E4stat visits the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz

Before you ask: I saw Garry Kasparov, but I didn't get his picture.

My visit to St. Louis was strategically timed. I thought that it would be better to arrive during the rapid section; in the blitz section, the players would be moving too quickly for me to get good pictures. I also thought that it would be better to come on Tuesday instead of Monday; many fans would gladly take a 3-day weekend to see Garry.

My strategy didn't work so well. I've never seen the St. Louis Chess Club this packed. There was a long line to get into the tournament hall in Round 4:

I think the player in the far right of the picture is Sabina Foisor. The tournament hall was actually so crowded that they stopped letting us in. I didn't get up there until Round 5.

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David Navara just before his game with Anand in Round 5. He has been struggling and will face Garry Kasparov in Round 7. Garry cannot be pleased with his -1 score so far and will be hungry for a win.

Navara secured a very comfortable position, but then he let his king get into trouble in the endgame. He was forced to sacrifice the exchange. Anand then converted his advantage.

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Dominguez has an even score after 6 rounds. Here he prepared to face Caruana in Round 5.

 

Caruana, playing White, had the following position on move 37. He should be fighting for a draw, but this is rapid chess. Somehow Caruana won! I suppose this balances out Caruana's tragic loss to Liem in Round 1.

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GM Liem won a complicated game against Aronian in Round 5.

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Between rounds, I spotted Caruana chatting with GM Ramirez outside the Kingside Diner



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The Chess.com team was also present. Peter Doggers is on the left and Mike Klein is on the right.