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Saint Louis R&B Day 2: Caruana gains sole lead 9.0/12

by Shahid Ahmed - 13/08/2021

Shankland had a fantastic day on the second day of Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2021. He started his day by scoring a win against Caruana, then he won a brilliant game against Mamedyarov, and then he drew with Nakamura to finish the day with 5.0/6. Caruana made a good recovery after starting with a loss, as he won against Leinier and So in consecutive games. Thus, he gained sole lead 9.0/12. Nakamura made three draws which put him in the sole second position 7.0/12. So, Rapport, Mamedyarov, Shankland and Leinier are tied at third place 6.0/12. The Rapid event concludes today. Round 7 starts tonight from 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Bryan Adams/Grand Chess Tour

Lots of exciting games

The second day of Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2021 witnessed the inverted number of decisive games from the first day. There were only six decisive games and nine games ended in draws. However, there were plenty of exciting games and finishes, as expected from the faster format of the game.

Caruana made a good recovery after starting the day with a loss | Photo: Bryan Adams/Grand Chess Tour

Round 4: Shankland - Caruana: 2-0

Sometimes overdoing things can ruin it. Caruana overdid his defense which made Shankland's attack overwhelming for him.

Position after 41.Rg4

41...g5 was a big mistake which completely exposed his king as 42.fxg6 does not leave a lot of room for defence. Black needed to play 41...Qe5+ immediately which would have been fine.

Shankland scored his first win of the event against Caruana | Photo: Austin Fuller/Grand Chess Tour

Xiong - Mamedyarov: 1-1

Jeffery Xiong had a great opportunity to push for his first win of the event, against Mamedyarov but unfortunately for him, the GCT debutant could not seize it.

Position after 22...Rc2

Black has a dark square weakness and White has a bishop on that color. Find out what should White do here.

Xiong had a good opportunity against Mamedyarov | Photo: Austin Fuller/Grand Chess Tour

Round 5: Svidler - Liem: 2-0

Svidler dominated the better part of the game, however in the endgame he made a blunder and got away with it.

Position after 36.Ra7

Find out why 36.Ra7 results in an immediate loss for White.

Liem missed a good opportunity | Photo: Bryan Adams/Grand Chess Tour

Mamedyarov - Shankland: 0-2

Shankland scored his second victory and this time in a spectacular fashion against Mamedyarov.

Position after 21.Nc3

Black has gotten himself a fantastic position. Find out the winning continuation in the above position.

Shankland scored his second consecutive victory of the day | Photo: Austin Fuller/Grand Chess Tour

So - Rapport: 1-1

Rapport could have won against So after the latter made a grave mistake in the endgame.

Position after 31.Kg2

White had to play 31.Bxd6 and hope to get away from the trouble. 31.Kg2 facilitated Black to take advantage of the pin. How?

A win against So would have put Rapport in a strong position | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Caruana - Leinier: 2-0

Caruana played a model game for piece play against Leinier.

Round 6: So - Caruana: 0-2

So had a moment of blindness as he blundered a complete piece and resigned in the next move.

Position after 24.Nf5

White's position was already in shambles. 24.Nf5 does not work as 24...gxf5 25.Qxh5 drops the bishop Rxc2. Upon realizing this, So immediately resigned after 24...gxf5.

A moment of blind spot made So suffer his first loss of the event | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Leinier - Mamedyarov: 0-2

Leinier got outplayed right out of the opening against Mamedyarov.

Mamedyarov scored his sole win of the day against Leinier | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Scoring for the Rapid section: Win - 2 points, Draw - 1 and Loss - 0.

Scoring for the Blitz section will be usual, Win - 1 point, Draw - 0.5 and Loss - 0

Replay Round 4-6 games

Replay the livestream

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz GCT - Day 2 Live commentary by GMs Alejandro Ramirez, Yasser Seirawan, and Maurice Ashley | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Standings after Round 6

Caruana takes the sole lead 9.0/12 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Links

Grand Chess Tour official site

LIVE coverage on Kasparov chess

Tournament regulations


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