Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 9th June, 2016, 10:20 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 9, 2016

Rounds 1 to 5

The rapid rounds have begun. I had the odd sensation of watching Jan Gustafsson and Peter Svidler commentating on Round One on the Official Site and also hearing the voices of the American team – Jennifer Shahade and Yasser Seirawan. Probably the fault of my web browser or the fact that I had chessbomb also open.

I thought Magnus Carlsen was just about to win against Wesley So but:

Unbelievable! Magnus loses on time against Wesley So in a completely winning position!

Round One

Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley 0-1
Fressinet, Laurent – MVL 0.5-0.5
Giri, Anish – Aronian, Levon 0.5-0.5
Nakamura, Hikaru – Kramnik, Vladimir 0.5-0.5
Topalov, Veselin – Caruana, Fabiano 0-1

Round Two

Aronian, Levon- Fressinet, Laurent
Caruana, Fabiano – Giri, Anish
Kramnik, Vladimir – So, Wesley
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
MVL – Carlsen, Magnus
_______

Grand Tour Paris
Rapid
Round 1, June 9, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.Ba4 a6 9.d4 Ba7 10.Bc2 d5 11.Nxe5 Nxe4 12.Nd2 Nd6 13.Ndf3 Bf5 14.Re1 Bxc2 15.Qxc2 Ne4 16.Qb3 Qc8 17.Ng5 Nxg5 18.Bxg5 f6 19.Nd3 Qd7 20.Bf4 c6 21.Re2 Ng6 22.Rae1 Rad8 23.Re6 Kf7 24.Bg3 Rde8 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Rxe8 Kxe8 27.a4 Qe7 28.a5 Kd8 29.Qd1 Qe4 30.Kh2 Ne7 31.Qb3 Kc8 32.Qb4 Qe6 33.Nf4 Qf7 34.Kg1 Bb8 35.Nd3 Bxg3 36.fxg3 Nf5 37.g4 Ng3 38.Nc5 h5 39.gxh5 Qe7 40.Kf2 Nf5 41.g4 Qe3+ 42.Kf1 Qxh3+ 43.Ke1 Qg3+ 44.Kd2 Nd6 45.Nxb7 Qg2+ 46.Kc1 Qf1+ 47.Kc2 Qe2+ 48.Kc1 Qe1+ 49.Kc2 Qe4+ 50.Kb3 Nxb7 51.Qf8+ Kc7 52.Qxg7+ Kb8 53.h6 Qd3 54.Ka3 Qb1 55.h7 Qa1+ 56.Kb3 Qd1+ 57.Kb4 Ka7 58.h8=Q Qa1 0-1

Round 1, June 9, 2016
Topalov, Veselin – Caruana, Fabiano
C45 Scotch, Mieses Variation, Main Line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Nb6 9.Nc3 Qe6 10.Qe4 g6 11.Be2 Bg7 12.f4 O-O 13.O-O d6 14.Qxc6 dxe5 15.Qxc7 Ba6 16.Nd5 exf4 17.Bd3 g5 18.Qc5 Rad8 19.Nc7 Qh6 20.Kh1 Bb7 21.Qf5 Rd7 22.c5 Rxc7 23.cxb6 axb6 24.Bd2 Rc5 25.Qg4 Rd8 26.Bb4 Rxd3 27.Bxc5 Rg3 28.Qd1 Bxg2+ 29.Kg1 Bf3+ 0-1

(to be continued)

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 9th June, 2016, 11:40 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 9, 2016

Round Two

It seems that the broadcast with Jennifer and Yasser is being shown on chessbomb. Eric Hansen is doing the analysis in their studio and Maurice Ashley is in Paris conducting interviews.

