Caruana Beats Them All; Sinquefield Cup Hits Halfway Point
By Brian Jerauld   
September 1, 2014
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The 2014 Sinquefield Cup, boasting the strongest field in history with six of the top-nine Grandmasters in the world, has been dominated by just one. At the U.S. super-tournament's halfway point, Italian GM Fabiano Caruana sits far in front with a perfect score -- five points collected from five games -- having consecutively defeated every other player in the field.

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In Sunday's fifth round at host venue Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, Caruana defeated GM Hikaru Nakamura for his first-ever victory over the American, completing the first cycle of the tournament's double-round robin format. Also winning was World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen, who earned his first victory of the tournament against GM Levon Aronian; as well as Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov, who has shaken off a winless start to find himself tied with Carlsen for second place, with 2.5 points each.

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This year's Sinquefield Cup has already provided some incredibly fighting chess, with 10 of its first 15 games ending with decisions. Monday will be a rest day, with play resuming Tuesday afternoon for round 6.

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.

Find a round five report on uschesschamps.com with detailed analysis by GM Ian Rogers.