Caruana claimed third U.S. chess title by holding off the younger weapons

GM Fabiano Caruana not solely captured his third U.S. nationwide title with a dominating efficiency earlier this month on the St. Louis Chess Club, the world’s No. 2 participant additionally had a message for a technology of rising American stars aiming for his crown.

Not but.

The 31-year-old Caruana, whose earlier titles got here in 2016 and 2022, not solely gained going away over the sturdy 12-grandmaster subject, however his 8-3 undefeated outcome together with victories over a number of the youthful gamers within the subject trying to take him down, together with 14-year-old GM Abhimanyu Mishra (who completed in a really credible tie for second in his first U.S. title tourney) and early 20-something GMs Andrew Tang, Jeffery Xiong and Hans Moke Niemann.

Niemann, the middle of a world chess dishonest controversy final yr that’s simply now beginning to subside, gave the brand new champ a run for his cash within the early rounds, however his hopes had been dealt a deadly blow when matched with the chief in Round 9. Caruana is now 3-0 towards the brash, 20-year-old California GM, profitable all three video games with Black.

Niemann does effective from the White facet of this now-popular Vienna Game line, however the necessity to take probabilities given the event rating winds up costing him in the long run. After 21. f4!? (21. Re3 f4 22. Rc3 could also be extra versatile; White underestimates the facility of Black’s kingside initiative as soon as the middle is closed) Qe7 22. a3 c5 23. Rac1 c4 24. Qd1 Kh8 25. Bb5 (Kh2!? Rg8 26. Re2 g5 27. Rf2 would have made the play extra double-edged) g5!?, and Black goes on the assault.

The strain results in a cloth win on 28. Rc3 (c5 Rg3 29. Be2 Qh4 30. Bf3 Rag8 [Qxh3 31. Re2 Qh4 32. Rf2 Rag8 33. Kf1 stalls the Black attack and gives White fresh hope] 31. Kf1 Bd7!, and the bishop enters the sport powerfully from the opposite wing) dxc4 29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Qxa3 31. Rc2, and White’s final hope is that his now-liberated central pawns can do some harm.

After 31 … f3!? (the materialistic computer systems like the simple 31 … Qxh3, in traces akin to 32. Rf2 Rxg2+! 33. Rxg2 f3 34. Rg5 Qh4! 35. Qd2 f4, and if 36. Rf5, then Black has 35. Rg8+ 37. Kf1 Qh1+ 38. Kf2 Qg2 mate) 32. e6? (Caruana stated afterward that 32. Qa1 could have been White’s final likelihood, although on 32 … Qxa1 33. Rxa1 b5 34. d4 b4 35. d6 b3 36. Rb2 a4 37. e6 Kg7! 38. g3 Kf6 39. e7 Ke6 40. Re1+ Kd7, the White pawns are frozen, whereas Black’s are able to roll) fxg2 33. Qe2 Qxh3 34. Qe5+ Rg7, additionally dropping would have been 35. e7 (Qh2 Qxh2+ 36. Kxh2 g1=Q+ 37. Rxg1 Rxg1 38. Kxg1 Kg7, and Black ought to win the ending) Qh1+ 36. Kf2 g1=Q+ 37. Rxg1 Qxg1+ 38. Ke2 Qg2+ 39. Kd1 Qg4+ 40. Kd2 Qg5+ 41. Kd3 Qxe7 and wins.

It’s over on 43. Qd5 (d5 Rf5 44. Qb8+ Kh7 45. d6 Rd5 46. e7 Qe6+ 47. Kxf3 Rf5 mate) Re8, and Niemann conceded going through traces like 44. e7+ Kh8 45. Qxf3 Rge7+ 46. Kd3 Qxf3+ 47. Rxf3 Rg8 48. Rh3 Rg5, and Black is simply three pawns to the nice.

We additionally slighted GM Wesley So in final week’s column, dropping him from the record of three gamers together with GMs Abhimanyu Mishra and Leinier Dominguez Perez who completed second to Caruana in St. Louis. So and Dominguez Perez matched the winner in going undefeated within the 11-round occasion.

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It’s a measure of how issues can change: The just-completed 76th Russian nationwide championship event, as soon as the gold normal for this stuff worldwide, was a much more low-wattage affair in comparison with the U.S. occasion, with not a single participant in St. Petersburg topping the 2700 scores mark and plenty of acquainted names — Nepomniachtchi, Grischuk, Svidler — declining to take part.

