Wesley So claimed the $350,000 Sinquefield Cup in St Louis after a speed playoff, defeating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Fabiano Caruana. The three had tied for first with 5.5/9 points, but So triumphed 1.5-1-0.5 in the playoff after organisers rejected a request to share the title.
So’s victory was sealed by a final-round win against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, where a daring king march from g1 to b3 set up a decisive pawn advance. The American credited England’s Gawain Jones, whose book Coffeehouse Repertoire 1 e4 provided the risky opening. “If Black plays perfectly, White is even a bit worse, but I thought I had to risk it,” So joked.
Despite a regulation forbidding agreed draws, all 21 games among the top seven finishers were halved, with players tacitly simplifying positions. The event, part of the Grand Chess Tour, also served as a qualifier for next month’s Tour Final in São Paulo. Caruana, So, Praggnanandhaa, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave secured berths, though So’s earlier Tour results left him out.
World champion Gukesh Dommaraju finished with 4/9, continuing a disappointing run. He will have a chance to rebound at the St Louis Chess Club’s reopening in late October, featuring Magnus Carlsen, Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Gukesh in a $400,000 rapid tournament. Before that, the Fide Grand Swiss begins on 3 September in Samarkand, with Nikita Vitiugov as England’s sole contender.
