Fabiano Caruana drew a pointy recreation towards Richard Rapport to complete in clear first place within the Superbet Chess Basic, taking the $100,000 high prize and the utmost 13 Grand Chess Tour factors. His pursuers might all solely draw, although that was an excellent consequence for Anish Giri after he stumbled right into a misplaced place towards Ian Nepomniachtchi. Ding Liren regained the world no. 3 spot after ending with a fantastic win over Bogdan-Daniel Deac.

5 gamers went into the ultimate spherical of the Superbet Chess Basic with an opportunity of catching or overtaking chief Fabiano Caruana with a win, however ultimately none of them managed.

That left the ultimate standings as follows, with Fabiano Caruana choosing up $100,000 whereas the 4 gamers in second place took dwelling $42,750 every.

Let’s check out how the occasion went for every of the gamers.

Fabiano Caruana: 5.5/9 (2 wins, 7 attracts), 1st place, $100,000

This was classic Fabiano Caruana, who, as within the glory days of 2018, mixed stellar opening preparation and sharp calculation (the win over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave), with endurance and dedication (the win over Ian Nepomniachtchi) to return near a mannequin of an ideal chess participant.

He was by no means in peril in a single recreation and will have scored extra. He missed an opportunity towards Bogdan-Daniel Deac within the first spherical, and his one actual remorse was a failure to show an enormous benefit towards Alireza Firouzja right into a full level. He commented:

It was a little bit of an anti-climax, as a result of I ought to have perhaps transformed towards Alireza to actually really feel like I deserved victory totally.

The ultimate spherical was noteworthy for Fabiano willingly entering into the World Championship match preparation of the Ding/Rapport staff.

Fabi commented:

Richie performed the road that Ding performed. 10…Bc5 is the highest line in case you go away a very highly effective engine operating for some time, it’s a compelled draw, however I used to be simply curious what they’d ready towards 10…Ba5, so I made a decision to play it.

There was additionally nostalgia, as Fabiano had been the primary to face 10…Ba5 10.Bf4 0-0 11.0-0-0!, in a recreation towards Magnus Carlsen. Rapport assorted from that recreation with 13.Qe3 and an attention-grabbing battle ensued, however there was no opening bomb. When Richie missed an opportunity to ask extra questions with 19.f3! the sport quickly fizzled out right into a draw.

Fabiano needed to wait to see if anybody would catch him and pressure a playoff, however no-one did.

Alireza Firouzja, 5/9 (3 wins, 4 attracts, 2 losses), 2nd-Fifth place, $42,750, world no. 2

It says so much concerning the pleasure Alireza Firouzja generates that followers of the 19-year-old might really feel some disappointment a couple of event wherein he regained the world no. 2 spot and beat each the World Champion and the World Championship challenger.

It was as if Alireza was out to display why Magnus Carlsen had mentioned a match towards the Iranian-born Frenchman can be sufficient motivation for him not to surrender his title and not using a struggle.

Alireza would have had each probability of 1st place if not for a loss within the penultimate spherical. He commented:

I’m very disillusioned with yesterday’s recreation. It felt just like the event was going my means, however all of a sudden Duda performed an excellent recreation… Total I’m very completely happy after the loss with Wesley. To complete with +1 is fairly good. Final 12 months I acquired -1 right here, so it’s an excellent begin to the 12 months.

Alireza made simply 4 attracts, lower than some other participant.

The ultimate spherical was additionally an indication of his maturity. Again in 2022 he’d misplaced to the identical opponent, his French colleague Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, after overpressing, whereas this 12 months he calmly shut down a recreation that had gone towards him.

Wesley So, 5/9 (1 win, 8 attracts), 2nd-Fifth place, $42,750

For one spherical, this regarded like Wesley So’s event. After getting right into a troublesome place towards Alireza Firouzja in Spherical 1 he snatched the possibility to take over the initiative and win a pawn, after which as a substitute of being tempted to take a draw by repetition he went on to transform the benefit.

From then on, nonetheless, it was a well-known story, as Wesley remained content material along with his +1 rating by means of the subsequent eight rounds.

The one which stood out was taking a draw by repetition in a near successful place towards Ding Liren, whereas there have been on the spot attracts in the direction of the tip of the occasion. As soon as once more it’s arduous to keep away from the considered simply how dominant a participant Wesley might need develop into with a bit extra ambition.

In his defence, nonetheless, Wesley was simply one in every of three gamers who had the identical one win and eight attracts event.

Richard Rapport, 5/9 (1 win, 8 attracts), 2nd-Fifth place, $42,750

Richard Rapport managed to do what his boss Ding Liren didn’t and play a quietly profitable event after the pressure of the World Championship match in Astana. He returned to the High 10 after an occasion the place he was not often troubled, with a win in what regarded like an unwinnable place towards Jan-Krzysztof Duda the icing on the cake.

