Champions Showdown: So beats Aronian twice on opening day

The Champions Showdown began on Tuesday at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring six of the top players from the United States competing in blitz, rapid, and semi-classical games. Instead of a points-based system, standings are determined by prize money earned. The first day saw Fabiano Caruana defeating Hikaru Nakamura in the semi-classical game, while Wesley So secured two victories against Levon Aronian. Meanwhile, Leinier Dominguez and Ray Robson won one game each in their head-to-head encounter. | Photo: Lennart Ootes