Round Two Results

Aronian-Fressinet 1-0
Caruana-Giri 0.5-0.5
Kramnik-So 0.5-0.5
Nakamura-Topalov 1-0
MVL-Carlsen 0-1

Grand Chess Tour
Paris, France
Rapids
Round 2, June 9, 2016
MVL – Carlsen, Magnus
C78 Ruy Lopez, Archangelsk Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.Nc3 Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.a3 Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 c5 13.dxc6 dxc6 14.Re1 c5 15.a4 Bd6 16.Qh5 Qc7 17.c3 c4 18.Bc2 g6 19.Qh3 dxc3 20.axb5 Rfe8 21.Re3 cxb2 22.Bxb2 c3 23.Bc1 axb5 24.Rxa8 Rxa8 25.Bb3 Bf4 26.Re1 Ra1 0-1

Round 2, June 9, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
A29 English, Bremen, Reverse Dragon

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.Rb1 a5 9.d3 O-O 10.a3 Be6 11.Be3 Nd5 12.Nxd5 Bxd5 13.Qa4 Bf6 14.Rfc1 Nd4 15.Nxd4 exd4 16.Bxd4 Bxg2 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Kxg2 c6 19.Rc5 Qe7 20.Qc2 Rfe8 21.e3 Qd7 22.d4 g6 23.a4 Re6 24.Rc1 Rf6 25.Re5 Qg4 26.Qd1 Qd7 27.Qe2 Qd6 28.Qc2 b6 29.Qe4 Kf8 30.g4 Qd7 31.g5 Rd6 32.Qf4 Kg8 33.Qe4 Kf8 34.Qf3 Kg8 35.Re4 Rd5 36.Re5 Rd6 37.Re4 Rd5 38.h4 Rf5 39.Rf4 Rxf4 40.Qxf4 Re8 41.Qf3 Re6 42.b3 Rd6 43.Qf4 Qd8 44.Rb1 Re6 45.Qf3 Qd6 46.Rd1 Qb4 47.Rc1 Qd6 48.Rd1 Qb4 49.e4 Qe7 50.d5 cxd5 51.exd5 Rd6 52.Qf4 Qe2 53.Rc1 Rd8 54.Rc7 Qe8 55.Qf3 Rd6 56.Rc6 Qd7 57.Rxd6 Qxd6 58.Qe4 Kf8 59.Qd4 Ke7 60.Kf3 Kd7 61.Qg4+ Ke7 62.Qd4 Kd7 63.Ke2 Kc7 64.Qc4+ Kd7 65.Kd3 Ke7 66.Qe4+ Kd7 67.Qd4 Ke8 68.f4 Kd7 69.Qc4 Ke7 70.Ke4 Kd8 71.Qd4 Kd7 72.Qc4 Ke7 73.Kd3 Kd8 74.Qd4 Kd7 75.Ke2 Qe7+ 76.Kd2 Qd6 77.Qc4 Kd8 78.Kc2 Qa3 79.Qc3 Kd7 80.Qc6+ Ke7 81.Qxb6 Qa2+ 82.Kc3 Qa1+ 83.Kc4 1-0

Round 2, June 9, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Fressinet, Laurent
A20 English, Modern Nimzowitsch

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Be7 7.d4 e4 8.Ne5 f5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Qc2 Qd7 11.Nc3 O-O 12.Re1 Nb4 13.Qa4 Kh8 14.Bf4 c5 15.Qxd7 Bxd7 16.dxc5 Nc2 17.Red1 Nxa1 18.Rxd7 Bxc5 19.Be5 Rg8 20.Rxc7 Bb6 21.Rf7 Rad8 22.Rxf5 Rgf8 23.Rxf8+ Rxf8 24.e3 Re8 25.Bd6 Rd8 26.Nxe4 Nc2 27.Kf1 Rc8 28.Ke2 Nxe3 29.fxe3 Rc2+ 30.Nd2 Rxb2 31.Be5 Rxa2 32.Bd5 Ra3 33.e4 Re3+ 34.Kd1 Rd3 35.Bc4 Rd8 36.Bd5 h6 37.Nc4 Bg1 38.h3 Bc5 39.Ke2 Bb4 40.Bd4 a5 41.Bb6 Rc8 42.Nxa5 Rc2+ 43.Kf3 Rc3+ 44.Kf4 g5+ 45.Kg4 h5+ 46.Kxh5 Rxg3 47.Kg6 Bc3 48.Be6 Rf3 49.Bf5 1-0

