Carlsen Wins first Champions Tour event; Nakamura second in New in Chess Classic

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GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen met in the finals of the New in Chess Classic, the fifth leg of the Champions Chess Tour.

World Champion Magnus Carlsen defeated American super-GM Hikaru Nakamura in the finals of the New in Chess Classic, another chapter in the long-running rivalry between two of the world’s elite. 

The two met over the May 1 weekend at the end of the nine-day online event, the fifth tournament leg in the Champions Chess Tour. Seemingly on a collision course for the entirety of the contest, Carlsen and Nakamura both delivered solid performances throughout, grabbing the top two seeds from the event’s preliminary round robin stage, then holding seed through the secondary knockout bracket before clashing in the weekend final.  

Regardless of its result, the final matchup guaranteed that one GM would finally see the end of an unfortunate streak suffered by both throughout the Champions Tour. To this point, now five legs in and halfway through the online super-tournament series, both Nakamura and Carlsen had participated in all five tournaments, yet neither had found their way in to the winner’s circle. 

And perhaps it was Carlsen who had been under the most pressure to deliver. Certainly a Champions Tour title and its top $30,000 prize would have been enjoyed by the American; twice Nakamura had advanced to the semis, also finishing in the top half of each 16-player field in all but one of the five events, but his first appearance in the finals in the New in Chess Classic, at the very least, showed that he was due.  

Restless was Carlsen, however, who had noticeably not delivered in the tour organized by his own Play Magnus Group. Further, the World Champion had achieved the relatively uncanny stat of crushing each tournament’s opening stage, in all five-of-five events finishing on top of the preliminary standings and grabbing each knockout bracket’s top seed – only to, sometimes inexplicably, falter somewhere before the end. 

Regardless, the New in Chess event was definitely Carlsen’s turn to shine, and he did, defeating the American in two sets and finally pairing a solid tournament opening with an equally sound ending. With four games per set on each Saturday and Sunday, the final match began with two draws, including this Game 1 where Nakamura escaped with the half-point only with the help of a nifty trick. Can you find it? 

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After 50. e6, only one move for Black saves the draw. Nakamura found it - can you?

[pgn][Event "NIC Classic KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.05.01"] [Round "3.11"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2847"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 3.0 (1s)"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2021.04.27"] {[%evp 12,129,4,-28,19,29,25,18,22,0,7,16,29,14,0,22,0,21,20,24,18,0,0,0,0,0,0, -4,39,24,33,52,36,54,46,31,87,64,82,78,98,95,116,46,120,133,142,17,38,15,16,19, 52,10,14,8,26,10,7,3,55,0,7,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000, -28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000,-28000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 d5 7. Bg5 dxc4 {E36: Nimzo-Indian: Classical: 4...d5 5 a3.} (7... c5 $5) 8. Qxc4 b6 9. Rd1 Ba6 {The position is equal.} 10. Qa4 h6 11. Bh4 Qe7 12. Nf3 Rd8 13. e3 Bxf1 14. Rxf1 c5 15. dxc5 Rxd1+ 16. Kxd1 $146 {[#] Bxf6 is the strong threat.} ({Predecessor:} 16. Qxd1 g5 17. Nxg5 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Nbd7 19. Qf3 Rc8 20. c6 Qc5 21. Bxf6 Qc1+ 22. Ke2 Qc2+ 23. Ke1 Qc1+ 24. Ke2 Qc2+ 25. Ke1 Qc1+ {1/2-1/2 (25) Wang,H (2763)-Wei,Y (2732) Chess.com INT 2020}) 16... g5 17. Bg3 Qxc5 18. Kd2 Nbd7 19. Rc1 $132 { [%mdl 2048] White is fighting back} Qd5+ 20. Ke2 Nc5 21. Qc4 Rd8 22. Qxd5 Nxd5 23. Nd4 a5 24. Rc4 Rd7 25. f3 a4 26. Nb5 f6 27. e4 Ne7 28. Bc7 Ng6 29. g3 ({ And not} 29. Bxb6 Nf4+ 30. Kf2 Rd2+ 31. Ke1 Re2+ 32. Kd1 Ncd3 $17) ({White should play} 29. Rd4 $16) 29... Ne5 $11 30. Bxe5 fxe5 $14 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRN-KRN} 31. Nc3 Nb3 $1 32. Nxa4 b5 33. Rc8+ Kf7 34. Nc5 Rd2+ 35. Ke3 Rxb2 36. Rc7+ Ke8 37. Nxe6 Rxh2 38. Rb7 Nc1 {[%csl Gc1][%cal Rh2e2]} 39. f4 gxf4+ 40. gxf4 Rh3+ 41. Kd2 Nb3+ 42. Kc2 Na5 43. Rxb5 Nc4 44. Rb4 Ne3+ 45. Kd2 exf4 46. a4 Ng2 47. e5 f3 {next ...Rh1 is good for Black.} 48. Ng7+ Kf8 49. Nf5 f2 $1 { [%cal Rf2f1]} 50. e6 {[%cal Rb4b8] [#]} Rd3+ $1 {[%mdl 512]} 51. Ke2 { Threatening mate with Rb8+.} (51. Kxd3 f1=Q+) 51... f1=Q+ $1 {[%mdl 64] Decoy} 52. Kxf1 {Rb8+ would kill now.} Rf3+ 53. Kxg2 {[%cal Rb4b8]} Rxf5 $11 {KR-KR} 54. Rb5 Rf4 55. Ra5 {Hoping for Ra8+.} Ke7 56. Ra6 h5 57. a5 {Black must now prevent Ra8.} Ra4 58. Kh3 h4 59. Ra8 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (59. Kg2 $11) 59... Kxe6 60. a6 {Mate.} Kd7 61. a7 Kc7 62. Rh8 Rxa7 63. Rh7+ Kb8 64. Rxa7 Kxa7 65. Kxh4 {[%mdl 32768] Accuracy: White = 83%, Black = 82%. . An unexpected result.} 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Split after two games, Nakamura missed his chance in Game 3. With an extra bishop and hurtling through a middlegame, the American couldn’t find a way to finish things off, first allowing the World Champion to climb back into the position and then dropping a check-laden queen endgame. 

