MOSCOW, August 31 Russian chess player Ian Nepomniachtchi took fifth place in the round Grand Chess Tour in St. Louis (USA). As part of the stage, 10 grandmasters played rapid on August 26-28, and blitz on August 29-30. Alireza Firouzja, a 19-year-old French representative, won the tournament with 26 points out of 36 possible. Second place went to American Hikaru Nakamura (21 points), third was American Fabiano Caruana (19). Nepomniachtchi has 18 points. The final stage of the Grand Chess Tour will also take place in the USA — from September 1 to 12, the Sinquefield Cup will be held with the participation of Nepomniachtchi. Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates tournament in Madrid in early July and won the right to play Magnus Carlsen for the crown. However, the Norwegian refused to play a match for the world title. Now Nepomniachtchi must face the Chinese Ding Liren, who came second in the Candidates Tournament.