Standings after Round Two

1. Nakamura 3/4
2. Caruana 3/4
3. Aronian 3/4
4. So 3/4
5. Carlsen 2/4
6. Kramnik 2/4
7. Giri 2/4
8. MVL 1/4
9. Fressinet 1/4
10. Topalov 0/4

- Jan: "Looks like angry Magnus will crush MVL in 20 moves from a position supposed to be slightly worse"

- Carlsen on his first round loss: "Complete lack of clock awareness‬"

- At the start of the tournament the players paid tribute to the legendary Viktor Korchnoi with a minute of silence.

- Wesley So on his strong start: "I wouldn't call it luck. I gave them opportunities to make mistakes"

Today’s Pairings

Round Three

So-MVL
Fressinet-Caruana
Giri-Nakamura
Carlsen-Aronian
Topalov-Kramnik

Round Four

Kramnik-MVL
Aronian-So
Caruana-Carlsen
Nakamura-Fressinet
Topalov-Giri

Round Five

Giri-Kramnik
Fressinet-Topalov
Carlsen-Nakamura
So-Caruana
MVL-Aronian

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 9th June, 2016, 05:19 PM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 9, 2016

Rounds Three through Five

Rapids

Round Three

So-MVL 0-1
Fressinet-Caruana 1-0
Giri-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
Carlsen-Aronian 1-0
Topalov-Kramnik 0-1

Round 3, June 9, 2016
Fressinet, Laurent – Caruana, Fabiano
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 O-O 5.O-O c6 6.d4 d5 7.b3 Bf5 8.Bb2 Ne4 9.e3 Nd7 10.Qe2 a5 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.Bxc3 Be4 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Qb5 b6 15.Rac1 e6 16.Ne5 Bxe5 17.dxe5 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Qe7 19.Bd4 Rac8 20.Rc6 Qb4 21.Qxb4 axb4 22.Rfc1 Rxc6 23.Rxc6 Ra8 24.Rc7 Nc5 25.Bxc5 bxc5 26.Rxc5 Rxa2 27.Rb5 g5 28.g4 Kg7 29.Rxb4 Kg6 30.Rb7 Rd2 31.Rb4 h5 32.h3 Rb2 33.Rb8 h4 34.Rb6 Rd2 35.Rb4 Rb2 36.Kf3 Kg7 37.Rb8 Rd2 38.b4 d4 39.b5 dxe3 40.Kxe3 Rb2 41.b6 Rb3+ 42.Kd4 Rxh3 43.Ra8 Rb3 44.Kc5 h3 45.Ra1 f6 46.Kc6 Rc3+ 47.Kd7 Rb3 48.Kc7 Rc3+ 49.Kb8 h2 50.b7 Ra3 51.Rc1 Rc3 52.Rxc3 h1=Q 53.Kc8 Qh8+ 54.Kc7 Qh2 55.Rc5 Qxf2 56.Rc6 Qa7 57.Kc8 Qa4 58.Rc7+ Kg6 59.b8=Q Qe8+ 60.Kb7 Qb5+ 61.Kc8 Qe8+ 62.Kb7 Qb5+ 63.Ka8 Qa5+ 64.Qa7 Qd5+ 65.Qb7 Qa5+ 66.Qa7 Qd5+ 67.Qb7 Qd8+ 68.Qc8 Qd5+ 69.Rb7 Qa5+ 70.Kb8 Qxe5+ 71.Qc7 Qxc7+ 72.Kxc7 f5 73.Kd6 Kf6 74.Rb8 fxg4 75.Rf8+ Kg6 76.Kxe6 g3 77.Rg8+ Kh5 78.Kf5 1-0

