Shankland begins with the classic king’s pawn opening.
Caruana, playing with the black pieces, goes for the sharp and fighting Sicilian Defense!
Shankland brings his knight to a natural developing square, reinforcing central control.
Caruana pushes his pawn, opening the diagonal for his dark-squared bishop.
Shankland advances his central pawn, looking to open the center!
Caruana captures Shankland’s central pawn with his own, simplifying the center.
Shankland takes back the pawn with his knight, establishing it in the center.
With his knight development, Caruana enters the Taimanov Variation of the Sicilian.
Shankland develops his other knight, bringing another piece into play.
Caruana advances his pawn, a multi-purpose move! It limits Shankland’s minor pieces while keeping options open for a future b-pawn push.
Shankland develops his dark-squared bishop, reinforcing his knight in the center.
Caruana develops his knight, subtly pressuring the center and Shankland’s central pawn.
Shankland brings his bishop into play, supporting his central pawn and maintaining strong central control.
Caruana moves his queen off the d-file, clearing the path for a b-pawn advance.
By repositioning his queen, Shankland keeps his options open for castling on either side!
Caruana pushes his b-pawn, gaining space and preparing queenside activity.
Shankland exchanges a pair of knights, slightly simplifying the position.
Caruana recaptures the knight with his queen, keeping the position dynamic.
Shankland castles queenside, showing courage in the face of Caruana’s queenside expansion! Will this aggressive choice pay off, or give Caruana counterplay?
Caruana calmly develops his bishop via fianchetto, reinforcing his queenside and keeping the position solid.
Shankland tucks his king further in for safety, after queenside castling.
Caruana develops his bishop, keeping the option to castle kingside soon.
Shankland advances a pawn on the queenside, aiming to slow down Caruana’s pawn storm.
Caruana repositions his queen, aiming to slow down Shankland’s central pawn push!
Shankland moves back his bishop, strengthening his knight’s defense and maintaining the possibility of advancing his central pawn.
With Caruana castling kingside, both players have committed to opposite sides. This typically leads to a tactical, sharp fight with attacking chances for both!
A hasty kingside pawn advance by Shankland creates the possibility of a central pawn break for Caruana. Will Caruana seize the opportunity and open the center?
Caruana seizes the moment and executes a central pawn break!
A few central trades have occurred, and we now reach a middlegame where both players retain their bishop pairs. The position is rich in potential and tactical opportunities!
Shankland shifts his bishop to the long diagonal, and now both bishops are eyeing Caruana’s kingside.
Caruana pushes his f-pawn, limiting the scope of Shankland’s light-squared bishop.
Shankland lifts his rook to the third rank, seeking activity. This move also unpins his g-pawn, setting up a potential kingside pawn push!
Caruana places his rook on the open d-file, shifting focus to the center.
As planned, Shankland advances his kingside pawn! Shankland is gearing up for a sharp attack against Caruana’s king.
Caruana repositions his bishop, eyeing a trade. When under pressure, exchanging pieces is a solid strategy to reduce attacking threats.
More trades simplify the position. Shankland focuses his play on the kingside, while Caruana builds counterplay in the center.
Shankland maneuvers his rook from the lift onto the open e-file.
Caruana retreats his bishop, opening the d-file and maintaining a solid position. The eval bar remains even, reflecting a balanced middlegame.
Shankland moves his rook, directly aiming at Caruana’s f-pawn.
Caruana repositions his queen, creating a pin on Shankland’s bishop.
Shankland moves his rook to the open e-file, freeing his bishop from the pin.
Caruana moves his queen actively, now attacking Shankland’s h-pawn.
Shankland decides not to defend the h-pawn and instead captures Caruana’s f-pawn.
Caruana takes Shankland’s pawn, keeping material even.
With the queens off the board, the game transitions to a balanced endgame.
Caruana pushes a pawn to create luft for his king.
Shankland moves his king, maintaining flexibility to bring his rook to the open d-file.
Caruana carefully advances his king, slowly improving its position in the endgame.
Shankland offers an ambitious pawn sacrifice, aiming to generate activity on the queenside where his pawn majority lies. Shankland is going all-in for dynamic chances!
Caruana captures Shankland's pawn, with his pawn.
Shankland moves his rook, attacking Caruana’s pawn and aiming to regain material.
Despite being isolated and doubled, Caruana saves his a-pawns, determined to keep his extra pawn.
Shankland moves his rook to the c-file, backing his c-pawn and preparing to push it forward.
Caruana begins advancing his passed pawn to counter Shankland’s queenside passed pawn.
Which pawn will be more dangerous: Shankland's queenside pawn or Caruana's kingside pawn?
Shankland moves his rook, now attacking Caruana's pawn and looking to regain back the material.
Caruana advances his g-pawn, and looking to advance it even further.
Shankland regains the pawn back, restoring material balance.
A mistake by Caruana, losing his advanatage... And the position is back to equal!
Shankland captures Caruana's pawn, with his pawn.
Caruana recaptures the pawn back with his rook, and now attacks Shankland's bishop.
Shankland has made a losing blunder! From a balanced endgame, Caruana now has an opportunity to seize a decisive advantage.
Caruana plays the best move! Shankland’s king and pieces are poorly coordinated, and Caruana is now ready to exploit weaknesses decisively.
Shankland moves his king out of check.
Caruana checks Shankland’s king, exploiting poor coordination. Shankland's position is collapsing under tactical threats.
Shankland moves his king out of check, desperately looking for safety.
Caruana continues coordinating his rooks, delivering checks against Shankland’s exposed king.
We’ve passed move 40, and both players receive an additional 30 minutes. Time is no longer a concern.
Caruana executes a beautiful fork, winning a piece! With this decisive material gain, Caruana is now fully set to convert and claim victory.
A thrilling and surprising finish to Round 9 as Fabiano Caruana claimed victory over Sam Shankland in 48 moves, maintaining his position at the top of the leaderboard with two rounds to go.
The opening was the Sicilian Defense, with Caruana opting for the Taimanov Variation. The middlegame quickly became sharp, with opposite-side castling and dynamic attacking chances for both sides. Both players navigated the complications well, and the game transitioned into a balanced but tricky endgame, featuring potential pawn races and delicate maneuvering.
However, a blunder by Shankland gave Caruana the tactical opportunity he needed. Caruana found the precise sequence of moves, converting the advantage smoothly into a full point.
Fresh off his Grand Chess Tour 2025 victory, Caruana continues to lead in Saint Louis, keeping his sights firmly on adding another major title. With two rounds remaining, the championship race is far from over, more action coming up, stay tuned!
We’re back after the rest day and with just three rounds to go, the race for the title is truly heating up! After eight rounds, Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So share the lead at 5.5/8, with Levon Aronian close behind on 5 points. Every game now carries huge weight in the standings.
Today, we’re following the matchup between Sam Shankland and Fabiano Caruana. In Round 8, Shankland suffered a tough loss to Levon Aronian, while Caruana played a solid draw against Ray Robson, maintaining his place at the top. Shankland, on 3.5 points, will be hungry to bounce back, while Caruana will be looking to extend his lead and keep the championship momentum going.
Both players come in refreshed and well-prepared after the rest day, will we see Caruana press for a win, or can Shankland strike back and cause an upset?