Nepomniachtchi Catches Firouzja In Lead, Firouzja Escapes Vs. Vachier-Lagrave

There are two leaders, GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and GM Alireza Firouzja, at the 2024 Sinquefield Cup after three rounds. Five decisive results were possible on this tempestuous day, but we saw two.

Nepomniachtchi's risky opening paid off against GM Anish Giri, while Firouzja escaped with a draw from a losing position against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. GM Fabiano Caruana defeated GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov to finish on a 50 percent score. The three draws contained winning positions for one side in each game.

The Sinquefield Cup will continue with round four on Thursday, August 22, at 2 p.m. ET / 20:00 CEST / 11:30 p.m. IST.

Standings After Round 3

We will start with the decisive games and move on to the three draws. In the latter three, Vachier-Lagrave agreed to a threefold repetition in a winning position against Firouzja, GM Ding Liren vanquished all of his advantage in two moves against GM Wesley So, and GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu spoiled a (surprisingly) winning rook endgame against GM Gukesh Dommaraju.

Nepomniachtchi vs. Giri 1-0

Nepomniachtchi took a big risk in a line of the Nimzo-Indian he stressed he wasn't an expert in, and it paid off. This sort of preparation "wouldn't have worked for every opponent," he said, but, "Anish is a little bit a better player when it comes to classical structures, so maybe to bluff him a little bit was a good idea."

Anish is a little bit a better player when it comes to classical structures, so maybe to bluff him a little bit was a good idea.

—Ian Nepomniachtchi

It was an entertaining "rule-breaker" game where nearly the entire white army was left on the first rank, except for a rook to a2. Svidler explained the logic: "The bishop on c1 is actually sort of participating in the attack from the starting square, the knight on g1 probably goes to h3 but it's too early for that, the bishop on f1 will get traded on c4 in three seconds, so the one piece we could have improved is the rook on a1 and we are improving it. It will be on g2 in three moves."

Sacrificing the c4-pawn, Nepomniachtchi went on to stir up an attack that's not so scary for an engine but one that's no cakewalk for a human. Had Giri taken the pawn with the queen on move 24, Nepomniachtchi may have been pressed to demonstrate a difficult winning line ending with 26.Qa4!! (he intended 26.Qe3), but as it went, Black collapsed after 24...Nxe4?. GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the full Game of the Day below.

You can listen to GM Hikaru Nakamura's recap of the game below.

Caruana vs. Abdusattorov 1-0

It was a close call for Caruana, who lost with the white pieces in round one and could have lost again with White in this round. "It was a lucky one," said Caruana about this game. "I was thinking I would lose at some moment during the game."

For a long time, it was the quietest game of the round with shuffling in an Italian game. Caruana had intended 28.g5? but realized it didn't work, and after 28.Qg3 h5!, a move he missed, he was already on the defensive. He not only escaped but left the tournament hall with a 50 percent score.

It's a rotten result for Abdusattorov, who was the one pressing and allowed the full point to slip. He shares last place with Giri with one point. On to the three draws that we cannot, by any means, call "peaceful results."

Firouzja vs. Vachier-Lagrave ½-½

Vachier-Lagrave was a hair's length from taking down the tournament leader but agreed to a threefold repetition in a position the engine screamed was winning. After the game, when Vachier-Lagrave discovered the winning line, he lamented, "This one was especially painful because, like, even if my calculation felt a bit fuzzy, I did more or less everything right until like one move basically."

I did more or less everything right until like one move basically.

—Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

In the line starting with 36...Bxd4 37.Nxd5 Be6, the move he missed at the end of the line is 43...Qf7!, after which White will run out of checks and Black wins with the extra piece. Instead, Vachier-Lagrave continues his draw streak in classical chess—now at 22 games.

Ding vs. So ½-½

Ding explained the result succinctly after the game: "I created some chances with white pieces, but I couldn't convert it."

The world champion essayed the aggressive 7.Bg5 in the Italian, explaining that he noticed his opponent lost to Firouzja "many times in this line." Indeed, he succeeded in generating a winning position after 23.f4, but one move later it took one slip to let it go. He played the positionally-minded 24.gxf3?, repairing the pawn structure and missing his opponent's defense, whereas the dynamic 24.Nxf3 would have likely won the game.

Praggnanandhaa vs. Gukesh ½-½

To say Gukesh was prepared for the opening, which was a Catalan, would be an understatement. By move 18, he had an hour extra on the clock, having used just four minutes of his time.

But as far as the position, it was always relatively dry. However, Praggnanandhaa had a sliver of hope in the rook endgame after Gukesh played the game-losing 34...Kd7?. The old proverb, "All rook endgames are drawn," rang true once again, and it's hard to fault Praggnanandhaa for choosing the wrong king move in the position below with one minute on the clock.

Even the two grandmasters and international master commentating struggled for a while to understand the differences. This author borrowed the main points from their excellent commentary to piece together the short explanation below.

On Thursday, we will see the two tournament leaders defending with the black pieces. Nepomniachtchi has Black against So, while Firouzja plays Gukesh. The world champion has White against Caruana, Giri against Praggnanandhaa, and Vachier-Lagrave against Abdusattorov.

The 2024 Sinquefield Cup is the last leg and final classical event of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. Ten players compete in a classical single round-robin for their share of a $350,000 prize fund.

Previous Coverage

• Round 2: Challengers Fight, Firouzja Keeps Lead
• Round 1: Firouzja Bests Caruana, Gains Sole Lead
• A Taste of Gukesh vs. Ding at the Grand Chess Tour Finale