Wesley So Joins Lead, Firouzja Has 9 Lives
GM Wesley So defeated GM Ian Nepomniachtchi at the 2024 Sinquefield Cup on Thursday, joining GM Alireza Firouzja in a tie for first. Firouzja himself narrowly survived GM Gukesh Dommaraju's sparkling tactical play in our Game of the Day.
The Sinquefield Cup will continue with round five on Friday, August 23, at 2 p.m. ET / 20:00 CEST / 11:30 p.m. IST.
Standings After Round 4
Gukesh vs. Firouzja: 1/2-1/2
Gukesh was able to create a wealth of tactical ideas in the Berlin Endgame vs. Firouzja. Can you find how the challenger set off sparks in the position below?
White to move.
On move 23, Gukesh lit even more fireworks with a rook sacrifice.
23.Rd6!! Another brilliant move from Gukesh today! It's definitely the most spectacular game of round 4. #grandchesstour #SinquefieldCup pic.twitter.com/vT42LIiqrs
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) August 22, 2024
The 18-year-old grandmaster continued to press at every opportunity, shutting down Firouzja's counterplay on the queenside and then advancing his passer on the other side. As both players fell into time trouble, a critical moment appeared, and Gukesh was able to gain a bishop and three pawns vs. a rook.
Yet, ultimately, the Indian prodigy met with GM Emanuel Lasker's infamous words: "The hardest game to win is a won game." GM Rafael Leitao gives his insights on our Game of the Day below.
So vs. Nepomniachtchi: 1-0
On move 20, So and Nepomniachtchi reached a very equal middlegame, and the latter still had more time on his clock than he started with.
The players exchanged more pieces, including their queens. Though So gained an extra passed pawn, there were limited pawns left in the ending, and Nepomniachtchi's rooks were active.
Yet, little by little, So began to make progress. GM Peter Svidler reflected:
Wesley is one of the best in the world at pushing small advantages, asking small questions, just continuing to improve a little bit, not offering a draw, not giving you clear chances to make that draw.
Wesley is one of the best in the world at pushing small advantages...
―Peter Svidler
It started to go from bad to worse for Nepomniachtchi as the American grandmaster brought his king around to the queenside to support his passer. Meanwhile, the black king was cut off on the kingside, unable to help.
Wesley So: "Ian just collapsed at the end". Wesley talks about his game vs Ian Nepomniachtchi, which he eventually won in the rook ending. #Grandchesstour #chess pic.twitter.com/YhUqT7TxBy
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) August 22, 2024
Ding vs. Caruana: 1/2-1/2
In the middlegame, GM Ding Liren outmaneuvered GM Fabiano Caruana to gain a substantial positional edge. The world champion increased his pressure on the queenside while holding off the American grandmaster's kingside counterplay. Caruana shared: "I realized I was in an unpleasant situation because there's not a way to prevent the trade of bishops."
Ding continued to press until move 37 when he offered a knight exchange that gave away all of his advantage. The players soon traded queens into a deadlocked bishop ending.
Giri vs. Praggnanandhaa: 1/2-1/2
Though on the surface GMs Anish Giri and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu played a peaceful 33-move encounter, behind the scenes there was a web of tactical ideas to navigate. Praggnanandhaa shared:
I missed b4. When I went ...Re8, he started to make some weird faces, and I thought: I should resign at this moment. Anish has prepared some tricks for me. At least, I can fight for now.
He started to make some weird faces, and I thought: I should resign at this moment.
―Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu
Vachier-Lagrave vs. Abdusattorov: 1/2-1/2
Both recovering from disappointing games yesterday, GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Nodirbek Abdusattorov traded into an equal rook ending by move 21 and soon repeated the position.
Round five is the round before the rest day, often inspiring players to give it their all. Firouzja will have the first move vs. Giri while So will play Black against Praggnanandhaa.
How to review?
You can review the round's broadcast on the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube or Twitch channels. The games can also be reviewed from our dedicated 2024 Sinquefield Cup events page.
The broadcast was hosted by GMs Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler, Cristian Chirila, and IM Nazi Paikidze.
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.
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Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