Anish Giri, 5/9 (1 win, 8 attracts), 2nd-Fifth place, $42,750

Six attracts in a row in the beginning of the occasion had been swiftly forgotten when Anish Giri scored a trendy win towards the brand new World Champion Ding Liren. In underneath half a 12 months Giri has overwhelmed Ding twice, and likewise overwhelmed one other World Champion, Magnus Carlsen.

The win towards Magnus in Wijk aan Zee had seen Anish win his dwelling supertournament for the primary time, and one other victory wasn’t past the realm of chance going into the ultimate spherical. He even acquired an edge towards Ian Nepomniachtchi’s Sicilian.

Ultimately Anish was on the verge of a mood-spoiling loss, however catastrophe was averted and he might look again on an excellent if unspectacular occasion.

Jan-Krzysztof Duda, 4.5/9 (1 win, 7 attracts, 1 loss), 6-Seventh place, $19,750

Jan-Krzysztof Duda was one in every of two gamers to complete on 50%, which was an excellent consequence after the Polish no. 1 slipped to a very pointless loss to Richard Rapport in Spherical 2. The query, “so Duda is the World Champion now?” was requested on-line after Duda beat the person who had overwhelmed Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja, for a primary classical win in over 9 months.

It doesn’t fairly work like that, but it surely was a fantastic recreation by Duda after Firouzja misplayed the opening.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, 4.5/9 (1 win, 7 attracts, 1 loss), 6-Seventh place, $19,750

Maxime got here into the occasion because the defending champion, however saved a low profile besides for 2 defining moments. In Spherical 3 he acquired into dire bother towards Fabiano Caruana’s 3.h4 Grünfeld and resigned on transfer 23 along with his queen about to be trapped. In Spherical 5, nonetheless, he redeemed himself by holding on in a troublesome place towards Ian Nepomniachtchi earlier than taking up and successful in model.

Ding Liren, 4/9 (1 win, 6 attracts, 2 losses), eighth place, $16,000

Ding Liren was the person all of us wished to see in motion, however the fears that the brand new World Champion can be drained bodily and emotionally after the match in Astana proved justified. He was operating on empty within the early rounds and solely barely survived one other check towards Ian Nepomniachtchi.

In Spherical 5 he misplaced what was briefly a successful place towards Firouzja, earlier than struggling one other heavy loss with the black items in Spherical 7, to Anish Giri. It might have been a bitter aftermath to the best success of his profession, however the remaining spherical supplied some reduction, as Ding comprehensively outplayed Bogdan-Daniel Deac with the black items.

The win noticed him return to the world no. 3 spot the place he’d began the occasion, even when with a distinct participant above him, and also you may joke that Ding had did not get out of his Astana mindset i.e. you don’t have to play chess brilliantly, just a bit bit higher than Ian Nepomniachtchi!

Ian Nepomniachtchi, 3.5/9 (1 win, 5 attracts, 3 losses), ninth place, $13,000

It was doubly powerful for Nepomniachtchi, since he didn’t have the constructive feelings of successful the World Championship to compensate for his exhaustion. A vivid begin shortly soured, till most issues that might go mistaken did go mistaken for him in Bucharest.

The acquainted flaw of rushed strikes in vital positions was on show, and it felt as if Ian was on an prolonged tilt. The final recreation was maybe essentially the most bitter, since Nepomniachtchi had utilized heavy stress to Anish Giri and managed to succeed in a successful place, solely to let it slip.

This was the important thing second:

48…Qg3+! 49.Kh1 Qf4! 50.Qc2 Ng3+! and it’s throughout.

51.Kg1 Qe3+ 52.Kh2 Qe1 and that checkmate Ian talked about can’t be stopped. The one different is 51.Kh2, however then merely 51…Nf5+ wins the knight on d6, and with it the sport.

As an alternative after 48…Ng3? Anish survived, and Ian had dropped from 2nd in the beginning of the occasion to 4th on the reside ranking record after dropping 15 factors.

The slim comfort was that he didn’t end all-time low.

Bogdan-Daniel Deac, 3/9 (6 attracts, 3 losses), tenth place, $10,500

Native star Bogdan-Daniel Deac has tended to over-perform in Bucharest. In 2021 he beat and completed above Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, whereas in 2022 he ended up tied for 4th place after beating Richard Rapport and ending on 50%.

This time, nonetheless, there was little to have a good time, with Bogdan-Daniel dropping three video games, all with the white items, and changing into the one participant to win none. It wasn’t a catastrophe for the lowest-rated participant within the occasion, however should nonetheless have been disappointing.

The subsequent occasion on the Grand Chess Tour, the Superbet Warsaw Fast & Blitz, begins in simply six days, with six of the identical gamers competing. We received’t get to see Ding Liren vs. Magnus Carlsen simply but, nonetheless, since Ding has been granted a a lot wanted break!

Keep tuned for all of the motion right here on chess24.

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