Nakamura Scores 7.5/9, Firouzja Stretches Lead

The first day of blitz games at the 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz saw quick chess superstars GM Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Levon Aronian pick up the most points in a day of decisive results, tactical brawls, and a loss by an illegal move! 

Nakamura was the clear standout, scoring 7.5/9, a result that has allowed him to catapult himself from the bottom of the standings into the top three heading into the final day. 

Firouzja continued his run of great form with a +3 score over nine rounds and extended his lead to three points over second-placed GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who had a modest performance by his standards.

The event will conclude with rounds 10-18 of the blitz portion on August 30 at 11 a.m. PT/20:00 Central European.

 

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The first round set the tone for the day with four of five games ending in defeat for the black pieces. The King’s English Opening was the bane of GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi‘s opening games, both falling to blitz favorites Nakamura and Firouzja respectively. Nakamura entered the endgame with a drawn position against Caruana but with three seconds left on the clock, Caruana collapsed with the dubious 45.Ke5.

Aronian and GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov were the other early winners, both able to squeeze their opponents on the clock enough to compel blunders. The sole draw of the round between GMs Samuel Shankland and Leinier Dominguez was just as exciting as the round’s other clashes. Chess.com’s game review tool produces a (literally) colorful review of the game that features a potpourri of great moves and missed chances.

Round two was a chance for most of the participants to settle their nerves as three of the games ended in draws. Nakamura struck again with a wild rook sacrifice in the Reti Opening that led to him to dispatch Aronian in 33 moves. The move-10 novelty was likely a spur-of-the-moment decision as it was technically a mistake; however, Aronian was unable to find the correct defense. GM Rafael Leitao unpacks the game of the day below.

Mamedyarov also won his second straight game with a clean rook-and-knight ending where he demonstrated the importance of staying on the front foot.

The leader of the blitz segment, Nakamura, and the tournament’s overall leader, Firouzja, were content with a draw in round three, but the American did miss one small chance to play for a win after sacrificing his bishop with the intent to force a draw by repetition. 

Despite four conclusive results in the third round, an incident between Mamedyarov and Nepomniachtchi stole the limelight. A tricky endgame played out and as both players ticked below 10 seconds, Mamedyarov played his king into check with the illegal move 82.Ka6?? (there is no annotation for illegal moves so a double question mark should suffice).

😮 Mamedyarov loses by an illegal move against @lachesisq.#STLRapidBlitz pic.twitter.com/4xTYa1YPyx

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) August 29, 2022

Mamedyarov cringed when he realized he had lost the game but then laughed it off with his opponent, seeing the humor of the moment. GM Jeffery Xiong, Caruana, and Vachier-Lagrave were the other winners of the round, the latter needing the win to keep close to Firouzja who had begun to slip away. 

Caruana kept things rolling in round four, executing a clinical minority attack against a struggling Dominguez. With his pawn structure damaged beyond repair, Dominguez desperately tried to hold on to his passed a-pawn, but it was to no avail as Caruana was able to seal off the key defenders and take the point.

Nakamura won yet again taking his score to a commanding 3.5/4. This time he put on a vintage performance in the Nimzo-Larsen Attack against Shankland, who is perhaps one of the less experienced when it comes to dueling with Nakamura in online quick events. Shankland was eventually ground down in 56 moves. 

Meanwhile, Xiong was able to dispose of Mamedyarov in the shortest game of the tournament after his opponent played the questionable 10.d5?? that simply lost a piece and the game.

Firouzja, who was still unbeaten by the fourth round of blitz came close to losing against Caruana who missed a serious chance to take advantage of a well-placed passed pawn and his opponent’s dicey king position.

When one or two players have stellar unbeaten runs, generally others must pay the price. Dominguez had a tough day and totaled only 0.5/9. One of his toughest losses came at the hands of Nepomniachtchi who found a brilliant move that ripped open Dominguez’s insufficiently protected king.

The blitz frontrunners continued their winning ways in the sixth round with Firouzja, Nakamura, Xiong, and Aronian all claiming full points. Understanding that playing solidly would not be enough to catch Firouzja who had built a three-point lead, players began to take even more risks.

Xiong’s win over Dominguez was particularly impressive as he found the perfect response to Dominguez’s 18.Qh4. See if you can figure out the moves that could have played out if Dominguez had tried too hard to hold onto the exchange.

Decisive results monopolized round seven, and all of the tournament leaders won their games. Vachier-Lagrave scored an important win to stay in touch with Firouzja and keep his nose just in front of the rampaging Nakamura, who by the end of the day would trail by just half a point.

In Monday’s penultimate round, the time came for the tournament’s overall leaders, Firouzja and Vachier-Lagrave, to face off. With the onus on Vachier-Lagrave to play for a win with Black, Firouzja opted for the solid English Opening. Noticing that Firouzja’s position was improving, Vachier-Lagrave went all in with a double-pawn sacrifice, but it wasn’t to be for the Frenchman.

The result pushed Firouzja further ahead of the chasers, including Nakamura who was held to a draw by Nepomniachtchi.

The final round saw momentum play fiddle, and Firouzja, Nakamura, and Aronian all won their games. Nakamura’s performance bought him 39 rating points, pushing him to 40 points ahead of second-ranked Aronian.

Nakamura was in such fine form that he “got away” with playing the Caro-Kann, an opening he has rarely used at the top level, as Black against Xiong. Nakamura impressively uploaded a YouTube video just two hours after his game against Xiong had finished, where he analyzed the game (starting at 23:27) as well as his other triumphs.

Heading into the final day of the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, Firouzja sits pretty on 18 points, three points clear of Vachier-Lagrave in second. Right behind Vachier-Lagrave is Nakamura who will feel bullish about his chances to catch up should he repeat Monday’s heroics, especially with his stepfather and one of his biggest supporters, FM Sunil Weeramantry, watching on.

All Games Day 4

Standings

The 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is the fourth leg of the 2022 Grand Chess Tour and the last of its speed chess events. Players compete in a 10-player rapid (25+10) round-robin and a 10-player blitz (5+2) double round-robin for their share of a $175,000 prize fund. 

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