Firouzja misses game for medical reasons
Vincent Keymer emerged as the outright leader after the fourth round of the Super Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest, as his win over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the only decisive result among the games completed. The other three encounters finished drawn, while the scheduled meeting between Fabiano Caruana and Alireza Firouzja was postponed after Firouzja was declared unable to play for health-related reasons.
That development changed the shape of the round before the games had properly begun. Caruana v. Firouzja was one of the day’s main pairings, but an announcement shortly before the start stated that Firouzja could not take his seat “due to a medical condition”. No additional information was provided. Since Firouzja has not been listed as having left the event, the game could still be rescheduled for the rest day, scheduled for Tuesday. The Grand Chess Tour shared on X:
Due to a medical issue, Alireza Firouzja will not be able to play today’s game against Fabiano Caruana. We are hopeful that he will be able to continue in the event. A further update will be provided after today’s round.
Round 4 results
Keymer’s full point against Vachier-Lagrave came from a notable opening decision. The German has seldom started games with 1.e4, and he had never previously met the Najdorf Sicilian. Against MVL, that opening was always a realistic prospect, given the French GM’s long-standing attachment to the variation. Keymer’s choice proved successful, as Black’s position became difficult unusually early.
The game did not reach the first time control: Keymer converted with precision, and 38.Rxf6! was a nice way to end matters.
It was Keymer’s second win of the tournament. Asked whether he had undertaken special preparation for the event, he noted that he was mostly helped by having taken a break amid a very busy schedule.
Tournament leader Vincent Keymer signing autographs | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Javokhir Sindarov and Anish Giri split the point after a forcing opening sequence in which both players followed known theory deep into the game. Sindarov later posed problems around the time control, but Giri responded by giving up a piece to liquidate into a theoretically drawn ending with rook against rook and knight.
Giri’s 46…Bxh4 gave way to 47.Nxh5+ Kh6 48.Rxh4. The Dutchman correctly calculated that all the pawns would soon leave the board.
Sindarov still made his opponent prove the draw, extending the game until move 107 before the players finally agreed peace.
Anish Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Van Foreest v. Praggnanandhaa was less eventful after an unorthodox opening choice by the Dutch grandmaster. Van Foreest reeled off his early moves rapidly and initially seemed to have obtained a playable edge, but Pragg solved his problems without much difficulty.
Meanwhile, So v. Bogdan-Daniel Deac lasted about six hours and saw the contenders battling in a very difficult endgame. Deac was repeatedly short of time, yet continued to find enough defensive resources to hold. The draw was an important result for the Romanian, who avoided a third defeat in succession.
Jorden van Foreest and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu sharing notes after signing a draw | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career.Â
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section
Wesley So and Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Photo: Lennart Ootes