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Firouzja, Nepomniachtchi Jump Into 3-Way Lead With Vachier-Lagrave
Firouzja had the best score, 2.5/3, on the second day of rapid chess. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Firouzja, Nepomniachtchi Jump Into 3-Way Lead With Vachier-Lagrave

AnthonyLevin
| 18 | Chess Event Coverage

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave led the 2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz after day one, but GMs Alireza Firouzja and Ian Nepomniachtchi caught up to him to join a three-way tie after six rounds. Of the other seven players, GM Fabiano Caruana was the only player to win a game on Tuesday, in round six against GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who finds himself in last place.

The rapid games will conclude on Wednesday with rounds seven through nine, starting on August 13, at 2 p.m. ET / 20:00 CEST / 11:30 p.m. IST, and then we will see two days of blitz in the same tournament.

Standings After Day 2

There are three leaders after day two. Image: Saint Louis Chess Club.

Vachier-Lagrave led the tournament after a blazing start on day one, but after three winless rounds he was caught by two players. Firouzja was the only player to win two games, against GM Hikaru Nakamura and then GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Firouzja's victory against Nakamura was the only decisive game of round four. He had a pleasant position that GM Peter Svidler likened to "a warm bath" after 19.Bxc4, but threw away the entire advantage after 24.Bxf5?—Firouzja admitted he thought this endgame was unpleasant for Black, but it turned out not to be.

Nakamura climbed back into the game, but erred later with the immediately-losing 33...b6??, played with 22 seconds against a minute and a half, and Firouzja converted the eventual rook endgame with an extra pawn.

Nakamura recognized his mistake immediately after the game, as he pointed to the key squares. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Nakamura once again recapped the day's action.

Firouzja made an uneventful draw against his countryman, Vachier-Lagrave, before again winning in the day's last round against Abdusattorov. It looked like it was destined to be a miniature as Svidler claimed by move 18: "This is completely lost, it's just dead for Black," but Abdusattorov made it back into the game.

Fourth World Chess Champion Alexander Alekhine supposedly once said, "To win against me, you must beat me three times: in the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame." Firouzja won the opening, and then again demonstrated his form in the next two phases of the game. GM Rafael Leitao annotates the full Game of the Day below.

GM Cristian Chirila asked Firouzja how he senses a critical moment in a chess game—how does he know when to think? The French number-one explained, "If the move is not so obvious, then you have to take your time. It's not such a big secret, I think. When you don't see the best move, you have to take time to understand what is the best move."

The secret to playing great chess: thinking longer in critical moments. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

Nepomniachtchi won the only decisive game of round five, using under three minutes for the entire game while his opponent got down to one minute. The two-time Candidates winner quipped about his quick pace: "Even if I start thinking, it leads me nowhere, yes. Yeah, I just push the button."

Even if I start thinking, it leads me nowhere, yes. Yeah, I just push the button.

—Ian Nepomniachtchi

Nepomniachtchi takes no time at all to "push the button." Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

After Nepomniachtchi's surprising 6...Be7 in the opening, Dominguez traded queens early and reached an opposite-colored bishop position with four rooks on the board. But the danger wasn't over, as Nepomniachtchi said, "I think more or less Black is playing and White is trying to be accurate... of course it was a draw, objectively... at some point, after, I think ...g5, it's maybe tactically not as simple as it looks."

Meanwhile, Caruana has made a recovery after two losses and a draw on the previous day. He summed it up: "Yesterday was a disaster. The thing is that like all the games that I've played so far could have gone either way, any result was possible in all of them... [yesterday] I was objectively winning in two games and managed to lose both."

The thing is that like all the games that I've played so far could have gone either way, any result was possible in all of them.

—Fabiano Caruana

Tuesday was a success from that perspective. First, he drew Vachier-Lagrave from a position that was getting out of control for him. Svidler showed a beautiful move at the end of a fantasy line that was made impossible by Caruana's 34.Rc3?, but one that still absolutely has to be reshared:

Caruana then escaped against Abdusattorov in round five, in an endgame where he had one queen against two. The notes below are based on his comments after the fascinating endgame save.

Perhaps reignited after a lucky break, Caruana went on to win against Praggnanandhaa in the next game. Instead of the Indian GM's 21.Rf2?, Caruana said he saw the correct 21.Qe3! and pointed out that, in the long line, Praggnanandhaa missed 25.d6!. After the game's move, Caruana castled his king and delivered a one-sided attack.

The players discuss after the game. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

It's been a rough tournament for Praggnanandhaa, who on the previous day had winning positions in all three games but ultimately made one draw and suffered two losses. GM Yasser Seirawan made the point, "If he had finished day one with 3/3 it wouldn't have been that big a surprise." Instead, Wednesday will be "damage control," in Svidler's words, for the Indian GM who finds himself in last place, and then perhaps a resurgence in the blitz.

Aronian may have only won one game, but he's just a point behind the leaders. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour.

How to watch?

You can review the round's broadcast on the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube or Twitch channels. The games can also be reviewed from our dedicated 2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz events page. You can also watch Nakamura's stream on Kick.

The broadcast was hosted by GMs Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler, Cristian Chirila, and IM Nazi Paikidze.

The 2024 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz is the fourth leg and final rapid and blitz event of the 2024 Grand Chess Tour. Ten players compete in a rapid (25+10) single round-robin followed by a blitz (5+2) double round-robin for their share of a $175,000 prize fund. 


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AnthonyLevin
NM Anthony Levin

NM Anthony Levin caught the chess bug at the "late" age of 18 and never turned back. He earned his national master title in 2021, actually the night before his first day of work at Chess.com.

Anthony, who also earned his Master's in teaching English in 2018, taught English and chess in New York schools for five years and strives to make chess content accessible and enjoyable for people of all ages. At Chess.com, he writes news articles and manages social media for chess24.

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