Brian Jerauld
Communications Specialist
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis

SAINT LOUIS (September 4, 2014) — Never has winning $100,000 come as such a letdown.

Clinching first place of the 2014 Sinquefield Cup is GM Fabiano Caruana, who claimed the lion’s share of the U.S. super tournament’s $315,000 prize fund with two rounds remaining. What was left behind, however, was a monumental streak of seven-consecutive wins against the highest-rated field in history — versus five of the world’s current top-ten International Grandmasters.

In Thursday’s round 8, World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen held Caruana to his first half-point of the tournament, an effort that simultaneously knocked Caruana down to a less-than-perfect 7.5/8 and also mathematically ended Carlsen’s chances to catch the leader from behind.

The half-point maintains the World Champion’s place in clear second with 4.5/8, though GM Veselin Topalov (4/8) lurks just a half-point behind after defeating GM Hikaru Nakamura (2/8) on Thursday. GMs Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave settled with a draw to remain tied in fourth, with 3/8.

ROUND 8 RESULTS


White Result Black
GM Hikaru Nakamura 0 – 1 GM Veselin Topalov
GM Levon Aronian 1/2 – 1/2 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
GM Fabiano Caruana 1/2 – 1/2 GM Magnus Carlsen


STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 8
Rank Name Rating Score
1 GM Fabiano Caruana 2801 7.5
2 GM Magnus Carlsen 2877 4.5
3 GM Veselin Topalov 2772 4
4 GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2768 3
5 GM Levon Aronian 2805 3
6 GM Hikaru Nakamura 2787 2


ROUND 9 PAIRINGS

White Result Black
GM Fabiano Caruana – GM Hikaru Nakamura
GM Magnus Carlsen – GM Levon Aronian
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – GM Veselin Topalov
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar September 5, 2014 Chess Improvement, Daily News, Major Tournaments, Scholastic Chess 9 Comments
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