Leinier Domínguez WON 2nd in a row and rose to the top in Sinquefield Cup 2023

November 29, 2023

The stellar Cuban-American chess grandmaster GM Leinier Domínguez (2745) achieved a very important victory on Tuesday in the Sinquefield Cup 2023. Playing with the white pieces, the "Idol of Güines" won for the second consecutive round and rose to the top of the very strong event. It is being held at the St. Louis Chess Club. It brings together much of the world's elite.

During the seventh round of the tournament, Leinier Domínguez prevailed in 35 moves in a Caro-Kann Defense against his counterpart GM Richard Rapport (2748). With this result, the Cuban reached 4.0 points out of a possible six. Additionally, he maintained his undefeated record, with two rounds remaining until the close. Also, he tied for first place with GM Fabiano Caruana (2795) and GM Wesley So (2752). The difference is that Caruana and Leinier have two games remaining, while So has just one game and a rest day.
Leinier Domínguez DOMINATED against Rapport

Going back to the Leinier vs Rapport game, it was very even until move 26. The West Indian captured the pawn on g and his opponent, instead of doing the same, preferred to play 26.*fxe5. This allowed Leinier to win material after 27. dxe5 and obtain an advantage in the game that he never lost again. In fact, it kept increasing, especially given the time pressure before move 40.

Leinier Domínguez continued developing his attack on the kingside, taking advantage of his better piece coordination. Then came another Rapport error on move 30.*Qd7 and the decisive 32.*d4 that settled the match. The "Idol of Güines" applied pressure on the opposite side of the board and already had his opponent's queen nearly won. Rapport, knowing this, preferred to resign.

You might be interested in: FOR 100 THOUSAND: Leinier Domínguez WON and is 2nd in Sinquefield Cup

In the previous round, Leinier had defeated GM Anish Giri (2752) with the black pieces, plus four draws. His excellent performance places him officially in second place by tiebreak. Caruana is at the top, also with 4.0 points. This, after defeating the former leader So with white in just 25 moves of a Nimzo-Indian Defense. The rest of the games ended in draws.
Leinier Domínguez: LIVE ELO 6th in the world

For rounds 8 and 9, Leinier Domínguez will face GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave (2734) and GM Levon Aronian (2727). Both are tied in fourth to sixth place with 3.0 points. Leader Caruana will face Giri and Rapport, the most behind in the standings. Meanwhile, So will close the event with a rest day and a game against GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2771).

Let us recall that, from a monetary standpoint, this event awards a prize of 100 thousand dollars to first place. Second place will earn 65 thousand and third place 48 thousand. Positions four through 10 will also have prize money: 32 thousand (4th), 26 thousand (5th), 21 thousand (6th), 18 thousand 500 (7th), 16 thousand (8th), 13 thousand (9th) and 10 thousand 500 (10th).

As if that were not enough, Leinier has gained six points and his live ELO is 2757. This places him as sixth in the FIDE World Rankings, tied with Wesley So.