Sinquefield Cup R1: Ding Liren forces a draw against Gukesh
The first round of Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2024 witnessed the highly anticipated match between Ding Liren (CHN) and D Gukesh. The world champion forced a draw via perpetual check by sacrificing his bishop and rook. The world championship challenger had no choice but to accept it. Ding mentioned that he wanted to surprise his opponent in the opening and also save his preparation. The defending champion, Fabiano Caruana (USA) suffered a shocking loss against the newly crowned Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2024 winner, Alireza Firouzja (FRA). Praggnanandhaa drew against Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB). Round 2 starts today at 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Praggnanandhaa splits the point with Abdusattorov
"I wanted to surprise Gukesh in the opening and, in the meantime, save my preparation." - Ding Liren in a post-match interview.
Ding Liren - Gukesh: 0.5-0.5
D Gukesh (2766) had lost both Classical encounters against Ding Liren (CHN, 2745) at 85th and 86th Tata Steel Chess in 2023 and 2024. However, things have changed a lot since then. The teenager is now a Challenger to his opponent's crown and he is higher rated too.
White could have played 21.Bxg6 immediately. He wanted to play one more move 21.Be4 d3 22.Bxg6 Black is forced to accept the sacrifice fxg6 23.Rxg6+ hxg6 24.Qxg6+ Kh8 25.Qh6+ and Black cannot get out of the perpetual checks.
Caruana - Firouzja
It is quite difficult to fathom how Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2793) lost in the above position against Alireza Firouzja (FRA, 2751). 58...Kd8 59.Bxf7 an unnecessary pawn grab Kc7 60.Qg8 Bxf2 keeping the f5-rook pinned allowed Black to regain his extra pawn advantage. 61.Qa8 Qxf7 62.Rxb4 cxb4 63.Rxf2 White exchanged his relatively better bishop for a slightly harmless one and trading a pair of rooks only helped Black. After a few more moves and a suspicious queen retreat later, Black got himself a completely winning position.
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Schedule and Format
Sinquefield Cup will have one round per day from 19th to 28th August. Rest day is on Saturday 24th August. Each round starts at 1 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. IST, except the last round on 28th August. It will start at 11 am. local time, 9:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event.
Prize
The total prize fund is US$ 350000.
Replay Round 1 games
Round 1 results
Standings after Round 1
Round 2 pairings
| Table | White | Score | Fed. | Rating | Black | Score | Fed. | Rating | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM So, Wesley | 0.5 | USA | 2751 | GM Caruana, Fabiano | 0.0 | USA | 2793 | |
| 2 | GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 0.5 | FRA | 2721 | GM Praggnanandhaa R | 0.5 | IND | 2749 | |
| 3 | GM Gukesh D | 0.5 | IND | 2766 | GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 0.5 | FID | 2767 | |
| 4 | GM Giri, Anish | 0.5 | NED | 2746 | GM Ding, Liren | 0.5 | CHN | 2745 | |
| 5 | GM Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 0.5 | UZB | 2762 | GM Firouzja, Alireza | 1.0 | FRA | 2751 |
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