GM Wesley So nonetheless leads GMs Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vincent Keymer, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu by half a degree after spherical six of the 2026 Sinquefield Cup, with GM Anish Giri scoring the day’s solely win. He stated he “went just a little nuts there for a second” however his opening gamble paid off in opposition to his Dutch colleague GM Jorden van Foreest, as a primary win noticed him catch GM Javokhir Sindarov in eighth place.
16-year-old IM Alice Lee is now in sole second place, half a degree behind GM Tan Zhongyi, after scoring the one win of spherical six of the 2026 Cairns Cup. Lee shocked GM Koneru Humpy within the opening however was misplaced after grabbing a poisoned pawn. Humpy missed the possibility in time hassle, nevertheless, and was quickly put to the sword. Elsewhere IM Carissa Yip got here closest to a win, however one blunder allowed GM Bibisara Assaubayeva to flee a depressing place.
Spherical seven is on Monday, August 17, beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 19:00 CEST / 10:30 p.m. IST.
The adjustments in spherical six got here on the backside, with Giri shifting up with a primary win.
Sinquefield Cup | Spherical 6 Standings
Within the Cairns Cup, Lee has damaged away from what was a four-player pack in second place and is now solely half a degree behind Tan.
Cairns Cup | Spherical 6 Standings
Sinquefield Cup Spherical 6: Grand Maestro Giri Grabs 1st Win
It was a day of the Berlin Protection within the Sinquefield Cup, with chief So taking part in the notorious endgame in opposition to second-placed Vachier-Lagrave, one of many few gamers who continues to benefit from the problem of toppling that wall. The Frenchman quickly gained a 45-minute lead on the clock and continued to press, however So is without doubt one of the hardest gamers in chess to beat in such a scenario. The sport fizzled out right into a same-colored bishop endgame.
We additionally noticed Keymer play the Berlin in opposition to GM Sam Sevian, who selected a unique path with 5.Re1 and 6.a4, although the end result was the identical—though it was the longest sport of the day, a decisive consequence by no means appeared possible.
Maybe essentially the most anticipated conflict was World Championship Challenger Sindarov taking over Caruana, with the world number-two gaining a powerful-looking exterior handed pawn in a Ragozin. The query was whether or not the pawn may ever advance, and that was answered within the destructive, with Sindarov fastidiously swapping off queens, earlier than on the finish Caruana liquidated to a draw.
There was way more life within the conflict between Praggnanandhaa and GM Levon Aronian, with the Armenian-American recovering from a gap mishap and painful loss to Caruana earlier than the remainder day.
He instructed GM Maurice Ashley: “Usually I’ve been taking part in not nice, so I type of wanted someday of relaxation simply to recuperate, simply to speak to my internal self and inform that the whole lot will probably be superb, I simply must work, these aren’t your yard children that you simply’re taking part in with, these are the very best of the very best, and you want to match the extent of their power.”
These aren’t your yard children that you simply’re taking part in with, these are the very best of the very best, and you want to match the extent of their power.
—Levon Aronian
Aronian stated his 8…b5 pawn sacrifice, a novelty, was an over-the-board inspiration, quipping, “Even when I put together, I don’t bear in mind my traces!” There have been maybe some probabilities for Praggnanandhaa if he’d later push his e-pawn to e5, however within the sport issues quickly liquidated right into a place neither participant may hope to win.
Aronian is on 50 %, a degree behind the chief and half a degree behind Praggnanandhaa and the opposite gamers in second place. It was steered to him that he has a comparatively straightforward run-in (video games in opposition to Vachier-Lagrave, Giri, and Sevian) and is now taking part in for money. He responded: “Since I can’t qualify [for the Finals], that’s mainly what I’m taking part in for… and in addition for the sweetness, and there’s at all times an opportunity to create magnificence! I believe my blitz game against Anish was one of the crucial lovely blitz video games I ever performed, so I’ll strive to try this in my subsequent rounds.”
There’s at all times an opportunity to create magnificence!
