All Draws in Rd. 9 in St. Louis | Update: VIDEOS
After eight rounds of streaks and subplots, the results calmed today in St. Louis. It didn't have to be that way.
For the first time all event, no one broke through for a win in the 2014 Sinquefield Cup. In round 9 both GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Fabiano Caruana, the numbers one and two in the world, missed wins in their games.
Carlsen slipped in the endgame against GM Levon Aronian, which caused him great anguish in the post-game interview. Caruana missed a series of wins against GM Hikaru Nakamura, one of which was right at the time control.
GMs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Veselin Topalov also drew.
GM Fabiano Caruana failed to win for the second round in a row, which is about as much criticism as can be levied against him at this point. For GM Hikaru Nakamura, he still wasn't able to register his first win, but at least he benefitted from his first luck of the event.
Caruana already clinched clear first yesterday but still admitted to being disappointed with the result.
"I was trying to win," he said. "I outplayed him...I started to miss many ideas."
When asked what specific move he regretted, Caruana responded, "Nearly every move for about 10 moves."
Games via TWIC
Nakamura snagged a half point after leaving other full and half points on the table earlier in the tournament (such as the round 3 loss to Topalov).
Everyone loves to make fun of me for blowing +12 against Carlsen, but if Caruana can blow +15 against me...anything is possible!
— Hikaru Nakamura (@GMHikaru) September 6, 2014
"It's such a stupid slip today," Carlsen said. "I had 20 minutes -- more than enough time to calculate things and recheck."
Carlsen also admitted to missing moves like 31...Be8. He said he was fortunate to have winning chances after that.
MVL said he stayed up to watch the Roger Federer five-set comeback win against Gael Monfils. It ended at 11:30 p.m. local time, but he would have remained awake through the night to watch were he back home in France.
Asked why Federer is his favorite player, he said, "He's trying to keep an image. It's better that he's not a showoff."
The draw ensures Topalov keeps the margin at only a half game between him an Carlsen. The two meet tomorrow in the final round. The winner takes second place clear.
Chess.com spoke with Topalov about Carlsen's focus tomorrow, his own age and his energy level. Here's the video:
The other stories playing out in St. Louis are "The decision" and to a lesser extent, "The mini decision."
The big decision is of course whether Carlsen will sign the contract to play the world championship in Sochi, Russia. His manager, Espen Agdestein, arrived in St. Louis yesterday and promised an announcement before the Monday deadline.
While Topalov refrained from giving advice, Caruana did not hesitate. "I'd probably play the match," he said. "It's going to be difficult to get back into the cycle."
The "mini decision" will be several players' participation in the Grand Prix events, scheduled for Tashkent, Moscow, Baku and Tehran. FIDE does not guarantee players get to chose which three events they'll get to play.
Neither Caruana nor Nakamura, both American citizens, are keen to play in Iran. The U.S. has severed diplomatic relations with Iran after the American Embassy was overrun in 1979.
"I don't think I'll play in Iran," Caruana said. "It's not entirely safe to go there."
Chess.com/TV will embed the official commentary at 2 p.m. Central (GMT -6) for every round.
