Caruana joins the chasing pack
The postponed round-four game between Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja was played on the tournament’s free day, after being rescheduled for Tuesday at 4 pm local time. Firouzja, who had suffered an ankle injury before the original date of the game, played from a hotel bed for a second day in a row.
The game soon became a sharp fight, as the encounter arose from a sharp variation of the Slav Defence, with the kings castled on opposite flanks. Caruana obtained a clear edge after a positionally weak knight move by Firouzja left the minor piece out of play for much of the game. Caruana’s conversion was not flawless, but he kept setting practical problems, while Firouzja had to defend for a long period under pressure and with limited time on the clock.
Firouzja finally made the decisive mistake on move 37, allowing Caruana to collect a ful point.
The result brought Caruana into the group tied for second place, half a point behind sole leader Vincent Keymer. The four-player chasing pack also includes Anish Giri, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Jorden van Foreest.
In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career.
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section
Time to play | Photo: Lenart Ootes
A one-of-a-kind setting for an elite chess encounter | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Standings after round 5
Most players prefer to attack rather than defend. But what is the correct way to do it? GM Dr Karsten Müller has compiled many rules and motifs to guide you, along with sharpening your intuition for the exceptions.
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