Caruana wins Superbet Chess Classic

Fabiano Caruana drew a sharp game against Richard Rapport to finish in clear first place in the Superbet Chess Classic, taking the $100,000 top prize and the maximum 13 Grand Chess Tour points. His pursuers could all only draw, though that was a good result for Anish Giri after he stumbled into a lost position against Ian Nepomniachtchi. Ding Liren regained the world no. 3 spot after ending with a fine win over Bogdan-Daniel Deac.

He was never in danger in a single game and could have scored more. He missed a chance against Bogdan-Daniel Deac in the first round, and his one real regret was a failure to turn a huge advantage against Alireza Firouzja into a full point.

There was also nostalgia, as Fabiano had been the first to face 10…Ba5 10.Bf4 0-0 11.0-0-0!, in a game against Magnus Carlsen. Rapport varied from that game with 13.Qe3 and an interesting battle ensued, but there was no opening bomb. When Richie missed a chance to ask more questions with 19.f3! the game soon fizzled out into a draw.

The next event on the Grand Chess Tour, the Superbet Warsaw Rapid & Blitz, starts in just six days, with six of the same players competing. We won’t get to see Ding Liren vs. Magnus Carlsen just yet, however, since Ding has been granted a much needed break!

See also:

• Official website
• All the Superbet Chess Classic games with computer analysis
• Ding Liren and Nepomniachtchi back in action
• Superbet Chess Classic 1: So gets Firouzja revenge
• Superbet Chess Classic 2: Nepo and Rapport strike
• Superbet Chess Classic 3: Ding thwarts Nepo again
• Superbet Chess Classic 4: Caruana beats Nepomniachtchi
• Superbet Chess Classic 5: Firouzja world no. 2 after beating Ding
• Superbet Chess Classic 6: So & Caruana miss wins
• Superbet Chess Classic 7: Firouzja catches Caruana
• Superbet Chess Classic 8: Duda shocks Firouzja