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!
Magnus Carlsen gave the interview after the Prelims stage of the Julius Baer Generation Cup. Carlsen qualified for the Knockout phase of the event and he might meet with Hans Niemann again in the Grand finale! Julius Baer Generation Cup Knockout phase – Pairings & timetable can be found here.
Asked about his withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup 2022 and resignation after two moves against Hans Niemann, Carlsen said: “Unfortunately I cannot particularly speak on that but people can draw their own conclusion & they certainly have. I have to say I am very impressed by Niemann’s play & I think his mentor Maxim Dlugy must have been doing a great job“. When asked if he suspects Niemann was cheating, he answered he cannot speak about that and that he might speak about the subject “a little bit more after the end of the tournament“. He added that cheaters in the future should not be taken lightly either online or over the board.
Asked about his withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup 2022 and resignation after two moves against Hans Niemann, Carlsen said: “Unfortunately I cannot particularly speak on that but people can draw their own conclusion & they certainly have. I have to say I am very impressed by Niemann’s play & I think his mentor Maxim Dlugy must have been doing a great job“. When asked if he suspects Niemann was cheating, he answered he cannot speak about that and that he might speak about the subject “a little bit more after the end of the tournament“. He added that cheaters in the future should not be taken lightly either online or over the board.