Nakamura launched himself into the ultimate day with a win over Caruana with the black items. The streamer was the only winner in spherical 10 of the blitz and managed to benefit from a poor pawn construction that arose out of the English Four Knights. Caruana was capable of finding defensive assets to carry the place again to inside the realm of a draw however succumbed beneath time strain on transfer 71.

Firouzja had a comparatively uneventful draw towards GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and the rest of the sphere adopted swimsuit, splitting the factors. GM Levon Aronian was lucky to carry on to an ending the place he was down by a knight for 2 pawns towards GM Jeffery Xiong. 

Round 11 noticed Firouzja return to the cold-blooded chess that he had performed constantly all through the occasion with a strong show of techniques towards Xiong. In a Symmetrical English, Xiong was doubtless hoping for a quieter recreation towards the barnstorming Firouzja however was met with shot after shot that shortly noticed the Iranian-born French GM garner a three-pawn benefit.

GM @AlirezaFirouzja leads the #STLRapidBlitz by 4 factors.

All the techniques labored out in his crushing win over GM Jeffery Xiong, the place he performed 20.Bxd6 and all of the techniques fell into place. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oixoVMOdmu

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) August 30, 2022

Round 11 was additionally necessary for the leaderboard as Firouzja’s two closest chasers, Nakamura and Vachier-Lagrave, each misplaced their video games, permitting Firouzja to increase his result in 4 factors! Nakamura very almost drew with Aronian in a queen and pawn ending however misstepped on transfer 58, permitting Aronian to advertise to a second queen.

Vachier-Lagrave was soundly punished for complacency involving a rogue handed d-pawn towards Caruana. Taking on Caruana’s Petroff, the place transposed right into a French Exchange the place the American was capable of equalize. Vachier-Lagrave seemed to have issues beneath management till he allowed Caruana to push his handed pawn past the purpose of no return.

Nepomniachtchi additionally scored a full level towards GM Samuel Shankland who was courageous to check the world champion challenger’s information of the flip aspect of the Catalan. By transfer 24, Nepomniachtchi nonetheless had two minutes and 30 seconds on the clock whereas Shankland had dropped under 20 seconds. The deficit ultimately result in Shankland’s demise.

The focus of spherical 12 was undoubtedly the conflict between first-placed Firouzja and Nakamura, the latter enjoying White. Nakamura was on the hunt for a victory that will be crucial in slowing down the surging event chief however was met with ample preparation that gave him no probabilities. 

By transfer 20, Firouzja was barely higher and Nakamura grew impatient, feeling compelled to boost the place with 21.f4?. The try backfired and shortly the hero of the primary day of the blitz was left with little probability to catch the chief.

Fans who had been hoping to see a blanket end might take solace in the truth that Vachier-Lagrave had within the meantime knocked over GM Leinier Dominguez in the one different victory of the spherical. The Caro-Kann was the poison of alternative towards the Havana-born Dominguez. The opening was sarcastically utilized by one other participant of outdated who was born in the identical metropolis, GM Jose Raul Capablanca.

GM Cristian Chirila, “The Count” on Chess.com, dubbed spherical 13 as “a spherical of howlers” with a number of inexplicable blunders plaguing a number of of the gamers. The most notable was Aronian’s full piece blunder towards Firouzja the place Aronian touched his d7-bishop on transfer 16, the revelation hitting him instantly that any transfer by the piece would go away his c6-knight en prise.

As Black ended up selecting 16…Bf6, Firouzja was capable of liquidate with ease and drive Aronian’s resignation. Meanwhile, Dominguez had performed a virtually similar transfer towards Caruana with even worse penalties. In a barely higher place, Dominguez touched his d2-bishop and was pressured to maneuver it, leaving his queen ripe for the selecting!

Not to be outdone by the outrageous blunders, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov determined to hitch the social gathering and blundered a full bishop after dodgily sacrificing it on g5 with no counterplay. Nakamura’s win over Shankland with the black items was the one victory of the spherical that required finesse and the Modern Defense allowed him to do that the place he squeezed his compatriot in a lot the identical vogue as their earlier recreation on Monday.

The Firouzja freight prepare didn’t finish in spherical 13 and within the following recreation he backed up with one more win, this time in an endgame over Caruana. The consequence meant that Firouzja had gained the event with 4 rounds to spare! Dominguez was the one different victor within the spherical which had little bearing on the standings.

With the battle for first being over, there was a four-horse race for second between Vachier-Lagrave, Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and Xiong. Two of those gamers, Vachier-Lagrave and Nakamura, had been attributable to face within the subsequent spherical.

Leading Nakamura by half a degree, the Frenchman took a cautious method to the sport, choosing a sluggish build-up towards Nakamura’s Modern Defense. Vachier-Lagrave paid the value although for permitting Nakamura to interrupt by way of the middle and was ultimately floor down, the sport culminating in a fairly found verify tactic.

Firouzja introduced up 5 straight wins in spherical 24 with a convincing recreation towards Shankland, clearly not content material with simply profitable the event, whereas Dominguez and Mamedyarov gained their respective video games, combating to get off the underside of the leaderboard.

The following spherical felt like a repeat of the earlier with Firouzja and Nakamura persevering with their annihilation of the sphere. Nakamura confirmed that not all rook endgames are drawn and clinically swept apart Dominguez whereas Firouzja didn’t even let Mamedyarov get to an endgame, seizing the middle and briefly sacrificing a knight, prompting the Azeri’s give up.

Caruana additionally stealthily crept up the standings on the ultimate day and had a very good spell on the again finish, profitable his remaining three video games. He was joined by Nakamura on this feat. Firouzja would have joined the hat-trick social gathering on the finish of the occasion however was lastly held to a draw by Vachier-Lagrave after six straight wins. Out in entrance by 5 factors, Firouzja was far and away the perfect participant in St. Louis.

A remaining victory by Firouzja towards Dominguez to go together with the crown was our recreation of the day on Tuesday, which GM Rafael Leitao has analyzed under.

After 9 rounds of speedy and 18 of blitz, to have an undefeated Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz champion in Firouzja was a deal with for chess viewers all over the world. Nakamura was deserving of the second spot whereas Caruana rounded out the rostrum. The world primary rank in blitz was the discuss of the city and Nakamura ended up profitable that race by six factors regardless of Firouzja claiming first in St. Louis.

Update: @GMHikaru completed the #STLRapidBlitz again because the world primary in blitz. Both he and Firouzja broke 2900 throughout the occasion💪. https://t.co/BlMfnc9vEP pic.twitter.com/uqQipbbcvA

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) August 30, 2022

Firouzja earned $40,000 for first place, Nakamura took in $30,000 for second place, and Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave every made $22,500 after splitting third-fourth.

All Games Day 5

Final Standings

The 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz was the fourth leg of the 2022 Grand Chess Tour and the final of its velocity chess occasions. The gamers competed in a 10-player speedy (25+10) round-robin and a 10-player blitz (5+2) double round-robin for his or her share of a $175,000 prize fund. 

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