Now it is the turn of the g-pawn. 2. a7? would now be bad: 2 .... Bb7 3. Kf6 Bd5 4. g6 Kh6 S. g7 Kh7, and White can no longer win.
Sometimes a piece is sacrificed for far-advanced passed pawn. The idea is to get it back with compound interest. This works beautiflllly in the following game fragment:
The first day of blitz games at the 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz saw quick chess superstars GM Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, and Levon Aronian pick up the most points in a day of decisive results, tactical brawls, and a loss by an illegal move!
Nakamura was the clear standout, scoring 7.5/9, a result that has allowed him to catapult himself from the bottom of the standings into the top three heading into the final day.
Firouzja continued his run of great form with a +3 score over nine rounds and extended his lead to three points over second-placed GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who had a modest performance by his standards.
The event will conclude with rounds 10-18 of the blitz portion on August 30 at 11 a.m. PT/20:00
Nakamura was the clear standout, scoring 7.5/9, a result that has allowed him to catapult himself from the bottom of the standings into the top three heading into the final day.
Firouzja continued his run of great form with a +3 score over nine rounds and extended his lead to three points over second-placed GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who had a modest performance by his standards.
The event will conclude with rounds 10-18 of the blitz portion on August 30 at 11 a.m. PT/20:00
Stunning: Firouzja wins St. Louis Rapid & Blitz with four rounds to spare!
There was no stopping Alireza Firouzja at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, as the 19-year-old won the event with four rounds to spare! In his first-ever participation at a tournament in Saint Louis, Firouzja finished with an astonishing 26/36 score, five points ahead of second-placed Hikaru Nakamura. The youngster gained over a hundred rating points in blitz (he now sits at a stratospheric 2902.6), which prompted him to climb to second place in the live ratings list, only six points behind Nakamura.
There was no stopping Alireza Firouzja at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, as the 19-year-old won the event with four rounds to spare! In his first-ever participation at a tournament in Saint Louis, Firouzja finished with an astonishing 26/36 score, five points ahead of second-placed Hikaru Nakamura. The youngster gained over a hundred rating points in blitz (he now sits at a stratospheric 2902.6), which prompted him to climb to second place in the live ratings list, only six points behind Nakamura.
The one way for the bishop to fail to stop a passed pawn is when its diagonal is too short.
Black seems to manage it; 3. Kg6 is followed by 3 .... Bd5!
3.d5! The blockade of d5 will cause Black severe problems.
3 .... Kc5! A subtle try. Taking with the pawn loses quickly after 4. Kg6. Unfortunately for Black, after 3 .... Kxd5 4. Kg6 Ke6 5.Kg7 Bh7 6. Kxh7 Kf7 7. d4 he will be in zugzwang.
4. Kg6 Bxd5 5. d3 Here we can see the disadvantage of3 .... Kc5. White wins.
3.d5! The blockade of d5 will cause Black severe problems.
3 .... Kc5! A subtle try. Taking with the pawn loses quickly after 4. Kg6. Unfortunately for Black, after 3 .... Kxd5 4. Kg6 Ke6 5.Kg7 Bh7 6. Kxh7 Kf7 7. d4 he will be in zugzwang.
4. Kg6 Bxd5 5. d3 Here we can see the disadvantage of3 .... Kc5. White wins.
After yesterday’s tough loss to 19-year-old Hans Niemann, World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen decided to withdraw from the Sinquefield Cup 2022. Carlsen didn’t explain his reasons for withdrawal but only said that he always enjoyed playing in the Saint Louis Chess Club and that he hopes he will be back in the future.
The first information that could be heard in medias was that Carlsen decided not to play the 4th round against Mamedyarov. However, he posted on his official twitter account that he withdraws from the event.
The first information that could be heard in medias was that Carlsen decided not to play the 4th round against Mamedyarov. However, he posted on his official twitter account that he withdraws from the event.