With only two rounds to go at the Sinquefield Cup 2022, Wesley So continues to lead the event. The American grandmaster scores 4 points to be ahead of Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja and Ian Nepomniachtchi who tie for the second place with 3.5 points, each. The penultimate eighth round of the Sinquefield Cup brings the interesting encounter between the 19-year-old Alireza Firouzja and the leader of the tournament – Wesley So.
Wesley So took the lead in the event after the fourth round of the Sinquefield Cup as Carlsen’s results got annulled after his withdrawal. The story so far: Magnus Carlsen withdrew from the Sinquefield Cup 2022 after losing to Hans Niemann in the third round and gave no detailed explanations. Possible reasons of Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal can be found here. . Rumors that Magnus Carlsen suspected Niemann was cheating started spreading over social medias and Hikaru Nakamura confirmed in his live stream that Niemann has done “unallowed things” during the online chess tournaments. Sinquefield Cup’s players and organizers reacted to Carlsen’s decision with Fabiano Caruana tweeting that he can’t wait to see the Hans effect on The Magnus Effect. Hans Niemann was shocked by Carlsen’s withdrawal and explained that he couldn’t even focus on his fourth round game against Firouzja. In the R4 post-game interview, Hans added: At least I got to beat Magnus Carlsen before he left. Sinquefield Cup improved anti-cheating measures and Carlsen’s results got annulled. Niemann decided to tell his truth after the 5th round and he confessed cheating in random chesscom games. He added that he will not let chesscom, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura slander his reputation and said he would like to see what Nakamura has to say now. After a resting day at the Sinquefield Cup 2022, Hans broke the silence: “The silence of my critics clearly speaks for itself“. Nakamura reacted to Niemann’s interview, while chess.com posted the official statement to explain why they removed Hans Niemann from the platform. Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal from the tournament and Niemann’s interview caused different reactions on social medias. Elon Musk commented on accusations towards Hans Niemann. Garry Kasparov called Carlsen’s withdrawal as an act with no precedent in the last 50 years, adding that chess.com’s ban of Hans Niemann prompted Carlsen’s withdrawal and the cheating allegations against the American. Former Women’s World Chess Champion Susan Polgar shared her opinion about Niemann – Carlsen case: The professional reputation of many parties is at stake. Hikaru Nakamura and Daniel Naroditsky discussed on the topic of cheating in chess during the live stream and concluded that it’s very tricky that online chess platforms for playing don’t have any agreements with FIDE, and that there should be clear communication between the main online servers and FIDE on the matter of cheating.
Sinquefield Cup 2022 live games / Sinquefield Cup 2022 – Day 8 LIVE video coverage / Pairings & Timetable
