Weekly Recap: Sindarov Takes Clutch Chess in Saint Louis After a Three-Day Swing

Clutch Chess in Saint Louis took up much of the week, with the lead changing hands every day. Around it sat a young player’s norm, a few team and open events, a history piece and an obituary.

Clutch Chess in Saint Louis

The Saint Louis Chess Club hosted the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown from 27 to 29 October. The field and format were set ahead of time: Caruana, Nakamura, Praggnanandhaa and Sindarov in an 18-game rapid event for $425,000.

On day one, Nakamura finished in front on 4/6, with two wins and four draws. Sindarov was half a point back on 3½/6 and unbeaten. Caruana had 2½ and Praggnanandhaa 2.

Day two turned the table over. Praggnanandhaa began it in last place and ended it in front, with four wins, one draw and one loss.

Then came the final session. Sindarov started Thursday tied for second with Caruana, 2½ points behind the leader, and won the event on 20½ points.

Norms, clubs and open events

Eleven-year-old Roman Shogdzhiev earned his second grandmaster norm at the Serbian Super Liga, playing top board for Partizan Belgrade. He scored 6/9 with four wins, four draws and one loss, a performance rating of 2662.

At the European Club Cup, René Mandelbaum wrote a ChessBase account from the bottom of the table. His SK Weisse Dame Hamburg team, from the fourth-tier Landesliga, finished 99th with an average rating of 1981.

In Almaty, Kazakh grandmasters Mamedov and Makhnev led the KazChess Masters on 2½/3, but both have since lost. After six rounds Daniil Dubov leads on 4½/6, half a point ahead of Vokhidov and Lazavik.

GM Sina Movahed won Freestyle Friday on October 30, his second win in three weeks. He recovered from a shaky start, sitting on 1.5/3 after the opening rounds.

History and farewell

The 1939 Olympiad in Buenos Aires is remembered first for the war, since Germany invaded Poland mid-event. It was also where Capablanca played his last tournament and his last competitive game, a detail that is easy to overlook.

Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren, the Mongolian International Master and geologist, died on 26 October at 88. Most people know him through a loss to Bobby Fischer at the 1967 Interzonal in Sousse, though his own record is much broader.

Ahead

FIDE announced that Istanbul will host the 2026 World Rapid and Blitz Championships from December 26 to 30. The event crowns up to four world champions across the Open and Women’s sections.