[pgn][Event "NIC Classic KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.05.01"] [Round "3.13"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2847"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 3.0 (1s)"] [PlyCount "180"] [EventDate "2021.04.27"] {[%evp 13,180,35,43,15,78,67,56,52,76,54,81,73,56,64,61,68,69,69,79,56,80,70, 69,77,99,60,71,48,46,31,34,11,134,109,141,120,132,137,124,95,138,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,-28,59,0,-8,-25,0,-46,-32,-70,-55,-144,-155,-139,0,0,0,0,0,-19,-16,-31,0, 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,577,621,643,633,620,592,668,663,663,621,646,634,663,654,628,448, 727,680,786,492,485,329,463,137,137,147,650,485,698,662,707,706,906,989,1048, 1048,1048,947,1043,1040,1045,1000,1020,862,1047,1034,1045,1035,1015,1007,1048, 1020,1048,1047,1048,1035,1048,1041,1025,1028,1021,1012,1065,984,996,988,15256, 15257,15255,15256,4955,15255,15246,5013,7087,4932,15260,15260,15264,15263, 15263,15264,15265,15265,29986,15262,15261,15262,29989]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. a4 {[%cal Ba2a4,Ba4a5] [%mdl 32] C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3.} Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. a5 {b4 is the strong threat.White is slightly better.} Nf6 $146 ({ Predecessor:} 10... a6 11. Nbd2 b5 12. axb6 Nxb6 13. Bb3 a5 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Re1 Bg6 16. Be3 Kh8 17. Bxb6 cxb6 {1-0 (29) Ding,L (2805)-Plenca,J (2463) Chess. com INT 2020}) 11. b4 Bd6 12. Nbd2 a6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. dxe4 Kh8 15. Qd3 Qe7 16. Re1 Nd8 17. g3 Ne6 18. Nh4 $36 {[%mdl 2048] White is in control.} Rad8 { next ...Bxb4 is good for Black.} 19. Nf5 Qf6 20. g4 Bg6 $1 ({Not} 20... Bxb4 $2 21. Qg3 $18) 21. Qf3 h6 22. Kg2 Nf4+ (22... Rfe8 $11 {keeps the balance.}) 23. Bxf4 $1 $16 exf4 24. Nxd6 cxd6 25. Bd5 Rd7 26. Rad1 Re8 27. Bxb7 (27. c4 $16) 27... Rxb7 $11 28. e5 $1 {[%cal Re5f6]} Qe7 29. exd6 Qd7 $1 30. Rxe8+ Qxe8 31. Rd4 Rd7 32. Qxf4 Qb8 (32... Bc2 $11) 33. Kg3 {[%mdl 1024] White has compensation.} f6 34. h4 Kg8 35. Kg2 Bf7 36. Kg3 Be6 37. g5 ({White should try } 37. Qd2 $15) 37... hxg5 $17 38. hxg5 fxg5 ({Better is} 38... Qb5 $17 { And now ...Qf1 would win.} 39. Kg2 fxg5) 39. Qe5 $11 Bf7 40. f3 Kf8 41. Kf2 Kg8 42. Kg3 Kf8 43. Qxg5 Rxd6 44. Qc5 Ke7 45. Qe5+ Kd7 46. Kf2 Qf8 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (46... g6 $11) 47. Qf5+ $18 Kc6 {Strongly threatening ...Rxd4.} 48. Qc5+ Kd7 49. Qf5+ $1 Kc6 {[#] With the idea ...Rxd4.} 50. Rxd6+ $1 Qxd6 51. Qxf7 { [%mdl 4096] Endgame KQ-KQ} Qd2+ 52. Kg3 Qxc3 53. Qe8+ Kc7 54. Qe4 Kd6 (54... Qa1 $142 55. Qe7+ Kc6 56. Qe8+ (56. Qc5+ Kd7 $16) 56... Kd6 57. Qd8+ Kc6) 55. Kg4 Qa1 56. Qd3+ Ke7 57. Qe3+ Kf7 (57... Kf8 $142 58. Qc5+ Kg8 59. Qc8+ Kh7 60. Qxa6 Qg1+ 61. Kf4 Qd4+ 62. Kf5 Qd5+ 63. Kg4 Qd4+ 64. Kh3 Qxb4 65. Qd3+ g6) 58. Qc5 $2 (58. Qa7+ $18 Kf8 59. Qxa6) 58... Kg8 $16 59. Kf4 Qd1 $2 {[%mdl 8192] [#]} (59... Qf6+ $16 60. Ke3 Qh6+ 61. f4 Qe6+ 62. Kd4 Qf6+ 63. Kd5 Qxf4) 60. Ke5 $1 $18 {aiming for Qd5+.} Kh7 (60... Kh8 $142 61. Qc8+ {[%mdl 64] Double Attack} Kh7 62. Qxa6 Qe1+ 63. Kd5 Qd2+ 64. Kc6 Qc3+ 65. Kd7 Qxb4 66. Qd3+ Kh8) 61. Qd5 Qa4 62. Qe4+ Kh8 63. Kd6 Qb5 64. Kc7 Kg8 65. Qe6+ Kh7 66. Qd6 Qe2 67. f4 Qb5 68. Qc5 {Hoping for Qxb5.} Qf1 69. Qh5+ Kg8 70. Qd5+ Kh7 71. Qe4+ Kh8 72. Kb6 Qb5+ 73. Ka7 Qf1 74. Qe8+ Kh7 75. Qh5+ Kg8 76. Qd5+ Kh7 77. f5 Qb1 78. Qd6 Qxf5 79. Kxa6 g5 80. b5 {[%cal Bb4b5,Bb5b6,Bb6b7][%mdl 32]} Qf1 81. Kb6 Qf2+ 82. Qc5 (82. Kb7 $142 Qf7+ 83. Ka6) 82... Qf6+ 83. Ka7 (83. Kb7 $142 Qf7+ 84. Ka6) 83... Qf7+ 84. Ka6 g4 85. b6 g3 86. b7 Qf1+ 87. Ka7 Qf2 88. Qb6 Qf7 89. Qb1+ Kh6 90. Qe4 Qg7 {Accuracy: White = 67%, Black = 56%.} 1-0 [/pgn]