—Levon Aronian
The one win got here within the conflict of two struggling gamers, Dutch GMs Giri and Van Foreest, and it got here for Giri regardless of his opening decisions initially backfiring. 8.h4 is much from a brand new transfer, however Giri gave a protracted account of his decision-making at that time:
For inexplicable causes—I had causes however you higher not even know them!—I made a decision to play the transfer 8.h4. I do know you may play h4 at all times, it’s an attention-grabbing transfer, but it surely’s simply the concept you’re supposed to check principle with a view to apply it in your video games, however for some motive I reached a degree that there’s an excessive amount of principle for me, extra principle than the video games… so I begin to go backwards as an alternative of going forwards!
“I simply went just a little nuts there for a second!” stated Giri, who went on to play right into a line the place the inclusion of h4 and h6 favored Black—f3, to drive away a knight on e4, was quickly not possible as a result of the g3-pawn would grasp.
As the sport developed, nevertheless, Van Foreest, who had already misplaced three video games in St. Louis, started to go astray, and Giri described what adopted by referring to himself because the “grand maestro.” As an example, he stated of his bishop on b2 that appeared to haven’t any prospects: “What does the maestro do? By means of his mastery of chess he was capable of switch the bishop from b2, via the pawn on d4, to e5—growth!”
Later he added, “It isn’t about pawns, it is about domination!” That is what we received by the tip of the sport, with GM Rafael Leitao analyzing our Recreation of the Day beneath.
Giri’s subsequent problem is Black in opposition to chief So, whereas Caruana vs. Praggnanandhaa, Keymer vs. Sindarov, and Aronian vs. Vachier-Lagrave will all be important because the race to qualify for the Grand Chess Tour Finals comes all the way down to the wire.
Spherical 7 Pairings
Cairns Cup Spherical 6: Lee’s Gamble Pays Off In opposition to Humpy
There was additionally only one decisive sport within the Cairns Cup, however for many of the spherical a minimum of two wins seemed to be within the playing cards. Maybe the quietest draw, by way of analysis, was GM Anna Muzychuk vs. GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, but it surely was outstanding for a few causes. One was the time utilization, with Vaishali ending with simply 30 seconds lower than she started, whereas Muzychuk received all the way down to 14 minutes. The opposite was how the sport completed—something drew, however this did so spectacularly!
GM Divya Deshmukh received a pawn in opposition to IM Stavroula Tsolakidou however could not squeeze out extra, whereas chief Tan appeared to have some probabilities earlier than swapping off queens and making a stable draw in opposition to GM Alexandra Kosteniuk.
The one draw that appeared certain to be a win was Yip’s sport in opposition to Assaubayeva.
The younger American grandmaster took over early on and dominated, till 32.f6?, performed in seconds regardless of a 15-minute lead on the clock, allowed Assaubayeva a game-saving tactic.
The one win got here for the youngest participant within the discipline, Lee, who moved into sole second place with a win which was logical, given how the sport went, although additionally considerably fortunate.
Lee stated she’d deliberate to be stable in opposition to a powerful opponent, however Humpy performed into her prep and, “I received an enormous time benefit on the clock and I believe my place was fairly respectable additionally.” Lee did not cease to assume till after transfer 19, when she was already virtually 50 minutes up on the clock. Time can be essential, as when Lee grabbed a poisoned pawn, saying, “I felt 28…Qh3 would have been extra pure, however I additionally like taking pawns!” Humpy received all the way down to beneath 5 minutes on her clock earlier than replying.
I additionally like taking pawns!
—Alice Lee
The climax of the sport got here on transfer 30, when 30.Nxg7!! ought to win for White. As a substitute Humpy performed the pure transfer Lee was anticipating, 30.Qg4?, and was immediately misplaced.
Lee has gained 15.8 factors to climb to quantity 26 on the Women’s Live Rating List, whereas Humpy has dropped 13.9 factors to place her susceptible to dropping out of the highest 10. The extra fast query, nevertheless, is whether or not Lee can struggle for first place. She has White in opposition to Muzychuk in spherical seven, whereas Tan is Black in opposition to Divya.
Spherical 7 Pairings
The 2026 Sinquefield Cup is the fifth and ultimate leg of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour. Ten gamers compete in a classical round-robin event with a $475,000 prize fund and factors counting for qualification into the Grand Chess Tour Finals. It runs alongside the 2026 Cairns Cup, which can also be a 10-player round-robin that includes a few of the strongest girls on the earth, with a prize fund of $250,000.
Earlier protection:
