Passive defense promises him nothing: 2...f6 3. Qd7+ Kg8 4. Bd2 Qd6 5.Qe8+ Kg76. Bh6+!; or 2...Qd6 3. f4, with great advantage
to White. So Artur decides to sacrifice some material.
to White. So Artur decides to sacrifice some material.
White gives back one of his two extra pawns since he cannot see how he will quash his opponent’s counterplay after 6. Kh3 Qe2!
White’s forces are restricted; his extra pawn is meaningless. The game eventually ended in a draw.
For Firouzja it was a mildly disappointing conclusion, but nevertheless a stellar result to end his campaign in Saint Louis, where he won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, Sinquefield Cup, and overall Grand Chess Tour. Sharing third place were Ian Nepomniachtchi and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who both ended on 6.0/8, while 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov could not turn his luck around–despite several promising positions throughout the event he eventually finished with 0.5/9.
It comes without saying that after Carlsen’s withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup 2022, and the accusations of Niemann cheating, the chess world was glued to their screens for their rematch at the Julius Baer Generation Cup. But the Norwegian GM didn’t hold the anticipation for long. He resigned with black after move 2 (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4) and shook the chess world one more time!