The final game on Saturday was perhaps even more of a heartbreaker. Nakamura had found a solid advantage against Carlsen’s Slav 25 moves into the game and looked to be on his way to drawing the set. But all pressure was relinquished just a few moves later, first weakening his pawn structure with a questionable 28. f3, and then figuring out too late that exchanging his rook for two of Carlsen’s minor pieces only left his own army an uncoordinated mess. Nakamura’s final move of the game 37. Qd5 brought instant resignation and, with it, the first set to Carlsen. 

[pgn][Event "NIC Classic KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.05.01"] [Round "3.14"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D11"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2847"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 3.0 (1s)"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2021.04.27"] {[%evp 16,74,42,39,59,17,17,12,37,-41,-26,-30,-22,-74,-72,-88,-100,-85,-17,-13, -11,-21,-29,-26,25,-23,89,32,46,0,37,20,55,48,151,136,170,160,188,72,160,3,23, 0,0,-27,-22,-33,-41,-62,-39,-238,0,0,0,-80,-20,-45,-23,-636,-643]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 e6 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. O-O Bd6 9. Nc3 O-O {D11: Slav Defence: 3 Nf3 sidelines and 3...Nf6 4 e3 Bg4.} 10. Rd1 Re8 11. Qe2 Qe7 {The position is equal.} 12. Bd2 dxc4 13. Bxc4 e5 14. dxe5 Qxe5 { ( -> ...Qh2+)} 15. g3 b5 16. Bb3 a5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 16... Nc5 17. Bc2 b4 18. Na4 Nce4 19. Be1 Qe6 20. Kg2 Ng5 21. g4 Qe5 22. Rxd6 Qxd6 23. Rd1 Qe7 24. Qc4 Nd5 25. Bb3 Qf6 {0-1 (25) Franco Ocampos,Z (2525)-Felgaer,R (2581) Olite 2006}) 17. Bc2 Qe6 {With the idea ...b4.} 18. Kg2 a4 19. a3 Ne5 20. Bb1 Qe7 ( 20... Nc4 $11 21. Ba2 h6) 21. Be1 Rad8 22. Ba2 Ned7 23. Qc2 Be5 24. Rac1 Nc5 ({ Black should play} 24... Rb8 $14) 25. Ne2 $16 Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Qa7 27. Rc1 (27. Ng1 $18 {is more deadly.}) 27... Ne6 (27... Ncd7 $142) 28. f3 $2 (28. Nf4 $16) 28... Nd5 $11 ({Much weaker is} 28... Qxe3 $6 29. Bf2 $16) 29. Qxc6 Nxe3+ 30. Kh1 Qb8 31. Bf2 Bxb2 32. Bxe3 {Black must now prevent Rb1.} Bxc1 33. Bxc1 $2 { [#]} (33. Qxc1 $15 Qe5 34. Ng1) 33... Rc8 $2 (33... Qc8 $1 $19 {[%cal Rc8c6]} 34. Bd5 (34. Qxb5 $2 Nd4 $19 {[%mdl 64] Discovered Attack, Back Rank}) 34... Nd4 {[%mdl 64] Discovered Attack} 35. Qxc8 Rxc8 36. Nxd4 Rxc1+ 37. Kh2 {[#]} b4 $1 {[%mdl 512]} 38. axb4 Rd1) 34. Qe4 $1 Qd6 {Hoping for ...Qd1+.} 35. Be3 Qd1+ {[%mdl 1024] Black has strong compensation.} 36. Ng1 Qc2 37. Qd5 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (37. Bxe6 $11 Qxe4 38. fxe4 fxe6 39. Bd2) 37... Rd8 {Accuracy: White = 38%, Black = 59%.} 0-1 [/pgn]

