Cover Story / 2014 Sinquefield Cup
37. Rf5 I would have played this,” said Caruana.
35. ... Rxf5 36. exf5 Rd8 37. Rxd8+ Bxd8 38. Kg2 Kg7 39. Kf3 Kf6 40. Ke4 c4 41. Bxc4 Bb6 42. Bd3, Draw agreed.
Caruana admitted disappointment, but
29. Rcd1?! “After 29. Rfd1 I was intending to play
29. ... Bxh4 but the computer tells me it is just mate,” said Carlsen, meaning the variation 30. Rg1+ Kh8 31. Rg4! Bxf2 32. Qxf2 Ra7 33. Rh4+ Rh7 (“33. ... Qxh4+ 34. Qxh4+ Rh7 35. Bh5! is a very impor tant line, which I had actually seen when playing 28. Kh1,” said Caruana.) 34. Rxh7+! Kxh7 35. Qh2+ followed by 36. Rg1+.
29. ... Kh8! “Of course I had seen the trick 29. ...
Be7? 30. Bxc5! dxc5 31. Qg2+,” said Caruana. “It works with either rook on d1. I thought I was being clever playing 29. Rcd1, not giving him another chance to take on h4, but the other rook was much better.”
30. Qxd6 Qxd6 31. Rxd6 Nxc4 32. Rd5?! “I should have tried 32. Rd7 Rad8 33.
Rfd1 because if 33. ... Ne3 34. Bxe3 fxe3 35. Be2 Bxh4 36. b6 and if I get my pawn to b7 Black is in trouble,” said Caruana.
32. ... Ne3 33. Bxe3 fxe3 34. Be2 Bxh4 35. Rf5 The continuation 35. Rxe5 Rxf1+ 36.
Bxf1 Rf8 37. Rf5! is probably not quite enough to win for White but is much better than the game and “of course if I had seen
he insisted it was about failing to convert the “promising” position, not because his perfect score ended. Still, the draw secured tournament victory, but by this point that had become the least uncertain storyline in St. Louis. In round nine, Caruana and Carlsen
both missed endgame wins. Carlsen was especially exasperated, throwing his hands up in the air while discussing the game and trying to figure out why he had played a “stupid slip.” “I’m very happy at the entire tourna -
ment,” Caruana said. “Except for rounds eight and nine. Round nine I’d like to forget.” Like the previous round, all games
ended in draws in the final round. Topalov and Carlsen repeated moves early, securing the former an even score after losing his first two games and the latter clear second place. Only a few issues were left to be settled. Caruana’s favorite nickname for himself?
He doesn’t care for any. What about his celebratory drink of choice? Just water. (See the sidebar for more on Caruana’s personal life.) On Topalov hanging it up? “I don’t mind
retiring, but now I don’t see the reason!” he said after his third place result. “The advantage of getting older is that you lose your memory. When you lose, maybe you forget?” What of the rumor that Caruana could
one day switch Federations from Italy to the U.S.? “So far it’s just rumors,” Caruana said. “I’d rather not say too much about
that.” (This is also briefly discussed in the sidebar “The Caruana Story” beginning on page 22.) Still, the issue was clearly in the air, as
club founder and tournament name sake Rex Sinquefield jokingly asked the five non-American flagged players, “When are you moving to the U.S.?” The players smiled silently as Sinquefield’s eyes scanned then locked on Caruana. The audience broke into laughter. On the possibility of a future showdown
with Carlsen (at the time, the world championship contract was still in limbo): “It’s normal there’s going to be a lot of hype after this result,” Caruana said. “Maybe I’ll get a match in the future but you never know.” Caruana’s lifetime score against Carlsen is a respectable -1. Carlsen ended all speculation by signing
the contract the day after the tournament ended (which Caruana had publicly ad - vised him to do). A few days later, Caruana entered the world championship cycle by entering three of the FIDE Grand Prix. His first chance for the belt would be in 2016.
Caruana also insisted that he would
not be dumping ice-cold water on himself in future events. One final bit of housekeeping took place
on the sidewalk outside the club. Just before the closing ceremony, three players and a club employee all pulled out a $1 bill and handed it over to Caruana. They had all incorrectly wagered that Carlsen would not sign to defend his title in Sochi. Caruana won that bet too, making his personal-best winnings $100,004.
For more reporting, photos, and games from the Sinquefield Cup, visit Chess LIfe Online at
uschess.org, August and September archives.
2014 SINQUEFIELD CUP, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 6, 2014 FIDE
FED
GM Fabiano Caruana GM Magnus Carlsen GM Veselin Topolov
Rating
ITA 2801 NOR 2877 BUL 2772
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2768 GM Levon Aronian
GM Hikaru Nakamura
ARM 2805 USA 2787
1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 8½ 0 0 ½ x ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 5½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ x
1 x
0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ x
1 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ ½
5 2 3 4 5 6 Pts. TB1 0
TB2 7 2 3
4 1½ 1
0 ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ x ½ ½ 4 ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ x
3
TB1=Tiebreak 1: Direct Encounter (The results of the players in the same point group) TB2=Tiebreak 2: The greater number of victories TB3=Tiebreak 3: Sonnenborn-Berger Tiebreak variable.
For more information, see
uschesschamps.com/sinquefield-cup and
http://chess-results.com/tnr143628.aspx?lan=1&art=4&wi=821. 0 0 TB3
36.75 23.75 19.50 17.00 19.50
15.00
www.uschess.org
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