Caruana with an interesting strategy in this game, avoiding anything too direct like for example the Italian game he went for against Pragg.
Feels to me like Caruana is looking to push his pawn forward, and bring his queen out via the diagonal in the near future.
The knight's a little vulnerable and out of play here, but at least it shuts down Wesley's counterplay on the queenside.
Caruana might start eyeing up Wesley's somewhat tender pawn on the left hand side.
Being able to take back with the pawn really helps Wesley's cause here, as now he's built up a strong pawn center.
Caruana seems to be all-in on his attacking ideas, but Wesley's pawn cover in front of his king is rock solid...
Wesley can start thinking about mobilizing his extra pawns soon. He's got 3 vs 2 on that flank, so he could create a dangerous passer soon.
Wesley looks to have missed his earlier chance of pushing this pawn. By hesitating, he's allowed Caruana to apply uncomfortable pressure to it.
Has Wesley overlooked that Caruana can get away with taking this pawn of his, due to the pin along the file?!
Caruana lets Wesley off the hook, he could have snapped up that pawn on the left hand side instead!
I like Wesley's chances to get a result from here, because of his more compact pawn structure. In blitz, it's hard to play with the structure that Fabi has as it requires more precision and care to not spoil things.
Wesley will be happy to have his bishop here, from where it takes the sting out of any attacking prospects Caruana might think he had.
Continuing to hit the weak pawn.
Looking for even more pressure against the pawn!
Both players down to <1 minute on the clock, in a very balanced middlegame!
The position remains objectively close to equal, but it's Caruana who appears to be calling the shots right now.
Amazing understanding from Wesley, who recognizes that by giving up a second pawn, he's actually able to keep an equal position! Incredible to spot this in a blitz game.
Wesley incredibly close to the title here! He just needs to avoid defeat, down to seconds in an equal heavy piece endgame.
A rock solid performance from start to finish by the seasoned veteran.
In the main tournament, Wesley was his usual solid self, with the calibre of his play being excellent from start to finish. So much so, that no player was able to do better than split the point with him over the course of the 9 rounds.
A last-minute surge towards the end, with victories against the World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, as well as today against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, allowed him to close in on the leaders and secure a 3-way tiebreak.
And once there, it never really seemed to be in doubt! Pragg started off hot with a win against Fabiano in the first game of the blitz. But Wesley immediately took fate into his own hands by inflicting defeat on Pragg in the second game. After that, there was only one objective remaining: to avoid defeat against Fabiano in order to clinch the title!
And, that he did! Fabiano played a great game by all accounts, and really put the squeeze on Wesley for large portions of the middlegame and even parts of the endgame. But Wesley was his usual gritty resilient self, and he managed to come up with the goods and hold the crucial draw in the end.
Congratulations to Wesley So, the 2025 Sinquefield Cup Champion!
Wesley with a shot to win it all!
After his win over Pragg, this means that both Fabiano and Pragg have suffered one defeat each thus far. If Wesley manages to avoid defeat in this game, he'll secure 1.5/2 and with it become the 2025 Sinquefield Cup champion!
Can he do it? Or will Fabiano strike back and level things one point a piece for all the players? That would be quite the way to spice things up, as we would be heading for Armaggedon tiebreakers if so!