Going for broke on Sunday, Nakamura came out swinging in a lopsided Nimzo-Indian to win the first game, but opted for peace in a pivotal Game 2, where aggression may have been for choice. As black in a Giuoco Piano, Nakamura had found a forced perpetual after his 19. … Bxf3 – though Carlsen’s reply of 20. Qd2 was incorrect, leaving the American with a playable advantage. Instead of pressing, Nakamura allowed a threefold repetition, providing Carlsen a half point that would later prove decisive to the match. 

[pgn][Event "NIC Classic KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.05.02"] [Round "3.22"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C53"] [WhiteElo "2847"] [BlackElo "2736"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 3.0 (1s)"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2021.04.27"] {[%evp 15,47,43,24,14,23,12,10,15,8,30,13,8,0,8,23,11,49,12,35,0,0,0,0,0,0, -126,-100,-86,-115,-109,0,0,0,-111]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Re1 Bg4 9. h3 {C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3.} Bh5 10. b4 Be7 11. b5 Na5 12. Rxe5 Nf6 13. Nbd2 {[%cal Bb1d2,Bd2e4,Be4c3][%mdl 32]} Bd6 14. Re1 Re8 15. Bb3 Qd7 16. Rxe8+ $146 ({Predecessor:} 16. c4 Rxe1+ 17. Qxe1 Bb4 18. Qe3 Re8 19. Ne5 Qd8 20. Bb2 Nd7 21. Qg3 Nxe5 22. Bxe5 {1/2-1/2 (33) Ljubicic,L (2591)-Zidu,J (2595) ICCF email 2016}) 16... Rxe8 17. Bc2 Nd5 18. Ne4 Nxc3 19. Nxc3 {Threatens to win with Ne4. } Bxf3 $1 20. Qd2 (20. gxf3 $11 {was the only way to keep the balance.} Qxh3 21. f4) 20... Qe6 21. Qe3 {[#] Hoping for Qxe6.} Qd7 $1 22. Qd2 Qe6 {( -> ... Qe1+)} 23. Qe3 {And now Qxe6 would win.} Qd7 24. Qd2 $1 {Accuracy: White = 68%, Black = 88%.} 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Running out of match time in Game 3, Nakamura finally turned his aggression up against a Semi-Slav, but Carlsen turned the tables. The American attempted to crack Black’s castle open with a kingside pawn storm, but the World Champion pushed past the threat, then found excellent compensation from a sac exchange at 24. … Rxe5. Nakamura attempted to defuse the situation by offering a queen trade, but Carlsen denied the request, and soon his pair of knights were terrorizing the holes in White’s structure. 

