Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Firouzja’s Oversight
The Sinquefield Cup is a prestigious tournament held every year in September in the city of Saint Louis (Missouri, USA). The tournament receives its name from the founders of the Saint Louis Chess Club, Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield. The first Sinquefield Cup took place in 2013 and is part of the Grand Chess Tour since 2015.
Chess players will remember the Sinquefield Cup 2022 because of the “Niemann affair”. Hans Moke Niemann is an American GM who took part in that edition and won his game against Carlsen in round three. Carlsen withdrew from the tournament in the next round without any public explanation but immediately the chess community began a global discussion about cheating.
Another player taking part in the 2022 edition was Alireza Firouzja. The young Iranian-born player (but playing for France since 2021) started attracting attention when in 2018, at the age of 15, finished 6th in the World Rapid Championship held in Saint Petersburg (Russia). Next followed a meteoric rise and in Dec-2021 he became the second best player in the world with ELO 2804. Firouzja’s tactically oriented style of play and his excellent calculating skill make him a dangerous opponent.
In the above-mentioned third round, Firouzja played against Levon Aronian. However, despite his exceptional tactical skill, Firouzja uncharacteristically couldn’t find a tactical resource. Can you find it?
Firouzja won the Sinquefield Cup 2022 and went home with $87,500 for first place.
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