Round 3, June 9, 2016
Topalov, Veselin – Kramnik, Vladimir
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6 9.Re1 Ng6 10.Nbd2 c6 11.Bd3 Re8 12.Bc2 Bc7 13.a4 a5 14.Nf1 d5 15.exd5 e4 16.d6 Qxd6 17.N3h2 h5 18.f3 Bf5 19.fxe4 Bxe4 20.Bxe4 Nxe4 21.Qxh5 Nf6 22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.Qf3 Re1 24.Kf2 Nh4 25.Qd3 Qe6 26.Ng4 Nxg4+ 27.hxg4 Nxg2 28.Kxg2 Qxg4+ 29.Kf2 Qh4+ 30.Kg2 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 Qg5+ 0-1

Round Four

Caruana-Carlsen 0-1
Kramnik-MVL 0-1
Nakamura-Fressinet 1-0
Aronian-So 0-1
Topalov-Anish 1-0

Round 4, June 9, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Carlsen, Magnus
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.d3 Be7 8.Nc3 O-O 9.a3 Nd4 10.Ba2 Nxf3+ 11.Qxf3 d6 12.Bg5 Qd7 13.Ne2 Nxe4 14.Bxe7 Nc5 15.Bd5 Bxd5 16.Qxd5 Qxe7 17.d4 exd4 18.Nxd4 Rfe8 19.c4 Qe4 20.Rfd1 Qxd5 21.cxd5 Re5 22.Nf3 Re4 23.Rac1 b4 24.Nd4 bxa3 25.bxa3 Rb8 26.Rd2 g6 27.g3 Kg7 28.Kg2 Rb6 29.h4 h5 30.Rcd1 a5 31.Rc2 a4 32.Kf1 Re5 33.Nc6 Rf5 34.Nb4 Rf3 35.Ra2 Rb3 36.Re1 Rb8 37.Re7 Rc8 38.Ke2 Kf8 39.Re3 Re8 40.Rxe8+ Kxe8 41.Kf1 Ke7 42.Nc6+ Kf6 43.Nd4 Rb1+ 44.Ke2 Ke5 45.Nf3+ Kxd5 46.Ng5 f6 47.Nh3 Ne6 48.Rd2+ Nd4+ 0-1

Round 4, June 9, 2016
Topalov, Veselin – Giri, Anish
C28 Vienna Game

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Na5 5.Nge2 Bc5 6.O-O O-O 7.a4 Nxc4 8.dxc4 h6 9.Qd3 d6 10.Be3 Nd7 11.a5 a6 12.Ng3 Rb8 13.b3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Nc5 15.Rad1 Ne6 16.Nd5 Nd4 17.Rd2 b5 18.axb6 c6 19.Nc3 Qxb6 20.h3 f5 21.exf5 Bxf5 22.Nxf5 Rxf5 23.Ne4 Qc7 24.c3 Nxb3 25.Rxd6 Na5 26.Qd3 Rf7 27.c5 Nb7 28.Rg6 a5 29.Qa6 Rc8 30.Rb1 Qd7 31.Rg3 Rc7 32.Rd3 Qf5 33.f3 Kh7 34.Rbd1 Qe6 35.Kh2 Qb3 36.R3d2 Qb5 37.Qb6 a4 38.Rb1 Qxb6 39.cxb6 Rc8 40.Ra2 Ra8 41.Rb4 Nd8 42.Raxa4 Rxa4 43.Rxa4 Rb7 44.Ra6 1-0

Round Five

Carlsen-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
MVL-Aronian0.5-0.5
So-Caruana 0.5-0.5
Giri-Kramnik 0.5-0.5
Fressinet-Topalov 0.5-0.5

Round 5, June 9, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5 8.Rc1 Be7 9.a3 b6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Bb5 a6 13.Ba4 b5 14.Bb3 Re8+ 15.Ne2 Bg4 16.O-O Bxf3 17.gxf3 Ra7 18.Rc5 Rd7 19.Nc3 Rd6 20.Rxd5 Nc6 21.Rxd6 Qxd6 22.Re1 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Qd8 24.d5 Nd4 25.Qd1 g6 26.Kg2 Nf5 27.a4 bxa4 28.Bxa4 Nd6 29.Qd3 Be5 30.Ne4 Qh4 31.h3 Qf4 32.Nxd6 Bxd6 33.Qxa6 Qg5+ 34.Kf1 Qc1+ 35.Kg2 Qg5+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, June 9, 2016
Giri, Anish – Kramnik, Vladimir
A14 English, Neo-Catalan

