Alireza Firouzja defeated Wesley So in the 8th penultimate round of the Sinquefield Cup 2022 and overtook the lead in the event. With today’s victory, Firouzja might overtake the lead of the overall Grand Chess Tour standings and the chance for possible tiebreaks is increasing. See the standings after 7 played rounds here
In the post-game interview, Firouzja explained that he was surprised with Wesley’s 9…a5 move: “He surprised me with this 9…a5, of course, I knew the move, but I didn’t expect it. Normally, there are better tries for black, but he wanted to surprise me I guess“.
Wesley So had a decisive advantage after Firouzja misplayed the line: “I underestimated this move 14…Nh5, but I still thought I could hold here“. So missed his chances to win after 18…Qg6? when the 19-year-old started consolidating. The American made a decisive mistake with 24…g6?? and Firouzja didn’t let go. With the precise play afterwards, Alireza forced Wesley to resign in the 32nd move. Replay the game here
“I still have a very big game tomorrow against Maxime, so it will be very interesting” added Alireza. Being asked how he manages to win from the losing position as it happened against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov as well, Firouzja answered: “Somehow I am getting lucky. If they are not precise, my position has some dynamics. Somehow, of course against Shakhriyar it was a very bad blunder, so… But yes, it is storage, and somehow, sometimes, in these kind of tournaments, you get lucky“. See the complete interview below
Replay round 8 video coverage here / Sinquefield Cup 2022 Pairings & Schedule / Sinquefield Cup 2022 Live games
