The 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz continued on Saturday with rounds four-six of the fast section going down, and GM Alireza Firouzja is holding onto the highest spot by a single level. An early scare towards GM Fabiano Caruana nearly noticed his lead evaporate, however a decisive end in spherical six towards GM Leinier Dominguez allowed Firouzja to recuperate.

GMs Jeffery Xiong and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave grew to become the primary chasers on 3/5 after three attracts every in addition to GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who scored his first win of the occasion towards GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the white aspect of the Catalan Opening.

The occasion will proceed with rounds seven-nine of the fast portion on August 28 at 11 a.m. PT/20:00 Central European.

Of the 15 video games, 80 % had been drawn on the second day, giving a big benefit on the leaderboard to the three gamers who gained a recreation every. Despite the numerous attracts, the round-four video games by no means lacked pleasure and some shut shaves had been had. GM Levon Aronian nearly grew to become the sufferer of a GM Sam Shankland masterclass, which was marred by a second of greed.

On the white aspect of a Nimzo-Indian Defense: Ragozin Variation, Shankland compelled Aronian to sacrifice his queen for a rook, knight, and pawn. The ensuing place left the world number-eight with critical coordination points; nevertheless, the impulsive 36.Qxa6 and several other inaccuracies from Shankland afterward left him simply in need of a conclusive blow.

Caruana additionally had a greater place towards Dominguez in spherical 4 and later stated that his opponent “was at risk” on account of a ruined pawn construction in a rook-and-pawn ending. The Cuban-born American was each energetic and resourceful in his protection and claimed a half level for his efforts. Meanwhile, the battle of the youngest gamers within the discipline resulted in a draw after a comparatively incident-free conflict.

GM Hikaru Nakamura seemed set to fireplace after a disappointing first day however was held to a attract 70 strikes after Vachier-Lagrave confirmed off an formidable pawn sacrifice within the Sicilian Defense, Open, Prins Variation. Nakamura expressed his disappointment on stream after the sport by saying, “If I had spent my time, I most likely would’ve gained this,” in reference to a second when the ending was profitable.

“If I had spent my time, I most likely would’ve gained this.”

–@GMHikaru#GrandChessTour #STLRapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/P7Skh0bfJz

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) August 27, 2022

The recreation of the spherical and the day undoubtedly belongs to Nepomniachtchi who overcame Mamedyarov with a Catalan, a gap wherein he maintains a 70 % win price in some strains on Chess.com. GM Rafael Leitao has offered his professional evaluation on this recreation under.

The first 5 minutes of the fifth spherical would have had Romantic gamers of previous turning of their graves, with two Berlin and two Petrov’s Defenses forcing symmetry throughout the analysis bars for 4 of the video games. Nakamura and Mamedyarov’s recreation was the one skirmish that featured an alternate opening, however items flew off the board shortly till a knight and kings had been all that remained.

Caruana’s option to play solidly with Black towards Firouzja proved to be a masterstroke, with the skilled Berlin Defense exponent needing solely 11 strikes to garner a powerful benefit towards his opponent. Caruana later acknowledged that Firouzja was “on his personal” early, which was one of many elements that led to the Iranian-born GM blundering a pawn and the bishop pair out of the opening. 

All that Caruana wanted had been 26 strikes to topple the match chief and reinstate himself as one of many favorites after a shaky first day.

The different three video games resulted in attracts with rock-solid protection from Black. For these within the artwork of sound protection with the black items towards e4, Chess.com’s latest documentary “The History of Chess: A Reflection of Us” covers a number of the best defensive gamers of all time, together with GM Vladimir Kramnik (one of many pioneers of the openings seen in spherical 5) and GM Tigran Petrosian.

The ultimate spherical of the day was headed by one decisive end result, Firouzja’s win with black towards Dominguez. Firouzja, who has performed all kinds of openings to date within the occasion, was rewarded for his inventive play out of the Caro-Kann Defense and confidently castled queenside with a purpose to launch a barrage down White’s kingside. Dominguez needed to play on however failed to maneuver earlier than his clock ran out of time. 

Once his knight reached an e4 outpost on transfer 22, Firouzja started to take management of the sport. Dominguez’s play was additionally suboptimal and aided Firouzja in deconstructing his opponent’s place in 32 strikes, which led to the flagging.

Nakamura managed to carry Nepomniachtchi to a draw within the Catalan with Black, a end result GM Peter Svidler deemed “newsworthy” because of the world championship challenger’s formidable document with the opening. In a recap entitled “Dear YouTube, It’s A Good Thing This Isn’t My Day Job,” Nakamura remarks that “nobody is de facto working away with the match” and that “one or two wins” on the ultimate day may catapult him to the highest of the standings.

A final-round draw for wildcard Xiong would have left the American GM feeling elated having not misplaced a single recreation among the many elite discipline. As of the sixth spherical, Xiong has gained 13 ranking factors and leaped into the top-15 fast chess gamers on this planet. His try to interrupt down Vachier-Lagrave’s Grunfeld Defense can also be the most effective video games of the spherical, ending in a draw after a sequence of brutal photographs by each gamers. 

The remaining two video games of the spherical resulted in peaceable attracts with little affect on the scoreboard on condition that the related gamers are all positioned fifth or decrease after the second day.

Heading into the ultimate day of fast chess, it’s anybody’s guess as to which participant will emerge because the victor. Firouzja has definitely proven aptitude to date however was rocked by Caruana’s strong strategy in spherical 5. Tune in tomorrow to seek out out if any of the chasers can catch as much as the younger famous person!

All Games Day 2

Standings

#	Fed	Player	Rating	Pts
1		Alireza Firouzja	2778	8
2		Jeffery Xiong	2690	7
3		Ian Nepomniachtchi	2792	7
4		Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	2757	7
5		Fabiano Caruana	2776	6
6		Leinier Dominguez	2754	6
7		Sam Shankland	2720	6
8		Levon Aronian	2775	5
9		Hikaru Nakamura	2768	5
10		Shakhriyar Mamedyarov	2758	3

The 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is the fourth leg of the 2022 Grand Chess Tour and the final of its pace chess occasions. Players compete in a 10-player fast (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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