2014 Sinquefield Cup | Round 9 Standings
| # | Name | Rtg | Perf | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts | SB |
| 1 | Caruana,Fabiano | 2801 | 3162 |  |
1½ | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1½ | 8.0/9 | |
| 2 | Carlsen,Magnus | 2877 | 2877 | 0½ | |
½ | ½½ | 1½ | ½1 | 5.0/9 | |
| 3 | Topalov,Veselin | 2772 | 2799 | 00 | ½ | |
1½ | 0½ | 11 | 4.5/9 | |
| 4 | Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime | 2768 | 2733 | 00 | ½½ | 0½ | |
1½ | ½ | 3.5/9 | 13.75 |
| 5 | Aronian,Levon | 2805 | 2723 | 0 | 0½ | 1½ | 0½ | |
½½ | 3.5/9 | 13.50 |
| 6 | Nakamura,Hikaru | 2787 | 2643 | 0½ | ½0 | 00 | ½ | ½½ | |
2.5/9 |
2014 Sinquefield Cup | Schedule & Pairings
| Round 1 | 27.08.14 | 14:00 CDT | Round 6 | 02.09.14 | 14:00 CDT | |
| Aronian | ½-½ | Nakamura | Nakamura | ½-½ | Aronian | |
| Topalov | 0-1 | Caruana | Caruana | 1-0 | Topalov | |
| Vachier-Lagrave | ½-½ | Carlsen | Carlsen | ½-½ | Vachier-Lagrave | |
| Round 2 | 28.08.14 | 14:00 CDT | Round 7 | 03.09.14 | 14:00 CDT | |
| Nakamura | ½-½ | Carlsen | Carlsen | 1-0 | Nakamura | |
| Caruana | 1-0 | Vachier-Lagrave | Vachier-Lagrave | 0-1 | Caruana | |
| Aronian | 1-0 | Topalov | Topalov | ½-½ | Aronian | |
| Round 3 | 29.08.14 | 14:00 CDT | Round 8 | 04.09.14 | 14:00 CDT | |
| Topalov | 1-0 | Nakamura | Nakamura | 0-1 | Topalov | |
| Vachier-Lagrave | 1-0 | Aronian | Aronian | ½-½ | Vachier-Lagrave | |
| Carlsen | 0-1 | Caruana | Caruana | ½-½ | Carlsen | |
| Round 4 | 30.08.14 | 14:00 CDT | Round 9 | 05.09.14 | 14:00 CDT | |
| Vachier-Lagrave | ½-½ | Nakamura | Caruana | ½-½ | Nakamura | |
| Carlsen | ½-½ | Topalov | Carlsen | ½-½ | Aronian | |
| Caruana | 1-0 | Aronian | Vachier-Lagrave | ½-½ | Topalov | |
| Round 5 | 31.08.14 | 14:00 CDT | Round 10 | 06.09.14 | 14:00 CDT | |
| Nakamura | 0-1 | Caruana | Nakamura | - | Vachier-Lagrave | |
| Aronian | 0-1 | Carlsen | Topalov | - | Carlsen | |
| Topalov | 1-0 | Vachier-Lagrave | Aronian | - | Caruana |
- Round 8: "The Streak" Ends, but Caruana Draws Carlsen to Clinch
- Round 7: Touchdown! Caurana Wins Again for 7-0 Score
- Round 6: Caruana Demolishes Topalov, Increases Lead Again
- Rest Day: Fire, Water, Sport During Sinquefield Rest Day
- Round 5: Caruana Completes Perfect First Half at Sinquefield Cup
- Round 4: Caruana Streak Continues at Sinquefield, Now 4-0
- Round 3: Caruana Beats Carlsen, Leads Sinquefield After Round 3
- Round 2: Caruana and Aronian Win Rd. 2 in St. Louis
- Round 1: Caruana Weathers Early Storm at Sinquefield Cup
- Preview: 5 Things You Didn't Know About the World's Strongest Chess Tournament
- Preview: 2800+ Elo for 2nd Sinquefield Cup
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Mike Klein began playing chess at the age of four in Charlotte, NC. In 1986, he lost to Josh Waitzkin at the National Championship featured in the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." A year later, Mike became the youngest member of the very first All-America Chess Team, and was on the team a total of eight times. In 1988, he won the K-3 National Championship, and eventually became North Carolina's youngest-ever master. In 1996, he won clear first for under-2250 players in the top section of the World Open. Mike has taught chess full-time for a dozen years in New York City and Charlotte, with his students and teams winning many national championships. He now works at Chess.com as a Senior Journalist and at ChessKid.com as the Chief Chess Officer. In 2012, 2015, and 2018, he was awarded Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America. He has also previously won other awards from the CJA such as Best Tournament Report, and also several writing awards for mainstream newspapers. His chess writing and personal travels have now brought him to more than 85 countries.
