Sinquefield Cup: Caruana emerges sole leader, MVL misses again
Fabiano Caruana defeated Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) to emerge sole leader at Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup. Abdusattorov's ambitious approach of opposite side castling, followed by a knight sacrifice to launch an attack on his opponent's kingside did not work out. It ended causing him his third loss in four games. Caruana is currently the only player at 3/4. He is closely followed by Levon Aronian (USA) and R Praggnanandhaa at 2.5/4 each. The only other player who had a chance to win his game was, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA). The former World Blitz champion missed a great opportunity in his second consecutive game, this time against the World Champion, D Gukesh. Round 5 starts today at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
Gukesh survives against MVL, Aronian and Praggnanandhaa at 2.5/4
Abdusattorov - Caruana: 0-1
It has not been Nodirbek Abdusattorov's (UZB, 2771) tournament so far as he suffered his third loss in just four games. This win made Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2784) the sole leader of the tournament. Until this game, they had played seven Classical rated games against each other. Caruana had a 4-3 score against the former World Rapid champion. The American had won two, the Uzbek one and the remaining four games had ended in draws. The World no.3 picked up his fourth win against the opponent.
White made a bold decision to castle on the queenside 15.0-0-0? instead 15.0-0 would have been fine. The game continued 15...Rc8 16.g5 cxd4 17.exd4 hxg5 18.g4 g6 19.Bxg6 Qf6 20.Bh7+ Kg7 21.Rdf1 b5 22.h4 b4 23.hxg5 Qf4+ 24.Kb1 bxc3 25.Bf5?? Rh8-+ White has no compensation for the sacrificed knight and he lost the game in the next few moves.
Gukesh - Vachier-Lagrave
30.e5+ Kg6 31.Nxf5 Rxf5+ 32.Kg3 Rfxe5 33.Rxe5 Rxe5 34.bxc4 would have been fine for White. Instead, Gukesh (2776) opted for 30.Nxf5? Rxf5-+ 31.Kg3 cxb3? 31...Rg8+ would have made things difficult for White. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2736) missed a winning opportunity in his second consecutive game.
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Schedule and Format
Sinquefield Cup will have one round per day from 18th to 27th August. Rest day is on Saturday 23rd August. Each round starts at 12 p.m. local time, 10:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. GCT Playoffs if required will take place on 28th August.
Round 4 results
Standings after Round 4
Round 5 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2745 | GM | So, Wesley | GM | Firouzja, Alireza | 2766 | 2 | ||
| 2 | 4 | 2737 | GM | Aronian, Levon | GM | Duda, Jan-Krzysztof | 2725 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 5 | 2776 | GM | Gukesh, D | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2736 | 9 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 2779 | GM | Praggnanandhaa, R | GM | Sevian, Samuel | 2683 | 8 | ||
| 5 | 7 | 2771 | GM | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | GM | Caruana, Fabiano | 2784 | 10 |
GCT standings
Prize
The total prize fund for each Classical event is US$ 350000. The top three prizes are US$ 100000, $65000 and $48000.
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