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.c4 O-O 6.b3 c5 7.Bb2 Nc6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Bd7 11.Na3 Bf6 12.Nc4 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Bb5 14.Rc1 Rc8 15.a4 Ba6 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Bxd5 Rcd8 18.e4 exd5 19.exd5 Qg5 20.d6 b5 21.axb5 Qxb5 22.Re1 Qc6 23.Na5 Qxd6 24.Qxd6 Rxd6 25.Rc6 Rxc6 26.Nxc6 g6 27.b4 Bb7 28.Nxa7 Rd8 29.b5 Rd2 30.Nc6 Bxc6 31.bxc6 Rc2 32.Re8+ Kg7 33.Rc8 h5 34.Kg2 Kf6 35.Kf3 Ke7 36.Rc7+ Ke6 37.h4 Rc4 38.Ke3 Rc2 39.f4 Rc3+ 40.Kd4 Rc1 41.Rc8 Kd6 42.f5 gxf5 43.c7 Ke7 44.Rh8 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Five

1. Carlsen 7/10
2. Nakamura 7/10
3. MVL 6/10
4. So 6/10
5. Kramnik 5/10
6. Caruana 4/10
7. Aronian 4/10
8. Fressinet 4/10
9. Giri 4/10
10. Topalov 3/10
___________

- Topalov - Kramnik 0-1. Kramnik is playing great chess; Topalov is really suffering

- Topalov on his 3 losses "Recently I'm used to it"

- Well. Considering Magnus chucked one of the fullest points possible out of the window, his form is actually pretty impressive.

- Fressinet - Caruana 1-0. Great play by the Frenchman, winning with great precision in the endgame

- In the rapid portion, a win counts for 2 points, a draw is one and a loss is 0

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 10th June, 2016, 10:50 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 10, 2016

Rounds 6 to 9

Round Six

Nakamura-So 0.5-0.5
Topalov-Carlsen 0-1
Caruana-MVL 0-1
Kramnik-Aronian 0.5-0.5
Giri-Fressinet 1-0

Round 6, June 10, 2016
Topalov, Veselin - Carlsen, Magnus
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.d4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Nc6 13.d5 Nb8 14.Qe2 Nbd7 15.Rd1 Qc8 16.Nh4 g6 17.g3 Ne8 18.Ng2 Ng7 19.Bh6 Nf6 20.Ne3 Qh3 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.b4 h5 23.a4 a5 24.Rb1 axb4 25.Rxb4 bxa4 26.Raxa4 Ng4 27.Nf1 h4 28.f3 hxg3 29.hxg3 Nf6 30.Qg2 Qh6 31.Qh2 Qg5 32.Qd2 Qh5 33.g4 Qh8 34.Nb5 Nh7 35.Qh2 Rfb8 36.c4 Qd8 37.Ne3 Bg5 38.Qe2 Bf4 39.Ng2 Bg3 40.Qe3 Ng5 41.Kf1 Qh8 0-1