[pgn][Event "NIC Classic KO 2021"] [Site "chess24.com INT"] [Date "2021.05.02"] [Round "3.23"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2847"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 3.0 (1s)"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2021.04.27"] {[%evp 9,77,26,36,29,39,39,28,22,57,57,71,65,55,43,62,20,25,18,14,7,19,10,20, -1,16,3,0,-7,-1,2,0,-27,-18,-20,-25,-87,-108,-98,-90,-203,-186,-191,-208,-188, -203,-213,-225,-200,-185,-221,-201,-237,-250,-344,-353,-350,-355,-442,-230, -1037,-1010,-1094,-1089,-1074,-1126,-1167,-1152,-1176,-1154,-1120]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 {D31: Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav without ...Nf6 (+ Marshall Gambit and Noteboom) and Exchange Variation lines without ...Nf6.} Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 {White has an edge.} Bg4 9. Qb3 Nc6 10. h3 Bh5 11. Nge2 $146 ({Predecessor:} 11. g4 Bg6 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Nge2 g5 15. Ng3 g6 16. Kb1 Rh7 17. e4 dxe4 18. Ncxe4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 {1-0 (24) Yakubboev,N (2591)-Tristan,L (2535) Chess.com INT 2020} ) 11... Bxe2 12. Nxe2 O-O 13. Rc1 Nd8 {[%cal Bc6d8,Bd8e6,Be6g7,Bg7h5][%mdl 32]} 14. Qa3 Qd7 15. O-O g6 16. Nf4 {[%cal Be2f4,Bf4d3,Bd3e5][%mdl 32]} Re8 17. Bc2 c6 18. Nd3 Ne6 19. f4 {Threatening f5.} Ng7 20. f5 {aiming for fxg6.} g5 21. Ne5 Qc7 22. h4 {[#]} g4 $1 23. Qc3 Ngh5 24. Qe1 (24. Rce1 $17) 24... Rxe5 $19 25. dxe5 Qxe5 26. Qc3 Qg3 {[%mdl 1024] Black has strong compensation.} 27. Qe1 Qd6 28. Qf2 Re8 29. Rcd1 Qe5 30. Rd4 c5 ({Inferior is} 30... Qxe3 31. Qxe3 Rxe3 32. Kf2 $11) 31. Rd2 Ng3 ({Weaker is} 31... Qxe3 32. Rdd1 $15) 32. Rfd1 Kf8 33. Rd3 Nfe4 (33... Nge4 $142 34. Qe2 Qxb2) 34. Qe1 $2 (34. Rxd5 Qxb2 35. Bxe4 Qxf2+ 36. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 37. Kf1) 34... Qf6 {Black is clearly winning.} 35. Rxd5 Qxh4 {[%csl Gg3][%cal Rh4h1]} 36. Bxe4 Qh1+ {[%mdl 64] [#] Zwischenzug} 37. Kf2 Nxe4+ 38. Ke2 Qxg2+ 39. Kd3 {Accuracy: White = 58%, Black = 78%.} 0-1 [/pgn]

Nakamura was pushed into a must-win situation with the Black pieces in Game 4, though never posed a threat. Needing only half-point to ice the match, Carlsen accepted Nakamura’s draw offer in a winning position, cementing his first Champions Tour victory. 

Along with the $30,000 top prize, Carlsen also grabbed 50 tour points and now leads the cumulative standings, leapfrogging US Chess Champion GM Wesley So. Nakamura pocketed $15,000 and 33 points in his best Tour finish, moving up to seventh place in the Tour standings. 

The next Champions Tour event starts in just two weeks, on May 23.