Caruana, Donchenko Tie For 1st In Saint Louis Masters, Caruana Leads FIDE Circuit

GMs Fabiano Caruana and Alexander Donchenko won the inaugural 2024 Saint Louis Masters with 6.5/9, each earning $17,500 without any tiebreaks.

For Caruana, the reigning U.S. Champion, it was a bittersweet ending. He had led the nine-round tournament since the fourth round and needed just a draw in his last game to clinch sole first, when Donchenko won on demand with Black. Still, Caruana overtakes GM Arjun Erigaisi and leads the 2024 FIDE Circuit at the moment.

Final Standings | Top 23

(Full standings here.)

• New Tournament In St. Louis
• Donchenko Ruins Dream Tournament For Caruana In Final Round

New Tournament In St. Louis

The first Saint Louis Masters brought 59 players—34 were grandmasters with the top seed being world number-two Caruana—to the Maryland Ballroom at the Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza Hotel from December 3 through 7. His mission, just as it was in Charlotte when he won the 2024 U.S. Masters two days before this tournament began, was to gain FIDE Grand Circuit points. 

The player with the most circuit points at the end of the year will claim the first seat in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, which will decide the next world championship challenger.

2024 FIDE Circuit Leaderboard

Caruana currently leads, though he would have been up a full 20 circuit points if he had drawn the last game. Arjun is playing in the Qatar Masters, which ends on December 12, and their performances at the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships at the end of the year will count too.

Caruana was visibly disappointed after the tournament, losing a must-draw game with the white pieces. Frowning at the quick interview on the broadcast, he gave a curt summary: "I played a safe line, just played it very badly." Although he could have done better, there are worse fates on earth than leading the FIDE Circuit and taking home nearly $20,000 after a week of work.

Donchenko Ruins Dream Tournament For Caruana In Final Round

The first eight rounds were a dream for Caruana, who looked on pace to bag the first prize without any hiccups. The strength of the tournament can be seen by his first-round pairing; a grandmaster opponent in the first round of an open tournament isn't too common.

When Caruana drew his round-three game against GM Aram Hakobyan, GM Sam Shankland was the last player on a perfect 3/3 score. He defeated three grandmasters in the first three rounds: GM-elect Brewington Hardaway, GM Gergely Kantor, and GM Zhou Jianchao. In round four, however, Caruana ended his streak and took hold of the sole lead. A miscalculation left Black down a bishop after 29...R1e4?, though Black had to find a string of only moves to survive. 

That was Caruana's highest-rated win. In the next round he drew GM Nikolas Theodorou, the player who had defeated him in his previous tournament, also with the black pieces. Theodorou currently holds an even record with Caruana, each with a win and two draws. 

Caruana then defeated GM Emilio Cordova, who briefly caught him in the lead on 4/5, and then IM Mark Heimann, the same player who in the previous tournament, in the final round, had a chance to draw Caruana but lost after he pressed for more. Despite the loss, however, Heimann earned his final grandmaster norm with a 2687 performance and crossed the 2500 rating during the tournament, thus earning the grandmaster title at the age of 31—which will have to be confirmed at the next FIDE Congress.

With a draw against his second, GM Grigoriy Oparin, Caruana entered the final round a full point ahead of six players tied on 5.5/8. He would have the white pieces against Donchenko.

The German number-six, who started with a round-one bye, went undefeated over the nine rounds.

One of his nicest wins came against GM Illya Nyzhnyk in round five. The theme of the game was pawn sacrifices, as Nyzhnyk had an opportunity to sac a pawn with 20...b5! for counterplay. Instead, after 20...Bf4? 21.d6! White offered both of his central pawns as sacrifices to devour the uncoordinated black army.

With the black pieces, knowing that his opponent needed just a draw, one strategy could have been to play defensively and "beg for the draw," as Donchenko put it on the broadcast. But he explained that he once attempted to grovel against GM Francisco Vallejo Pons and missed out on World Cup qualification because of it. "It was a very miserable experience, so all I wanted to do was basically not repeat that."

So he responded to 1.e4 with the Sicilian Defense, ready for a fight. By the time he played the pawn sacrifice 13...b5!, both players knew that it was Black pushing for the win. Even if he missed the resource 17.e5!, and said he was lucky to have the response 17...Ne8!, Donchenko went on to win a convincing and crushing game against the tournament favorite.

Although there were four more players on 5.5 points who could have joined the tie at the top, both of the other games ended in draws. Thus, it was just Donchenko and Caruana who won the tournament, with no tiebreaks. You can listen to the short award ceremony and interview here:

That concludes the last strong tournament that the Saint Louis Chess Club will host this year! We look forward to the 2025 Grand Chess Tour for more action. 

The 2024 Saint Louis Masters was a nine-round Swiss that took place in the Maryland Ballroom at the Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza Hotel, in Saint Louis, from December 3-7. The time control was 90+30 for an entire game, and the total prize fund was $100,000. The event was part of the FIDE Circuit, which is part of the world championship cycle.