Caruana Surges Ahead as Gukesh Stumbles in St. Louis
World Champion Gukesh falters, Caruana leads Rapid and Blitz.
The St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, part of the Grand Chess Tour, saw a dramatic shift as World Champion D Gukesh suffered a surprising loss to tailender Sam Shankland of the USA in the fourth round. Gukesh, who drew his next two games against France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, now sits mid-table with six points. Meanwhile, Fabiano Caruana, the top-ranked American, seized the lead with a commanding 10 points after defeating overnight leader Levon Aronian in the final game of the day.
Caruana’s near-flawless performance, conceding just one draw, gives him a two-point edge over Aronian and Wesley So, both on eight points. Vachier-Lagrave holds fourth with seven points, while Gukesh shares fifth with Leinier Dominguez Perez at six points. Abdusattorov and Vietnam’s Liem Le Quang are tied at five points, followed by Grigoriy Oparin with three and Shankland with two, his sole victory coming against Gukesh.
Gukesh, who had bounced back with two wins after an opening-round loss to Aronian, faltered against Shankland’s sharp tactics. Attempting to complicate the position, Gukesh lost a piece to precise calculation, marking a rare misstep for the Indian ace. His subsequent draws against Vachier-Lagrave and Abdusattorov, the latter ending in a king-versus-king position after 60 moves, kept him from climbing the leaderboard.
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With three rounds remaining in the rapid section, Caruana appears poised to dominate, carrying momentum into the 18-round blitz double round-robin. The tournament’s intense competition highlights the fine margins at the elite level, with Gukesh aiming to regroup and challenge for a top spot.
Round 4 Results: Dominguez drew with Aronian; Shankland beat Gukesh; Abdusattorov beat Oparin; Vachier-Lagrave drew with Liem; So drew with Caruana.
Round 5 Results: Gukesh drew with Vachier-Lagrave; So drew with Aronian; Caruana beat Shankland; Liem drew with Abdusattorov; Dominguez drew with Oparin.
Round 6 Results: Abdusattorov drew with Gukesh; Caruana beat Aronian; Shankland lost to Vachier-Lagrave; Liem drew with Dominguez; So beat Oparin.
Standings: 1. Caruana (10); 2-3. Aronian, So (8); 4. Vachier-Lagrave (7); 5-6. Gukesh, Dominguez (6); 7-8. Liem, Abdusattorov (5); 9. Oparin (3); 10. Shankland (2).
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