Top-seeded GM Vladislav Artemiev overpowered the sphere, profitable by 2 full factors at 8½-2½. Among his wins was a fast knockout of GM Ivan Rozum in a Caro-Kann Advance, an object lesson in how even a powerful grasp can play himself in a depressing place with simply a few misguided early strikes.

Black will get himself in bother the basic approach — grabbing a pawn on the expense of improvement: 8. Nge2 Be7?! (Ne7 9. Ng3 Bg6 10. Bg5 Nb6 would have been simpler for Black to play) 9. Be3 Bxh4?! 10. Nf4 Bg4 11. Be2!, a barely sudden retreat, however Artemiev is glad to commerce off Black’s one actually energetic piece. After 11 … Bxe2 12. Qxe2, recalling the bishop for protection is dangerous as a result of after 12 … Be7?! 13. Rxh5 Rxh5 14. Qxh5 Nf8 15. 0-0-0 Nh6 16. g4, and White has all of the play.

But White simply retains pushing forward after the sport’s 12 … g6 13. g4 hxg4 14. Ne4! losing no time stopping to recuperate the pawn; already threats like 15. Nd6+ Ke7 16. 0-0-0 g5 17. Rxh4! gxh4 18. Nxe6! fxe6 19. Qxg4 Qf8 20. Bg5+ Ngf6 21. exf6+ Nxf6 22. d5! Kxd6 23. Qxxe6+ Kc7 24. d6+ Kb8 25. d7 hover within the air.

Black has been barely holding issues along with chewing gum and baling wire, and the modest 16. 0-0-0!, getting the king to security and bringing a rook into play, is sufficient to push him over the sting.

Thus: 16 … Nxe3 17. fxe3 f5 (yet one more determined defensive transfer that solely undermines Black’s positional basis) 18. Nd6+ Kf8 19. Nf4 (threatening the brutal twins 20. Nxg6+ and 20. Nxe6+) Kg8 20. Qc4 Nf8 (see diagram; having been there many instances, I’m guessing poor Rozum by now was simply on the lookout for a dignified option to get out of the taking part in corridor) 21. Nxg6! (Artemiev obliges; even now, the stronger 21 … Rh6 solely prolongs the agony after 22. Nxh4 Rxh4 23. Qb3 Rxh1 Qb6 25. Qc2 Qc7 26. Rh5 Rd8 27 Qh2, and Black gained’t survive lengthy) Nxg6 22. Qxe6+ Kh7 23. Nxf5 and Black stops the clocks.

White wraps up rapidly after 23 … Rf8 (Qf8 24. Nxh4 Nxh4 25. Rxh4+ Kg7 26. Rxg4+ Kh7 27. Qg6 mate) 24. Rxh4+ Nxh4 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Qg7 mate.

(Click on the picture above for a bigger view of the chessboard.)

Niemann-Caruana, U.S. Chess Championship, St. Louis, October 2023

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 a5 6. O-O d6 7. Re1 Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Be6 10. Bb5 Ne7 11. d4 Ng6 12. Ba4 Nh5 13. Nf1 Nhf4 14. Ng3 exd4 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. cxd4 d5 17. e5 f6 18. Bxf4 Nxf4 19. Nh5 Nxh5 20. Qxh5 f5 21. f4 Qe7 22. a3 c5 23. Rac1 c4 24. Qd1 Kh8 25. Bb5 g5 26. b3 gxf4 27. bxc4 Rg8 28. Rc3 dxc4 29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Qxa3 31. Rc2 f3 32. e6 fxg2 33. Qe2 Qxh3 34. Qe5+ Rg7 35. Rcc1 Qh1+ 36. Kf2 Qh4+ 37. Ke2 f4 38. Rg1 Qg4+ 39. Kd2 f3 40. Ke3 Kg8 41. Rc2 Rf8 42. Rf2 h5 43. Qd5 Re8 White resigns.

Artemiev-Rozum, 76th Russian Chess Championship, St. Petersburg, October 2023

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h5 5. c4 e6 6. Nc3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Nd7 8. Nge2 Be7 9. Be3 Bxh4 10. Nf4 Bg4 11. Be2 Bxe2 12. Qxe2 g6 13. g4 hxg4 14. Ne4 Nh6 15. Ng2 Nf5 16. O-O-O Nxe3 17. fxe3 f5 18. Nd6+ Kf8 19. Nf4 Kg8 20. Qc4 Nf8 21. Nxg6 Nxg6 22. Qxe6+ Kh7 23. Nxf5 Black resigns.