. There was not much action in the game, as the players quickly traded down into a completely drawn rook endgame. A relatively quiet day at the office for Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo Courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes The 2022 Sinquefield Cup continues Monday, September 5, with live coverage from grandmasters Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan, and Alejandro Ramirez starting at 12:50 PM CT on grandchesstour.org and on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels. Text: IM Kostya Kavutskiy Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club September 02-12, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
Andrey Esipenko racks up huge score to win first Challengers Chess Tour event
Andrey Esipenko won this season’s first Challengers Chess Tour battle of the chess prodigies today with a dominant performance to take the Julius Baer Challenge. The 20-year-old top seed was undefeated as he racked up 41/45 points to blow away a field of super-strong youngsters in the $10,000 two-day round-robin event. Esipenko was congratulated afterward on chess24’s stream by chess legend Judit Polgar, who tutored all the players in the event. Full of compliments, she said he was “really very, very convincing”. “It was great fun,” Polgar said of the event. “It was great to see the players, the young talents, girls and boys, out there who are representing their countries, they are fighting so hard! She added: “They are really the best talents in the world right now aged under 20.” By winning the Julius Baer Challenge, Esipenko qualifies for the Challenger’s Chess Tour Final Four shootout on October 29-30 and takes home $2,000 in prize money. Esipenko finished 10 pts ahead of his nearest rival, 16-year-old Raunak Sadhwani who also gets a spot in the Final Four. Esipenko said: “It’s always nice to win a tournament like this, just to win the tournament!” Esipenko laughed when asked if his ultimate aim is to become World Champion. “For this year I’m just trying to be in good shape because in this year I have just played really badly,” he said, refusing to be drawn. “I lost, maybe, 50 points and it’s hard to accept, but I have to work harder and everything will be better.” The next event in the Challengers Chess Tour hosted by chess24 is the Magnus Academy Challenge which runs from October 8 to 9 and carries a similar $10,000 prize pot. For further comments contact: Leon Watson, Head of PR, Play Magnus Groupleon@chessable.com+447786078770