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Sinquefield Cup R3: So beats Svidler convincingly

by Shahid Ahmed - 20/08/2021

Wesley So scored his second consecutive victory of the event to share the lead with Caruana and Vachier-Lagrave in Sinquefield Cup 2021. All three of them are at 2.5/3. So completely outplayed Svidler in the middlegame and finished the game in 28 moves. Mamedyarov scored his first win of the tournament in an exciting encounter against Rapport. Shankland made a rare blunder against Vachier-Lagrave in the seemingly equal knight endgame. Caruana scored a comfortable victory over Swiercz who suffered his third consecutive loss. Round 4 starts tonight from 1:30 a.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

White wins four games

The third round had four decisive games which is the maximum so far in this event. Xiong and Leinier made the sole draw of the day.

So is in a great form | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Mamedyarov - Rapport: 1-0

A sharp game had an unfortunate ending for Rapport as he blundered in time trouble and made his king more vulnerable than his opponent's.

Position after 40...f6

Black's idea behind 40...f6 was 41.Rxe6 Rxg3+ and that would be winning for Black, but that clearly does not work as 42.Kf1 Rxh2 43.Qxf6+ Qf7 44.Qe5 and now White gains the upper hand. Things would have been better for Black if he played 40...f4 instead.

Interview with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Mamedyarov is happy to win his first game of the event | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

So - Svidler: 1-0

So made a short work of Svidler in just 28 moves as the latter got outplayed positionally.

Final position after 28.Ne4

It is completely lost for Black as d6-pawn cannot be defended and if Black goes 28...Be5 29.Rxd6 still happens anyway because it cannot be recaptured by the bishop as the threat of Nf6+ is looming large. Thus, Svidler decided to resign.

Interview with Wesley So | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Svidler suffered his second loss of the event | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Vachier-Lagrave - Shankland: 1-0

Shankland made a rare mistake in the seemingly equal knight and few pawns endgame.

Position after 31...Ke7

Black needed to decline the knight exchange. 31...Ne8 did that and prevented 32.Nf6+ too. Exchanging the knights immediately loses the game for Black as the resultant pawn ending is completely winning for White in all possible variations. This was a rare mistake by Shankland because we have seen how strong he is in the endgame in the recently concluded FIDE World Cup 2021.

Interview with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

MVL scores another win with white pieces | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Xiong and Leinier had a relatively quiet draw | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Caruana - Swiercz: 1-0

Things turned very quickly in Caruana's favor after his opponent Swiercz made an incorrect capture 24...exf5.

Position after 24...exf5

24...exf5 is a bad idea for Black as that gives White the option to take exd5. Instead, Black should have done 24...Bd6.

Interview with Fabiano Caruana | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Will Caruana win the Sinquefield Cup? | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Photo Gallery:

Can you guess the player adjusting the pieces? | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Talk to the hand? | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

We all await the typical Rapport classic | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Shankland needs to make a comeback | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Is So foreshadowing his triumph? | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Replay Round 3 games

Round 3 results

Four decisive games | Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Standings after Round 3

Caruana, So and Vachier-Lagrave in the lead 2.5/3 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
2021 Sinquefield Cup Round 3 - Live commentary by GMs Alejandro Ramirez, Yasser Seirawan, and Maurice Ashley | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Links

Grand Chess Tour official site

Tournament regulations


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