Round 6, June 10, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
A48 King’s Indian, London System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.e3 b6 5.Be2 Bb7 6.O-O O-O 7.c4 d6 8.h3 Nbd7 9.Bh2 e6 10.Nfd2 Re8 11.Nc3 e5 12.Bf3 Qc8 13.Rc1 Bh6 14.Rc2 a5 15.Nb5 Bf8 16.b3 c6 17.Nc3 Qc7 18.g4 h6 19.Bg2 Bg7 20.Bg3 Rad8 21.h4 Qc8 22.Bh3 Nf8 23.Kh2 Qa8 24.Nf3 c5 25.d5 Bc8 26.Nd2 N8h7 27.f3 Qb7 28.Rg1 Kh8 29.Bf1 Ng8 30.Bd3 f5 31.h5 e4 32.fxe4 fxg4 33.hxg6 Ng5 34.Bf4 Be5 35.Rxg4 Bxg4 36.Qxg4 Qg7 37.Ne2 Qxg6 38.Ng3 Nf6 39.Qh4 Rg8 40.Rc1 Rd7 41.Rg1 Rh7 42.Bxe5 dxe5 43.Nf5 h5 44.Kh1 Ng4 45.Rf1 Rf7 46.Rg1 Nh3 47.Rxg4 Qxg4 48.Qxg4 Nf2+ 49.Kg2 Nxg4 50.Nf3 Rxf5 51.exf5 e4 0-1

Round 6, June 10, 2016
Giri, Anish – Fressinet, Laurent
C45 Scotch, Potter Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 d6 9.f3 Be6 10.Bb5 a6 11.Bxc6+ bxc6 12.Qe2 g5 13.Bf2 Bxf2+ 14.Qxf2 Qe7 15.O-O-O a5 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.h4 g4 18.Nf5 Qe5 19.f4 Nxe4 20.Nxd6+ Qxd6 21.Nxe4 Qe7 22.Qd4 1-0

Round Seven

Carlsen-Giri 0.5-0.5
MVL-Nakamura 0-1
So-Topalov 0.5-0.5
Aronian-Caruana 1-0
Fressinet-Kramnik 0-1

Round 7, June 10, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish
C28 Vienna Game

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Nc6 4.Nc3 Na5 5.Nge2 Bc5 6.O-O O-O 7.a4 Nxc4 8.dxc4 a5 9.Qd3 d6 10.b3 Be6 11.Be3 Nd7 12.Rad1 f5 13.f4 b6 14.Kh1 Kh8 15.Bxc5 Nxc5 16.Qe3 exf4 17.Nxf4 fxe4 18.Nxe6 Nxe6 19.Rxf8+ Qxf8 20.Qxe4 Nc5 21.Qc6 Rc8 22.Kg1 Qf4 23.Nd5 Qe4 24.Rf1 h6 25.h3 Qd4+ 26.Kh2 Qe5+ 27.Kg1 Qd4+ 28.Kh2 Qe5+ 1/2-1/2

Round 7, June 10, 2016
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O Re8 7.Bc4 d6 8.b4 Bb6 9.a4 a5 10.b5 Ne7 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Ng6 13.Nbd2 c6 14.Rb1 d5 15.Ba2 h6 16.Qc2 Be6 17.c4 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.dxe4 Qe7 20.bxc6 bxc6 21.c5 Bxa2 22.Qxa2 Qxc5 23.Rb7 Qxe3+ 24.Kh1 Rf8 25.Qc4 Rab8 26.Qxc6 Rxb7 27.Qxb7 Qe2 28.Qb5 Qxe4 29.Qxa5 Ra8 30.Qc7 Rxa4 31.h3 Qd5 32.Qc8+ Kh7 33.Rb1 e4 34.Ng1 Rc4 35.Qe8 Nh4 36.Rb8 Qd2 0-1

