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Each competitor opened the Sinquefield Cup 2023 with a balanced and accurate performance on Tuesday. Though every clash ultimately ended in a draw, GM Leinier Dominguez gained attacking chances and pressed in the ending vs. GM Fabiano Caruana while GMs Jan-Krysztof Duda and Anish Giri were a move short of checkmating each other.
The Sinquefield Cup continues with round two on Wednesday, November 22, at 2:00 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/12:30 a.m. IST.
Standings After Round 1
The Sinquefield Cup is the final event of the Grand Chess Tour and the strongest international classical tournament in the U.S. After months of competitive effort, the players meet for one last clash.
Just seven points away from the 2800 mark in live ratings, Caruana tops the field and has all but secured this year’s GCT championship. After his victories at the Superbet Classic Romania and the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, he leads the tour by an almost uncatchable 11 points. With 13 points for clear first as the maximum amount available, Caruana would have to unexpectedly finish last or second to last for his closest rivals to have a chance to surpass him.
However, the fight for qualification for the 2024 Candidates is alive and well. There is one spot up for grabs for the highest rated player (who hasn’t already qualified) on the January 2024 list, and three competitors lead the race: GM Alireza Firouzja beginning the event at 2762.8, GM Anish Giri at 2754.2, and GM Wesley So at 2752.
In addition to the Grand Chess Tour mainstays, GMs Levon Aronian and Dominguez finish off the field as the home court wild cards.
Levon Aronian is ready for #SinquefieldCup!
🙂@LevAronian #grandchesstour pic.twitter.com/z3Uq0xPUs6
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) November 20, 2023
The evening before the tournament, the players had a dinner together along with the organizers.
Rapport vs. Nepomniachtchi
Since the 2023 World Championship when GM Richard Rapport helped GM Ding Liren win as his second, GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi and Rapport have developed a rivalry with each other. Their game today, however, was rather uneventful.
Coming straight from the European Team Championship in Budva, Montenegro, Rapport traveled 25 hours to reach Saint Louis, missing the pre-tournament dinner and arriving without much time to reset before round one. Eager to get some much-needed rest, Rapport was glad to get a solid opening position. The players drew by move 35.
GM Richard Rapport gave a quick interview about the game today and how he is trying to recover from the 25-hour flight to Saint Louis!#grandchesstour #SinquefieldCup #chess pic.twitter.com/7iMXHoO1Qh
— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) November 21, 2023
So vs. Firouzja
When So opted for a fashionable yet low-risk variation in the QGD, Firouzja equalized without any trouble: “I think after 12…e5, I comfortably equalized because if he takes the pawn, there’s always compensation here… He was taking his time here, and I think trying to even bail out.”
So also reflected on the game: “In modern chess, in order to win games, you need your opponent to make mistakes or you need to get a good position out of the opening, and today I didn’t get too much.”
Giri vs. Duda
Duda chose the road less travelled with 10…a5!? vs. Giri’s Berlin, leading to a game with both players attacking each other’s kings in the endgame. With both sides one move away from delivering a final blow, the game ended in a double-edged perpetual.
Vachier-Lagrave vs. Aronian
Aronian and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave tried to outfox each other in the opening. As Aronian described: “I think we were trying to surprise each other, maybe I managed to surprise him slightly more with …Qd5, it’s a little bit of a rare move.”
Considering their 46 head-to-head games, Aronian shared his feelings on his longtime opponent: “It’s always interesting to play against Maxime. He’s always fighting. He’s one of the players that I like playing against because he’s giving chance. He’s one of the guys that’s not settling for boring games.”
Dominguez vs. Caruana
Caruana seemed more comfortable out of the opening and gained a considerable time edge by the middlegame. Yet, Dominguez managed to create attacking chances on the kingside and traded this advantage for an extra pawn in the ending. Their tussle is our Game of the Day, with analysis by GM Rafael Leitao coming soon.
Results – Round 1
| White | Black | |
| Rapport | 1/2 – 1/2 | Nepomniachtchi |
| Giri | 1/2 – 1/2 | Duda |
| So | 1/2 – 1/2 | Firouzja |
| Vachier-Lagrave | 1/2 – 1/2 | Aronian |
| Dominguez | 1/2 – 1/2 | Caruana |
Pairings – Round 2
| White | Black | |
| Nepomniachtchi | – | Dominguez |
| Duda | – | Rapport |
| So | – | Vachier-Lagrave |
| Caruana | – | Aronian |
| Firouzja | – | Giri |
How to watch the 2023 Sinquefield Cup
You can keep up with all the games and results of the tournament on our live events platform by following this link.
All Games
The 2023 Sinquefield Cup is the strongest international classical OTB tournament in the U.S. and the final leg of the 2023 Grand Chess Tour. Starting November 21 at 2 p.m. ET/20:00 CET/00:30 (+1) IST, 10 elite grandmasters will compete for their share of the $350,000 prize fund.
