Alireza Firouzja was in first place until the Norwegian and the
American outclassed the 16-year-old when they metFabiano Caruana, the world No 2 who narrowly lost the title match to Magnus Carlsen at
London 2018, is well placed to gain some revenge as the American leads the world champion by a full point going into the final two rounds at Wijk aan Zee.
Carlsen has a brilliant record at the elite Netherlands tournament with four first prizes and a second place in the last five years. In the 2020 edition he began slowly with seven straight draws, sidetracked by his successful attempt at a world record unbeaten streak which has now reached 118 games.