"Wesley So claims $350K Sinquefield Cup; Gukesh falls short anew"

The $350,000 Sinquefield Cup is one of the most prestigious annual events in the chess world. As part of the Grand Chess Tour, it has seen memorable moments, including Fabiano Caruana’s flawless 7/7 start in 2014 with a record 3098 tournament performance, Ding Liren’s 2019 victory over Magnus Carlsen, and the contentious 2022 incident involving Carlsen and Hans Niemann.

For 2025, the organizers introduced a four-player Tour Final set for São Paulo next month, making the competition for qualifying spots a key focus. By the end, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So (both representing the US), and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India) shared the lead with 5.5/9, followed by Levon Aronian (US) with 5 points, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland), and Sam Sevian (US) at 4.5, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju (India) with 4, Alireza Firouzja (France) with 3.5, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) at 2.5. The top three, along with Vachier-Lagrave, secured final qualification spots, but So narrowly missed out due to earlier inconsistent results, while Gukesh’s struggles continued.

A speed playoff followed after the arbiter rejected a shared-title proposal, resulting in So winning with 1.5 points, Caruana with 1, and Praggnanandhaa with 0.5.

So, a previous Sinquefield Cup winner in 2016, competes less frequently now, but his success in St Louis has elevated him to world No. 7 in live ratings. He will skip the upcoming Fide Grand Swiss in Samarkand, quipping, "Now they have a tough, demanding event in Uzbekistan while I get a break!"

The decisive moment of the tournament was So’s final-round win against Abdusattorov, tying him with Caruana and Praggnanandhaa. Afterward, So acknowledged Gawain Maroroa Jones of England, whose book *Coffeehouse Repertoire 1 e4* inspired the opening move So used against Abdusattorov.

“It’s a risky line,” So remarked. “If Black counters perfectly, White is slightly worse, but I felt I had to take the chance.”

A highlight was White’s lengthy king maneuver from g1 to b3 before pushing for victory on the kingside, showcasing So’s strategic depth.

Despite tournament rules discouraging agreed draws, all 21 games among the top seven ended in splits. Grandmasters have refined silent methods to clear most pieces from the board, avoiding early repetitions like the Berlin Wall. Reverting the Sinquefield Cup to its former position as the Tour’s finale in 2026 could restore its prestige.

Gukesh’s struggles persisted, but he will have another opportunity in late October, when the St Louis Chess Club marks its reopening with a special event.