Yesterday marked the end of this year’s Sinquefield Cup held in the Saint Louis Chess Club. A lot of drama was seen by the entire chess world. But in the end, the rising star of the chess world took home one of the most prestigious accolades with him along with a hefty amount of money.
The 13-day-long tournament gave the audience some exhilarating games from the nine rounds played in total. The most shocking game was played between Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen indeed but the round two games played between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Alireza Firouzja was also a turbulent game as Ian blundered heavily when he left his knight hanging. Alireza did not spare him and the game ended with resignation as Ian was surrounded by Alireza and dominated in every square.
And after that it was smooth sailing for Alireza. He had previously won the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament and his against Ian brought him the closer to his second major league tournament. Alireza consequently won the Grand Chess Tour.
Here are the prize details for the Grand Chess Tour. Alireza Firouzja with points 36.5 won $172,250 plus $100,000. in second place, Wesley So won $140,167 with a $50,000 bonus and scored 30 points. In third place, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had 29 points and received $140,167 and a bonus of $25,000.
After the departure of Magnus Carlsen, many participants of the tournament were left speculating and most of them spoke carefully so as not to receive any contempt which would result from direct accusations and name-calling. Most of all, Hans Niemann was affected the most by the unusual turn of events because after Magnus withdrew, Hans bore great pressure from all sides. He was unable to concentrate on the games after round four which is an understandable position. The next few games he played were either draws or losses; he failed to redeem his tempo afterwards.
In a tweet, Hans defends himself by opposing GM Hikaru Nakamura’s remarks on his early career.
Everyone awaits a response from either of the leading parties which may have suspected any foul play or may even have any evidence against Hans Niemann. Meanwhile, Hans continues to openly discuss this matter and is resolute about having no links to allegations being made against him.
