So, Keymer and Sevian score
Wesley So moved into sole first place at the Sinquefield Cup after defeating Fabiano Caruana with the black pieces in round three. Two other games also ended decisively: Vincent Keymer recovered from his difficult loss in the previous round by beating Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, while Sam Sevian ground down Anish Giri in a 110-move opposite-coloured bishop ending.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian are tied for second place, half a point behind So. On Wednesday, MVL and Aronian drew against Javokhir Sindarov and Jorden van Foreest, respectively – neither of the draws was particularly quiet. Four players are one point off the lead on 1½ out of 3.
Round 3 results
So’s victory over Caruana was the first game of the round to finish. Caruana ran into serious difficulties in the opening after entering a sharp Saemisch Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence. Caruana appeared to have prepared the line, but his long think on move 14 suggested that the position had taken him outside familiar territory. At that point his c4-pawn was under threat and White needed to generate active play.
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So, interestingly, was already familiar with the variation from the opposite side of the board. Caruana’s most energetic option was 14.Rf4, intending Rh4-h6 and creating tactical threats against Black’s king, including ideas based on Bxh6. So demonstrated this idea in a video for the Saint Louis Chess Club.
Wesley So defeats Fabiano Caruana in Round 3 of the Sinquefield Cup and moves to an impressive 2.5/3! ♟️
After the game, Wesley breaks down the most critical moment of the battle and shares what he thought could have been a better alternative for Fabi.
Hear from Wesley himself… pic.twitter.com/Sc7COJXHhR— Grand Chess Tour (@GrandChessTour) August 12, 2026
Instead, Caruana chose 14.e5, simplifying into an endgame in which he was a pawn down. The decision relieved much of the immediate tactical tension but left him with a material deficit, which So went on to convert. The result gave So his second consecutive victory.
Lines shown by So
The all-American battle between Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The new sole leader in Saint Louis | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Keymer responded immediately to his 91-move defeat against Aronian the previous day. In that game, the German star had obtained a winning position before letting the advantage slip and eventually losing. Against Pragg, he instead capitalised on an opponent who encountered serious problems almost from the opening.
The players battled out of a Catalan Opening, but Pragg’s position was already rather precarious by move 11. His setup involved considerable strategic risk and allowed Keymer to establish a clear advantage early in the game.
Pragg nevertheless defended resourcefully and gradually managed to work his way back into contention. The Indian grandmaster still had drawing chances until playing 37…Na3?, which proved to be the decisive error and immediately gave White a winning attack.
There followed 38.Ng3 (the black knight is no longer attacking d4) Nd7 39.Qg4, as Keymer brought his queen into action with decisive effect.
Keymer finished the game with an unusual mating pattern involving both of his knights.
There is mate-in-eight in this position, but instead of playing 50…g5 to keep the game going (or simply resigning at once), Pragg played 50…Nxh7, allowing Keymer to show checkmate on the board with 51.Nfg6#. A rare sight indeed in an elite-level encounter!
Vincent Keymer defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Sevian scored the day’s longest victory, defeating Giri after 110 moves. The game eventually reached an opposite-coloured bishop ending with rooks still on the board. White had an extra pawn, but Black had strong drawing chances.
Despite the limited material and the inherent defensive resources of the position, Sevian continued to press. He gradually extracted winning chances from an ending that offered very little at first sight, and eventually succeeded in breaking Giri’s resistance.
The result was Sevian’s first win of the tournament and came one day after his loss to Vachier-Lagrave. Giri, who had drawn his first two games, suffered his first defeat of the event.
It was a lengthy battle between Sam Sevian and Anish Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Standings after round 3
All games
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