GM Fabiano Caruana was able to make up ground on GM Alireza Firouzja after GM Ian Nepomniachtchi made a shocking mistake at the 2024 Sinquefield Cup on Sunday. Caruana is now tied for second place with GM Wesley So, while Firouzja remains half a point ahead of the field.

GM Anish Giri was close to scoring his first win of the tournament against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, but the Uzbek grandmaster slipped away from him in the final moments.

The Sinquefield Cup will continue with the seventh round on Monday, August 26, at 2:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. CEST / 11:30 p.m. IST.

Results of the 6th round

Table after round 6

The players with black pieces went to battle on Sunday, each aiming for a lively game with dynamic options in the opening, including a Sicilian Dragon Defense, a Najdorf Defense, a King’s Indian Defense and a Grünfeld Defense.

Nepomniachtchi 0-1 Caruana

Caruana chose a Dragon structure with 2…g6 in the Sicilian. In response, Nepomniachtchi plunged headlong into the Yugoslav attack:

I thought he probably prepared this for Hikaru in the Candidates Tournament. He went for the most aggressive line, which is a bit awkward… I started to regret the opening choice.

I began to regret my choice of opening candidate.

―Fabiano Caruana

Nepomniachtchi pursued an idea aimed at achieving a classic Yugoslav middlegame with one tempo less, and nevertheless believed in White’s attacking play. Despite his confidence, he made a quick blunder on move 18 – when he still had more than the initial two hours on the clock.

Caruana was ready to play in the spirit of the Dragon and struck. Can you figure out how he started his attack?

Black moves and wins.

Caruana reported on his experiences in calculating the winning variations:

After he played 18.g5, I just didn’t understand. But it probably took me 20 minutes because he plays immediately. It’s possible that he prepared it or something, and I should understand if I lose… I looked at every single move here to make sure. I looked at every move of the queen.

Below you will find GM Rafael Leitao’s insights on our game of the day.

Nepomniachtchi has all the time in the world to regret his life decisions… #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/2KpnCx8nHT

— chess24 (@chess24com) 25 August 2024

So he had his own opinion on why Nepomniachtchi messed up:

Wesley So: “I think Ian is still recovering from his time loss to me in Croatia!” #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/r83D2jrKAo

— chess24 (@chess24com) 25 August 2024

Giri 1/2-1/2 Abdusattorov

Abdusattorov played aggressively against Giri’s English Defense, pushing his kingside pawns forward. However, his approach backfired as his pieces were not ready to support his aggressive intentions. Giri countered by destroying his opponent’s pawn structure and moving into a much better endgame.

Given the many weaknesses in the pawn structure, it looks like Nodirbek Abdusattorov will have a tough time in this endgame against Anish Giri. #SinquefieldCup #grandchesstour pic.twitter.com/FD3vFtUd7h

— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) 25 August 2024

Ultimately, the Dutch grandmaster allowed his younger rival to sneak away by staging a counterattack with his rook and two passers.

Gukesh 1/2-1/2 Vachier-Lagrave

In the middlegame, GM Gukesh Dommaraju found a clever way to win a pawn. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave countered by building pressure on the kingside. When the French grandmaster failed to see how to strengthen his attack, Gukesh initiated a series of exchanges. Although Vachier-Lagrave continued to press, the challenger had enough counterplay with his passed pawns on the queenside.

So 1/2-1/2 Firouzja

So had his blow against Firouzja in this round, but the tournament leader proved that he was up to the challenge. In the opening, Firouzja surprised So with the Grünfeld Defense. So announced:

I thought he obviously only needed a draw in the tournament. I hadn’t expected 2…g6 at all. I hadn’t prepared. And he had played …e6 in his last 30 online games.

He just needed a draw…. I wasn’t expecting 2…g6 at all.

―Wesley So

So reacted with safe, logical play and tried to gain a small advantage in the final game. But Firouzja countered with precise calculation and found the way to equalize.

Thing 1/2-1/2 Praggnanandhaa

GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu played the King’s Indian Defense, an opening in which Black often aims for an all-or-nothing attack against the white king. In keeping with his infamous opening choice, the Indian prodigy sacrificed an exchange and a pawn as his pieces went into action.

But the world champion calmly defused his opponent’s dynamic play by instigating exchanges in an equal endgame with opposite-colored bishops.

In the seventh round, Firouzja will play with white against the world champion. Caruana will make the first move against the challenger. In addition, So will play with black against Abdusattorov, who is still hoping for his first tournament victory.

Pairings of the 7th round

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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