Caruana Commanding, Scalps World Champ to Stay Perfect

GM Caruana has stayed perfect through three rounds at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, while World Champion Magnus Carlsen has just one point to show.

SAINT LOUIS (August 29, 2014) — Three rounds, three wins and a commanding lead: Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana has been unstopped in the 2014 Sinquefield Cup.

The “lowest” rated players in the field, GMs Veselin Topalov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave — officially, the eighth and ninth-best players on earth — earned full points in Friday’s third round, while the top-two players on the globe suffered defeat. GMs Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian entered the weekend with a loss each, sending them backward in a strongest-ever field that features two world champions, current and former — and both in the cellar.

Showing no effects to the magnitude is Caruana, who knocked off the current champion Carlsen on Friday to take a 1.5-point lead over the field after three perfect rounds.

ROUND 3 RESULTS

CURRENT STANDINGS

ROUND 4 PAIRINGS

The 2014 Sinquefield Cup is a 10-round, double round robin tournament that runs through September 7, with each round beginning daily at 2:00 p.m. local time. Monday, September 1 will be a rest day. Every round will be broadcast live through www.USChessChamps.com, featuring analysis from the world-class commentating team of GMs Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley, and WGM Jennifer Shahade.

Last year’s Sinquefield Cup, which featured Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura and American No. 2 Gata Kamsky, became the strongest tournament ever held on U.S. soil. The 2014 player field features six of the top-ten players in the world and averages a historical 2802 rating. The winner will take home $100,000.