Chess: Firouzja sweeps Grand Tour while Carlsen v Niemann saga continues

Alireza Firouzja strengthened his position among the world top last weekend when the former Iranian, now French, 19-year-old made a clean sweep at St Louis where he won the rapid, the blitz, the classical Sinquefield Cup and the overall Grand Tour.

He collected $272,000 in prize money, and defeated the Candidates winner, Ian Nepomniachtchi, in the final tie-break.

Yet it was the actions and missed opportunities of Firouzja’s rivals as much as his own good chess which created the golden moment. Magnus Carlsen’s shock withdrawal and the later unproven allegations against Hans Niemann made for a nervous atmosphere in the tournament and affected the overall quality. Tacitly agreed draws and outright blunders were more frequent than normal.

Wesley So was the favourite after Carlsen pulled out, but the former Filipino spoilt his chances when he miscalculated and lost a winning position against Firouzja in the penultimate round. So’s comment was brief and self-deprecating: “It was probably one of my biggest chokes in my history of choking, which happens quite a lot.” In the final round, Nepomniachtchi could have taken a loose pawn for nothing, but instead chose a weaker plan then allowed a draw by repetition. Why didn’t he take the pawn? “Because I’m a moron! I thought it’s winning by any sequence of moves.”

Following Carlsen’s withdrawal after his third-round loss to Niemann, the organisers issued an official statement which denied wrongdoing by any player throughout the event: “Measures included scanning of players with metal detectors … and fair play analysis by Professor Kenneth Regan using the Fide Game Screening Tool.”

Meanwhile, fresh allegations and rebuttals have emerged about Niemann’s play in 2019-21. Garry Kasparov