GM Fabiano Caruana has climbed to world number-two on the fast dwell score record after beating GMs Gukesh Dommaraju, Anish Giri, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to finish the fast part of the 2024 SuperUnited Speedy & Blitz Croatia on a towering 15/18 factors. Second-placed GM Wesley So is three factors behind, whereas GM Levon Aronian is 4 factors again going into the weekend’s 18 rounds of blitz. Â Â
Day 4 begins Saturday, July 13, at 9 a.m. ET / 15:00 CEST / 6:30 p.m. IST.
SuperUnited Croatia Speedy & Blitz Standings Earlier than Blitz
Caruana Lives Dangerously Then Dominates
Caruana got here to Zagreb after scoring 3/3 to win the fast playoff of the Superbet Chess Traditional in Bucharest, and he is introduced that kind to the Croatian capital to achieve a whopping 39.1 score factors on the 2700chess fast dwell score record.Â
It hasn’t at all times been fairly as easy because it seems, nonetheless. Within the first sport of the day, a fast conflict with Gukesh that we nearly acquired to see on the finish of the FIDE Candidates in Toronto, Caruana felt he had a really snug place… earlier than he threw all of it away in a single transfer! He stated of his 32…a5?:
“All of a sudden I used to be like, OK, I’ll play a5. After eager about all the opposite strikes, I made a decision, however as quickly as I let go of the pawn… I used to be considering, a3, however a3 doesn’t lead wherever for White, then instantly I spotted 33.a4!, after which White’s shedding on the spot!”
I instantly realized 33.a4!, after which White’s shedding on the spot!
—Fabiano Caruana
In the long run, nonetheless, Caruana would truly go on not simply to outlive, however to win!
A cultured end by Caruana, and as a substitute of a Gukesh win and a 5-way tie for 1st, Fabiano has a 2-point lead! https://t.co/MXTLKenSZ7 #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/QAf31lfLPE
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 12, 2024
That sport was essential for the standing, since with a win Gukesh would have caught Caruana and we’d have had a five-way tie for first place. As an alternative the U.S. star took a two-point lead, whereas Gukesh’s struggling would proceed within the subsequent spherical.
A gap gone mistaken noticed Aronian quit his queen, to silicon howls of derision, however the sport grew to become a nightmare for the Indian GM when the items, and pawns, overpowered his queen.Â
Throughout that sport thirteenth World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov voiced the opinion that the 18-year-old challenger to the crown was nonetheless getting used to dealing with the strain on the prime.Â
Kasparov: “The issue for Gukesh is there’s an excessive amount of strain on his shoulders, as a result of he is an excellent participant, however he is not Magnus Carlsen”#GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/ARrx8SSRPq
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 12, 2024
His different level, nonetheless, was that Gukesh’s occasional struggles in velocity chess are just like these of the younger Caruana. The 31-year-old model, in the meantime, went from energy to energy.Â
Concerning the second sport of the day towards Giri, Caruana revealed that within the run-up to the occasion he’d mentioned together with his second GM Grigoriy Oparin that 6.g3 within the Sicilian Najdorf is definitely named the Zagreb Variation, after the town they had been taking part in in. Subsequently they determined to name the novelty he performed, 6.Qd3 Nbd7 7.g3!?, the “Delayed Zagreb.”
Fabiano Caruana christens his 7.g3 novelty vs. Giri the “Delayed Zagreb”!#GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/c1QgRd4zcW
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 12, 2024
Caruana admitted the opening wasn’t an enormous success, however stated he was “very shocked and pleased” when his opponent went for “a really concrete resolution” with a d5-pawn break that simply did not work.Â
The ultimate sport of the day noticed Staff Caruana’s opening laboratory ship once more as a uncommon tenth transfer within the Ruy Lopez, beforehand performed by Caruana’s second Oparin, provoked Vachier-Lagrave to push a pawn to a5. Six strikes later that pawn had fallen, and though few are as pleased to play a pawn down because the Frenchman, it was all one-way visitors as Caruana went on to finish an ideal day with a 3rd win.
A pleasant end by Caruana as he wins the Speedy in Zagreb with an excellent 15/18! #GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/vc3hMrzmnA
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 12, 2024
There are actually 18 rounds of blitz to go, however with just one level for a win in blitz Caruana’s lead is critical.
Who Can Cease Caruana?Â
The excellent news for the “chasing pack” is that current historical past hasn’t favored the leaders after the fast in Zagreb successful the match as an entire.Â
The dangerous information, maybe, is that whereas Vachier-Lagrave managed to win in 2021, it was the absent GM Magnus Carlsen who, to nobody’s nice shock, took over in the newest occasions. Can anybody rise to the problem this 12 months?
The closest participant is GM Wesley So, who received one sport and drew two on every of the three days of fast chess. On the ultimate day the win got here towards struggling native star GM Ivan Saric, who was successful at numerous factors in a King’s Indian Assault, however, as towards Gukesh within the closing spherical, misplaced his approach within the issues.Â
So’s laid-back type could make closing a three-point hole powerful, whereas Aronian, 4 factors off the tempo, may fancy the problem. After drawing So within the first spherical he scored that outstanding win over Gukesh we have already identified, earlier than successful an excellent sport towards Giri within the closing spherical of the day. 36…Nxf2!! was a robust candidate for transfer of the day.
That is our Sport of the Day, which has been analyzed by GM Rafael Leitao beneath:
Three of the gamers with the potential to win any blitz match discover themselves a full 5 factors off the lead and needing some assist from Caruana: GMs Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vachier-Lagrave, and Alireza Firouzja. Nepomniachtchi made two attracts and is simply as shut as he’s as a result of GM Vidit Gujrathi hallucinated a successful tactic. The tragedy was that it was ready the place he did have a transfer that was close-to-winning.
The autopsy was energetic.Â
Vidit realises he ruined and misplaced a fantastic place!#GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/pRLjRfJ4vo
— chess24 (@chess24com) July 12, 2024
Issues would worsen from there for Vidit when he encountered some followers who wished him properly in his upcoming title match…
A bedtime story for you guys, narrated by @viditchess. pic.twitter.com/gLPtVG9WzR
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) July 12, 2024
Earlier, nonetheless, he’d additionally had an enormous slice of luck. Vidit was the truth is the unifying issue within the gamers 5 factors behind Caruana. He was impressively crushed by Vachier-Lagrave within the first sport of the day, however then managed to select up a primary win by handing Firouzja a primary defeat.
That was one other minor chess tragedy, for the reason that Frenchman was an correct transfer away from forcing resignation.
If Firouzja had received that sport and was three factors behind you’d give him an excellent probability of catching Caruana, whereas now the problem might be more durable. Nonetheless, you would not wish to miss the blitz, even when it means overlooking some marital commitments!Â
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) July 12, 2024
watch?
The 2024 SuperUnited Croatia Speedy & Blitz is the third occasion on the 2024 Grand Chess Tour and runs July 10-14 within the Westin Resort in Zagreb, Croatia. The ten gamers first compete in a single fast round-robin with a time management of 25 minutes plus a 10-second increment per transfer, adopted by a blitz double round-robin with a 5+2 time management.
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