Saint Louis Rapid 2024 R4-6: Abdusattorov and Caruana play a Queen endgame for the ages
If you have to study only one game from the second day of Grand Chess Tour Saint Louis Rapid 2024, then it would be the endgame between Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) and Fabiano Caruana (USA). Sure, the former World Rapid champion should have won that game in a thousand different ways. The fact of the matter is, it was not easy to calculate precisely in less time. It is an extremely complex queen endgame which Dr. GM Karsten Mueller would love to analyze and undoubtedly will go into many future endgame books. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Firouzja have caught up with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) in the lead 8/12. Praggnanandhaa had another winless day. Round 7 starts today from 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Nepomniachtchi and Firouzja catch up with MVL
It is an extremely closely contested tournament. Levon Aronian (USA) is the sole player at 7/12, a full point behind the three leaders. He is followed by Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA) at 6/12. Then four players - Fabiano Caruana (USA), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB), Wesley So (USA) and Hikaru Nakamura (USA) are at 5/12 each. Praggnanandhaa is only two points behind them, one win away from moving up and reducing the gap.
Round 4: Praggnanandhaa - Abdusattorov: 1-1
R Praggnanandhaa's (2688) last win over Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2732) was at Superbet Rapid, a little over three months ago. He had a good opportunity after 17...Nxf3?
18.Qg2 would have attacked both Black's knights Bxc3 19.gxh5 Black still would have had two pieces to defend. Praggnanandhaa being off form made him miss his chance and opt for the safer 18.Qc2 Bxc3 19.Qxc3 Qxc3 20.bxc3 White's window of opportunity got shut and the game eventually ended in a draw.
Round 5: Abdusattorov - Caruana: 1-1
The former World Rapid champion, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB, 2732) had a thrilling queen endgame against the World no.3, Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2777) which Abdusattorov should have won.
The above queen endgame is extremely complex, where both sides are attempting to promote their respective pawns. White's pawn is closer to the promotion square, so the World no.3 opted for the humane 56...Qe4 attacking the pawn as well as threatening Qh1+ skewer. However, the tireless machine recommends 56...Qd5 and Qd1 to be the best choices for Black. The game continued 57.Qc5+ Kb7 58.Qe7+ Ka6 59.Qd6+ Kb5 60.Qb8+ Kc4 61.h8Q
It might be difficult to fathom that White not winning this. One must not forget that this was played in Rapid time control with an increment of only 10 seconds. The endgame being extremely complex made things difficult for White to find the precise continuation allowing Caruana to escape with a draw.
Round 6: Praggnanandhaa - Caruana
Praggnanandhaa got schooled by Caruana in the Ruy Lopez in just 25 moves.
Firouzja - Abdusattorov
White's rook is not trapped at a5. In fact, the idea is to sacrifice the exchange and gain another pawn 31.Rxa6 Nxa6 32.Bxa6 Rc5 33.Rd8+ Kc7 34.Rc8+ Kd6 35.Nb5+ Kd7 35.Rxc5 bxc5 36.Bb7
The plan is to push the passed a-pawn and use it to win the game. That is exactly what happened in the game. The a-pawn played a key role in White getting the full point.
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Round 6 results
Standings after Round 6
Round 7 pairings
| Table | White | Score | Fed. | Rating | Black | Score | Fed. | Rating | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 3.0 | USA | 2693 | GM Praggnanandhaa R | 1.5 | IND | 2688 | |
| 2 | GM Nakamura, Hikaru | 2.5 | USA | 2746 | GM So, Wesley | 2.5 | USA | 2735 | |
| 3 | GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 4.0 | FRA | 2747 | GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 4.0 | FID | 2753 | |
| 4 | GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2.5 | UZB | 2732 | GM Aronian, Levon | 3.5 | USA | 2754 | |
| 5 | GM Caruana, Fabiano | 2.5 | USA | 2777 | GM Firouzja, Alireza | 4.0 | FRA | 2731 |
Schedule and Format
Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 12th to 14th August. The Blitz event will take place on 15th and 16th August. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment. For Blitz, it will be 5 minutes + 2 seconds increment.
Prize
The total prize fund for each of the Rapid and Blitz event is US$ 175000.
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