1st American Cup - FINALS

The St. Louis Chess Club organized a very interesting tournament, with a rare format: a double-elimination.
The format allows a player to lose a KO match but then play in the Elimination bracket with chances to get back in the main bracket.
Here are the brackets:


As you can see, the best American players participated in the $300,000 event! Nakamura was the only absent, as he is preparing for the Candidates' tournament.
Caruana didn't lose any match and arrived in the finals with an immaculate record.
Aronian, on the other hand, had to resort to the elimination bracket after losing to Dominguez in the second round of the champion's bracket.
The unusual format, with a time control of 90+30 without more time after move 40, contributed to making this event exciting and full of interesting games.

Enjoy GM John Burke's recap of the finals played between GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Levon Aronian!