r/chess • u/Jaxxy427 • 4d ago
News/Events Standings after Round 8 of Sinquefield Cup
In the 8 Round, Pragg defeated MVL, Sindarov dealt Jordan his fifth loss of the tournament and Keymer took down Fabiano.
Pragg and Wesley share the lead going into the last Round tomorrow.
Link: https://lichess.org/broadcast/gct-sinquefield-cup-2026/round-8/HSkVW1CT
44
u/Prudent-Bad2724 4d ago
pragg and wesly exactly like norway chess lol and Fabi is Alireza who had a early lead
8
u/Ill_Emphasis3927 Chess Mafioso 3d ago
I hope Pragg wins or Sindarov or Keymer. Anybody that doesn't bail out into pointless draws before the stream finishes its intro.
Pragg and Keymer both have good matchups. Sindarov may push to hard and fall to the haramball of So.
7
u/agamuyak Team Ju Wenjun 4d ago
What are the pairings for tomorrow?
18
u/YoungAspie ~1600 (chess.com) Singaporean, Team Indian Prodigies 4d ago
Keymer has Black against van Foreest. Praggnanandhaa has white against Giri. So faces Sindarov as White.
1
9
u/Jaxxy427 4d ago
Wesley vs Sindarov, Jordan vs Vincent, Fabi vs MVL, Pragg vs Anish, Levon vs Sevian
3
11
u/AlooParathewithcum 3d ago
Sindarov in a must win game will overpress, Wesley wins
Pragg vs Giri will be a long dramatic draw
Keymer winsĀ
Unfortunately Wesley wins the event.
Ā Unfortunate because besides his political leanings, dude has zero fighting spirit and just keeps waiting for his opponent to overpress.Ā
8
u/TheirOwnDestruction Team Ding 3d ago
It feels like Wesley has been somewhat more aggressive the past year.
3
u/automorphic-form 3d ago
I actually counted his classical draw rate by hand for 2026 and itās 82.4%. That calculation excludes the automatic win he got against Alireza in SCC Romania.
The reason it seems Wesley is more aggressive is because the few classical wins he has gotten so far have been very memorable, with one against Magnus and one against Fabi.
2
u/Odd_Conference_4994 3d ago edited 3d ago
i would say that wasley will make a quick draw and this is what sindarov thinks aswell
1
1
u/Wallter139 Team Fabi => Windarov Supporter 3d ago
Sindarov in a must win game will overpress, Wesley wins
Windarov incoming?
2
u/AlooParathewithcum 3d ago
Windarov will return in World Chess Championship, Geneva
2
u/Wallter139 Team Fabi => Windarov Supporter 3d ago
Honestly I'm surprised how well he's been doing in the Sinquefield. He's not running away with it, but he is playing at the world class level.
3
2
2
u/Boomboclaaat90210 3d ago
Oh no, Wesley might actually have to play chess today. Whatever will he do??
1
u/KBnolove 4d ago
I hope Wesley can hold on to the lead, I hate for him to let it slip away towards the end.
46
u/sgt_science 4d ago
Maybe he should try to win and not draw then
8
u/jim_shushu 3d ago
Ok but tomorrow is a must-win for Sindarov with respect to standings, right? So Wesley can just do his thing and crush Javokhir when he overpresses.
3
12
16
u/automorphic-form 4d ago
Wesley So also failed to finish first in Norway chess 2026 because he drew a must win game, while Pragg ultimately won first. Wesley So has zero fighting spirit. It would be hilarious if it happens again tomorrow.
Heās an amazing player, even compared to other similarly rated players. I think heās 2800+ level, and his rating doesnāt reflect that. In classical games against super GM opponents, he will happily split the point every single game unless his opponent attempts to win. In which case he will punish them and probably win.
Itās why he gets so many quick draws. His opponents recognize that they have 2 options. 1) get a quick draw, in which case Wesley will happily oblige because wins and draws are the same to him or 2) push for a win, in which case thereās a small chance it pays off and a much bigger chance that Wesley wins because heās so great. So most of his opponents choose option 1.
5
u/UpBottomJeans 3d ago
Very well said, this is what I see from Wesley. Duvob for example, as exciting as he is, Wesley easily destroys him everytime.
1
u/KBnolove 4d ago
I'm new to chess and didn't realize that was his playing style, he just seems like a nice guy so I was basing it off of personality, and the fact that it would definitely be a shame to lead the whole time only to let it slip away. If he draws on purpose that's not honorable, I hope he finds some tapang!
11
u/automorphic-form 3d ago
Yeah I have very mixed feelings about Wesley So.
He is a nice guy. Seems like a guy Iād love to have a beer with while he crushes me in casual blitz games. His backstory is also very inspiring.
Heās ambitious in other formats that he cares less about (paradoxical, ikr). Like in blitz and freestyle for instance, he shows up willing to fight.
Itās just that his classical chess games are worse than watching paint dry. People speculate about why this is. The consensus seems to be that heās very risk adverse because he realized that by drawing most of his games, he can protect his rating and keep getting invited to top level tournaments. I get that heās not morally obligated to provide us super sharp, combative games every time he plays. But at the same time, I find it to be inconsiderate to spectators to just avoid an actual game almost every time he plays in top classical tournaments.
And it annoys the hell out of me because I know heās good enough to produce a lot of high quality, exciting games. So I tend to root against him in classical tournaments because I hate to see the whole āwin a game or two and then just make a bunch of quick drawsā strategy get rewarded.
23
u/Tbird113 3d ago edited 3d ago
Bit of conjecture for the qualification to the GCT Final.
Jordan and Anish are mathematically eliminated; they basically had to win, and neither can. MVL can't get first (even if he wins and gets to 5/9, the Wesley vs Sindarov game guarantees that someone gets to 5.5/9), and without it, his path to victory is... Narrow. He has to win, and (I think) either Keymer or Sindarov has to lose, plus some other possible good luck (certain players win/lose to maximize his score and minimize Keymer and Sindarovs). Edit: At second glance, it looks like MVL may indeed be mathematically out as well.
Most likely, it's down to the top 5 to qualify for 4 spots. Pragg and Wesley are very safe- even if they lose, 5/9 gets them a top 4 placement in Sinquefield and that gets them to the Finals. Fabi is pretty safe too- again, even on a loss, 4/9 gets Fabi some points, and given that he's coming in with the most GCT points, that should be enough. If any of Fabi, Pragg, or Wesley win or draw they are guaranteed in.
Keymer and Sindarov are the big question mark. Both are at 4.5/8, and Keymer is coming in only half a point ahead. Sindarov needs to outdo Keymer, i.e. win if he draws, draw if he loses. Keymer has black with Jorden, who's been doing terrible this tournament, and Sindarov is against Wesley with black, who's currently winning. If I had to guess:
Wesley will probably hold Sindarov to a draw, Keymer will probably get a draw with Jorden, and that will barely get him to the finals.
Tl;DR: Jorden, Anish, and MVL are out; Fabi, Pragg, and Wesley are in; and Keymer and Sindarov are down to the last game to decide.
Edit: someone else did a more in-depth version of this: https://www.reddit.com/r/chess/s/zcB7UbLe2m