Each round shall consist of a 4-game match, followed by playoff games should they be needed. Players will be seeded and pairing numbers assigned 1-8 based on their March FIDE classical rating. Players will be paired 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 in the first round. The higher-seeded player will receive white in game 1 and 4 of each match. If a player loses a match, they shall move to the Elimination Bracket. If a player loses a second match, that player shall be eliminated from the Event.
In the Championship Bracket, each match will consist of four games, two classical and two rapid games. In the Elimination Bracket, each match will consist of four rapid games. In the Playoffs, players shall contest a two-game blitz match. If the match ends in a tie, the players shall repeat this process until a winner is determined.
The classical time control shall be game in ninety (90) minutes plus thirty (30)-seconds increment from move one (G/90+30). The rapid time control shall be game in fifteen (15) minutes plus ten (10)-seconds increment from move one (G/15+10). The playoff time control shall be game in three (3) minutes plus two (2)-seconds increment from move one (G/3+2).
Unforeseen Interruption at the American Chess Cup!
Today's games at the American Chess Cup in St. Louis took an unexpected turn when a tornado alert sent all players, arbiters and organizers to the basement of the Hall of Fame for safety reasons!
The players remained calm as they waited for the storm to pass. 💪
In their classical duel, Caruana pressed energetically and offered a positional exchange sacrifice with the hopes of gaining connected passers. However, Aronian defended accurately.
