Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja and Hikaru Nakamura are among the stars in action for the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz, which starts today, while Magnus Carlsen joins for the classical Sinquefield Cup on September 2. The organisers have announced replacements for world #13 Richard Rapport as the Hungarian couldn't meet US Covid travel requirements.

"I won this event last year with a result that’s very hard to match!" Hikaru Nakamura scored 9 wins and no losses, to win by 3 points | photo: Lennart Ootes, Grand Chess Tour

Chess fans can no longer complain about a lack of events. The smoke has barely settled since the FTX Crypto Cup last week, the Chess Olympiad is still pretty fresh in our minds, and yesterday was the final day of the very strong Abu Dhabi Open.

Today we have another super-strong event, the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, the fourth leg of the Grand Chess Tour. The Opening Ceremony took place on Thursday.

SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz winner Magnus Carlsen misses the event, but will join for the classical Sinquefield Cup starting on September 2. The St. Louis Rapid & Blitz pairings are out.

Both World #1 in rapid, Hikaru Nakamura, and World #1 in blitz (jointly with Hikaru) Levon Aronian are playing. Expectations will also be high for Ian Nepomniachtchi, the highest classical rated player in the field. When asked about the World Championship, he commented:

I guess I didn’t have a problem with my mentality, but I had a problem with my result. Hopefully the result will be better this time!

Ian Nepomniachtchi with Caruana, Svidler and MVL at the Opening Ceremony | photo: Lennart Ootes, Grand Chess Tour

The organisers on Wednesday announced that Richard Rapport has been replaced due to US travel restrictions related to Covid. Currently the only restriction is that non-US travellers must show proof of being fully-vaccinated before flying, which was the reason tennis star Novak Djokovic had to pull out of the US Open.

Jeffery Xiong takes the spot in the Rapid & Blitz, while Hans Niemann joins the Sinquefield Cup. Jeffery, who finished 9th in the Rapid & Blitz and 6th in the Sinquefield Cup last year, commented:

It’s definitely an incredible honour to receive this opportunity, especially as a last-minute replacement. I think having last year’s experience of playing here will help. How much it will help, we’ll find out pretty soon!

Jeffery Xiong picked out no. 1... and now has to play Ian Nepomniachtchi in Round 1 | photo: Lennart Ootes, Grand Chess Tour

We'll also see 19-year-old fan favourite Alireza Firouzja, fresh from his 2nd place in the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami.

Alireza Firouzja is making his debut in St. Louis | photo: Lennart Ootes, Grand Chess Tour

The surprise is that Alireza is playing in St. Louis for the very first time! He commented:

I grew up watching the St. Louis events and I always had the dream to play once in this chess club, because it started in 2013, I think, and I also started playing chess at that time, so it’s an honour to be here for me and playing all the great players.

US stars Fabiano Caruana, Sam Shankland and Leinier Dominguez, Azerbaijan no. 1 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Superbet Chess Classic winner Maxime Vachier-Lagrave complete the field.

Sam Shankland in the shadow of greatness | photo: Lennart Ootes, Grand Chess Tour

This is the penultimate event in the Grand Chess Tour and doesn't feature the leader, Wesley So, who's already played his two rapid and blitz events.

You can follow the games on our St. Louis Rapid & Blitz broadcast page with the action starting at 13:00 CDT/20:00 CEST and featuring live commentary from Yasser Seirawan, Peter Svidler and Cristian Chirila.

See also:

• Official website
• All the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz games with computer analysis