Fabulous Caruana Wins 2 Armageddons, Will Play Abdusattorov In Grand Final

GM Fabiano Caruana eliminated GMs Jules Moussard and Jorden van Foreest on his way to the Champions Chess Tour ChessKid Cup 2023 Grand Final in Division I.

Both of his matches made it to armageddon tiebreaks; Caruana first drew with the black pieces and then won the second with white. He earns a rematch vs. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who defeated him in the Winners Semifinals earlier.

The Grand Final in Division II is also set. After defeating GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, GM Vladimir Fedoseev sits at the top of the Winners Bracket. He will have two lives against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, whom he beat way back in the first round of the event. The Azerbaijani tactician fought his way through the whole Losers Bracket, finally beating GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son in the Losers Final, for a chance at redemption.

On the previous day, GM Pentala Harikrishna suffered a loss to GM Alan Pichot in the Winners Final after falling into an unfortunate opening trap. But by defeating the young and dangerous GM Denis Lazavik in the Losers Final on Friday, he earned another chance at the Division III title.

The ChessKid Cup concludes with the Grand Final on Friday, May 26, starting at 8 a.m. PT/17:00 CEST. 

Division I

Always a dangerous opening theoretician, Caruana came prepared with White in game one and played the offbeat 11.Be3 against the Petroff Defense, a move first played by GM Viswanathan Anand in 2001 and not repeated until 20 years later, by GMs Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The U.S. champion won what the commentators praised as a positional masterpiece.

Without question, this is our Game of the Day, annotated by GM Rafael Leitao below.

Caruana, the recent Superbet Chess Classic Romania champion, continued to show great form in game two with the black pieces in the Ruy Lopez. In what looked like it was going to be another clinical wrapup, where he was either equal or better for most of it, he lost control in the time scramble.

What a comeback by GM Jules Moussard 💥! We have armageddon!#ChessChamps #ChessKidCup pic.twitter.com/CXS5P2ON2E

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) May 25, 2023

The world number-six won the bid for the black pieces in armageddon with 9 minutes and 58 seconds. Moussard would have time odds, with 15 minutes, but he would also need to win. 

With a convincing draw in the tiebreak, Caruana made it to the Losers Final and also secured, with a minimum third-place finish, a ticket to Division I of the next CCT event.

Moussard earns $12,500 and 50 tour points for his fourth-place finish.

Losers Final: Van Foreest-Caruana 1-2

The shadow of pandemonium descended on this Losers Final match in the very first game. Although the first two games were drawn, they were anything but peaceful. The match was only decided in yet another armageddon game.

Van Foreest was the first to cast a surprise with 10.a4, declining the Marshall Gambit, in game one. It was unclear how deep his preparation went as the players followed trodden paths in correspondence chess all the way to 14.Qd3. The game exploded, but the mental boxing match ended with the proverbial shake of hands. Draw.

Fireworks in game one! 🎆#ChessChamps #ChessKidCup pic.twitter.com/1xg1LzIkXS

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) May 25, 2023

After another (fighting!) draw in game two, where Caruana gave the (delayed) Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation a spin, we had another armageddon game on our hands.

Van Foreest won the bid for Black in armageddon by three seconds, with 9:53 vs. Caruana’s 9:56. There was a brief curfuffle in the commentary as Van Foreest chose to play with the white pieces, which would be a first in the Champions Chess Tour ever. But it transpired that he misunderstood the rules (he would play with his bid of 9:53 with White) and took his decision back, ultimately settling on the black pieces.

The critical moment came on move 26, where Caruana decided to trade queens and plant an absolute ghoul of a knight on c4. While the engine recommends Black to defend passively and simply wait, Van Foreest lashed out with 29…d5?. But this “liberating” pawn break only liberated the e-file for the white rook.

Van Foreest finishes the ChessKid Cup in third winning a nice sum of $15,000, 75 tour points, and most importantly, a seat in Division I of the next event (which comes with at least $7,500 even if he loses his first match there). 

After the game, Caruana commented on how unnecessary the armageddon game was in the first match. He also considered himself an underdog in a match vs. Abdusattorov where he has to win twice.

“Considering he has two lives, I guess I am an underdog in this match. But If I get past the first one, I feel like there’s some psychological edge going into the second one.”

– Fabiano Caruana on his chances vs. Nodirbek Abdusattorov on Friday. #ChessChamps #ChessKidCup pic.twitter.com/B9xLiG2wJG

— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) May 25, 2023

As Nakamura showed in the Chessable Masters, against Caruana in fact, it is possible to win twice in the Grand Final. Only time will tell. 

Division I Standings

Division II

Mamedyarov was simply not to be trifled with on Thursday. He won all of his matches—against GMs Raunak Sadhwani, Dmitry Andreikin, and Nguyen—with his usual tactical flare. GM Mikhail Tal once compared chess to a deep, dark forest, and on Thursday the Azerbaijani grandmaster brought his machete.

After two draws against Raunak, he won the armageddon game with White in 22 moves. Can you find the finishing touch?

White to move and win. (There is an alternative, but find the most forcing move.)

He then sent Andreikin home (metaphorically, of course, since they’re all already home) with two wins in two games.