Alireza Firouzja was in first place until the Norwegian and the
American outclassed the 16-year-old when they metMagnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, the top two in the rankings who played an epic title match in
London 2018, are poised to fight out the finish at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee as the Netherlands elite event reaches its climax. Carlsen, the world champion, has surged with three straight wins following his slow start of seven draws.
After 10 of the 13 rounds Caruana (US) led on 7/10, followed by Carlsen (Norway) 6.5/10, Wesley So (US) and Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) 6/10. Caruana has the easiest schedule as he meets the Belarus tailender Vladislav Kovalev in round 11, while So and Carlsen are paired in the final round.