Alireza Firouzja wins Sinquefield Cup 2022 after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi in a rapid playoff
World No. 4 Alireza Firouzja clinched victory in the 2022 Sinquefield Cup after defeating Ian Nepomniachtchi 1.5-0.5 in a rapid playoff for the title, earning an extra $10,000 in addition to his $87,500 first place prize.
With his result in the Sinquefield Cup, Firouzja also emerged as the overall winner of the 2022 Grand Chess Tour, taking home a $100,000 bonus prize. Finishing second in the GCT was Wesley So, who earned a bonus $50,000, while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave placed third in the overall standings:
Firouzja’s sensational performance follows his impressive win in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz held late August. “In general the Grand Chess Tour is the toughest tour in the history of chess I think, so to win it is an amazing feeling and I cannot be more happy,” said Firouzja after securing tour victory with a draw against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in today’s final round.
Check out the full replay of live coverage from the day here. The time control for the event was 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game; with a 30-second increment starting from move 1.
FINAL ROUND
VACHIER-LAGRAVE – FIROUZJA | ½-½, 33 moves
Firouzja’s last round game was fairly uneventful, as Vachier-Lagrave essentially forced a draw out of the opening in a 5.Re1 Berlin. Firouzja knew his theory well and the players traded down into a dead-drawn single rook ending. Thanks to this draw, Firouzja was able to clinch first in the overall GCT standings, with the Sinquefield Cup still very much undecided based on the results of the games of Nepomniachtchi and So. Replay the game here
NEPOMNIACHTCHI – NIEMANN | ½-½, 54 moves
After Firouzja’s quick draw, Nepomniachtchi had an opportunity to win the tournament outright with a victory over Niemann, who had been struggling over the last few rounds. A somewhat rare line in the English left Nepo with a much better structure in the endgame, and seemingly decent practical chances with a knight against bishop. But despite out-maneuvering Niemann and building up a decisive advantage, Nepomniachtchi somewhat inexplicably rejected an obvious capture of a pawn, opting to continue shifting his pieces around. This gave Hans a chance to consolidate his position and a few moves later Nepo blundered into a threefold repetition. Replay the game here
SO – DOMINGUEZ | ½-½, 39 moves
With a win in the last game, So could catch up to the leaders and force a three-way playoff, but Dominguez’s play in a Queen’s Gambit Accepted was too solid, and So was unable to generate any serious winning chances out of the opening. Nevertheless with the draw, So was able to secure second place in the overall GCT.
MAMEDYAROV – ARONIAN | ½-½, 39 moves
An exciting 4.Qc2 Nimzo led to the players castling on opposite sides of the board, with a very sharp position. But after accurate play by both Mamedyarov and Aronian, the middlegame fizzled out quickly, with mass exchanges leading to a drawn double rook endgame.
PLAYOFF
GAME 1: NEPOMNIACHTCHI – FIROUZJA | ½-½, 70 moves
The first game of the playoff featured Nepomniachtchi’s pet Catalan, as the queens got exchanged early and it seemed like Firouzja had equalized comfortably. But a hasty decision (26…c5) by Firouzja gave Nepo the chance to establish a passed pawn, seizing a nice strategic plus. At this point Firouzja started to defend well and Nepo lost his advantage when he allowed a trade of knights, leading to a rather drawish rook endgame.
GAME 2: FIROUZJA – NEPOMNIACHTCHI | 1-0, 34 moves
In the second game Firouzja was able to grab the initiative early on, after an inaccurate move (7…Na6) by Nepomniachtchi on the Black side of an English. Things escalated quickly when Firouzja offered a pawn sacrifice in order to get his kingside majority moving, but rather than accepting the pawn Nepo blundered a piece with 16…Qe7, missing a simple tactic in response. Firouzja pounced on the opportunity and converted with ease, clinching the playoff.