Sinquefield Cup 2024, Round 1: Firouzja beats Caruana and takes sole lead
GM Alireza Firouzja took the sole lead in the 2024 Sinquefield Cup by defeating GM Fabiano Caruana in the first round.
GM Ding Liren indicated that he wanted to attack GM Gukesh Dommaraju, but when the 18-year-old challenger tried counterplay, the world champion opted for perpetual check.
The Sinquefield Cup will start with the second round on Tuesday, August 20, 2:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CEST / 11:30 p.m. IST.
Table after round 1
The Grand Chess Tour now comes down to the Sinquefield Cup. The first day saw two highly anticipated duels: Gukesh and Ding faced each other for the first time since the Indian prodigy became the youngest challenger in history, while Caruana and Firouzja gave their all to win, with the Grand Chess Tour crown at stake.
Caruana vs Firozuja: 0-1
To maximize his chances against his GCT rival, Caruana prepared an effective center pawn sacrifice in the opening. GM Christian Chirila shared his insights:
Before the final day of blitz at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, I spoke to Fabiano’s second for the tournament, Grigory Oparin. I asked him how the preparations for the blitz and rapid were going. He said: “For the last few days we have been practicing for this match against Alireza.” So this match has been building up for the last few days, maybe even a week.
Firouzja reacted fearlessly, accepting the sacrifice and trusting his own judgment, even though he knew his opponent must be deep in his preparation. At a crucial moment, Caruana had a unique opportunity to test Firouzja’s defensive skills.
The players fought to a thrilling tie. Although each of them tested the waters with some repetitive moves, Caruana continued to press for victory. Firouzja shared his view on his opponent’s approach: “He was working on my time, which was a very good strategy. He played nonsense moves, but it made me think.”
He made silly moves, but he made me think.
―Alireza Firouzja
As the players ran into time trouble, Firouzja was both behind on the clock and on the defensive on the board. He marched his king away from the opponent’s queen to the queenside. At the crucial moment, the GCT leader had the upper hand over Caruana. When the smoke cleared, Firouzja was ahead with connected passes, while his opponent was only trying to slow White’s advance with malicious checks.
Just when the game seemed over, the 21-year-old grandmaster let Caruana back into the game, but the world number three missed his chance. He immediately traded into a lost queen endgame and Firouzja took it without any further surprises.
This exciting battle between the two best is our match of the day. You can find an analysis by GM Rafael Leitao below.
Ding vs Gukesh: 1/2-1/2
With a simple rook service, Ding announced his intention for a kingside attack, and the game seemed to heat up. Gukesh reacted actively. When the world champion made a logical but inaccurate move, the challenger was able to create an advanced, protected passed pawn. This powerful pawn secured him enough counterplay against White’s attack attempts. Realizing this, Ding fell back and gave up his bishop and rook to create a perpetual check.
Praggnanandhaa vs Abdusattorov: 1/2-1/2
In the early middlegame, GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu had a chance to use his kingside pressure to reach a superior endgame against fellow prodigy GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov. When the Indian grandmaster hallucinated that he would be one pawn down in the resulting position, he rejected the critical line. Although he continued to press, Abdusattorov defended with precision, resulting in an equal double rook endgame.
Nepomniachtchi vs. Vachier-Lagrave: 1/2-1/2
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is known for his devotion to the Sicilian Najdorf. When the French grandmaster played 1…e5, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi tested his opponent’s knowledge of the Scotch Gambit. Although Vachier-Lagrave maintained the balance seemingly effortlessly, he later revealed:
It’s never easy when you play this kind of variation for the first time in your life. I decided to surprise Ian and it’s always good to give your opponents new options.
It can never be easy when you play this type of line for the first time in your life.
―Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
So against Giri: 1/2-1/2
GM Wesley So surprised GM Anish Giri with the Benoni, but the Dutch grandmaster was able to fight his way to a comfortable position. He said:
He played Benoni, which is quite remarkable. Of course I looked at it… but I didn’t think Wesley would do that against me in the first round, because White also takes serious risks. Even the computers flirt with an advantage for Black in these lines. It’s not better, but I didn’t expect this choice from Wesley… I respected this choice very much.
So in the endgame he had the chance to apply more pressure with an exchange sacrifice, pinning his hopes on his connected passers and his supporting bishop pair. When he decided against it, the game was very even and the players were the first to finish the game in a draw.
In the second round, Firouzja will face Abdusattorov with black, while Gukesh will face Nepomniachtchi in a battle between Ding’s challengers. We will also see an all-American duel between So and Caruana.
The 2024 Sinquefield Cup is the final leg and final classical event of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. Ten players will compete in a classical single round robin tournament for their share of $350,000 in prize money.
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