Round 7, June 10, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
A09 Reti, Advance Variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 f6 4.Na3 e5 5.Nc2 c5 6.bxc5 Bxc5 7.d3 Nc6 8.g3 Nge7 9.Bg2 O-O 10.O-O Be6 11.Nd2 f5 12.Rb1 b6 13.Ba3 Bxa3 14.Nxa3 Rc8 15.Qa4 Qd7 16.Nb5 a5 17.Qa3 Nb4 18.Nf3 Ng6 19.Ng5 Kh8 20.Nxe6 Qxe6 21.Qb2 f4 22.Na3 Rf6 23.Nc2 Nxc2 24.Qxc2 h5 25.Kh1 h4 26.g4 f3 27.Bxf3 Rcf8 28.Bd5 Qxg4 29.Rg1 Qh5 30.f3 Nf4 31.Be4 Nh3 32.Rg2 Qh6 33.c5 Rc8 34.Qa4 Rf7 35.Qb3 Rf6 36.Qb5 Rfc6 37.Bxc6 Rxc6 38.Rf1 Rxc5 39.Qe8+ Kh7 40.Qd7 Nf4 41.Rg4 Nxe2 42.Qe7 Rc1 43.Rxh4 Rxf1+ 44.Kg2 Nf4+ 45.Kxf1 Nh5 46.Qxe5 Qc1+ 47.Qe1 Qc5 48.Kg1 g6 49.Rg4 Nf6 50.Rg2 Nd5 51.Qh4+ Kg7 52.Qg5 Qc6 53.Qe5+ Kh7 54.Rg4 Nf6 55.Qe7+ Kh6 56.Qf8+ Kh7 57.Qf7+ Kh8 58.Rxg6 Qc1+ 59.Kg2 Qc2+ 60.Kh3 1-0

Round Eight

Kramnik-Caruana
Nakamura-Aronian
Topalov-MVL
Giri-So
Fressinet-Carlsen

Round Nine

Carlsen-Kramnik
So-Fressinet
MVL-Giri
Aronian-Topalov
Caruana-Nakamura

**Jack Maguire** · Friday, 10th June, 2016, 11:02 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Both Caruana and Topalov have the same -3 score (4/14) as Fressinet and have seen their live Rapid ratings take a serious hit. Caruana is no longer in the top 10 nor Topalov in the top 20.

http://www.2700chess.com/rapid?per-page=100

**Jack Maguire** · Friday, 10th June, 2016, 12:25 PM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Fressinet holds Carlsen while Caruana and Topalov both lose again. Caruana has now shed 55.2 points and faces the tournament leader, Nakamura, in the final Rapid round.

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 10th June, 2016, 12:42 PM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 10, 2016

Round Eight

Nakamura-Aronian 1-0
Fressinet-Carlsen 0.5-0.5
Giri-So 0.5-0.5
Kramnik-Caruana 1-0
Topalov-MVL 0-1

Standing After Round Eight

1. Nakamura 12/16
2. Carlsen 11/16
3. MVL 10/16
4. Kramnik 10/16
5. So 9/16
6. Giri 8/16
7. Aronian 7/16
8. Fressinet 5/16
9. Caruana 4/16
10. Topalov 4/16

Games:

Round 8, June 10, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Aronian, Levon
D35 QGD, Exchange, Samisch Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 c6 7.e3 Nh5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Qc2 Nb6 11.O-O-O Nf6 12.Bd3 Be6 13.h3 O-O-O 14.Kb1 Kb8 15.Nd2 Rc8 16.Nb3 Nfd7 17.Ne2 c5 18.dxc5 Nxc5 19.Nxc5 Rxc5 20.Qd2 Rhc8 21.Nd4 Nc4 22.Bxc4 dxc4 23.Qc3 Bd7 24.f3 f5 25.Rhe1 Rd5 26.e4 fxe4 27.fxe4 Re5 28.Nf5 Bxf5 29.exf5 Rxe1 30.Rxe1 Qd7 31.g4 a6 32.a3 Ka8 33.Ka2 h5 34.Re6 hxg4 35.hxg4 Qd1 36.Re4 Qd7 37.Qd4 Qc7 38.Qe3 Qd6 39.Qd4 Qc7 40.Re6 Rd8 41.Qe4 Rc8 42.Rxa6+ Kb8 43.Re6 c3 44.bxc3 Qxc3 45.Qe5+ Qxe5 46.Rxe5 Rc4 47.g5 Ka7 48.Kb3 Rc1 49.g6 Ka6 50.Re7 Rc5 51.Rxg7 Rxf5 52.Rf7 Rg5 53.g7 b5 54.Kc3 Rg4 55.Kd3 Ka5 56.Ke3 Rg1 57.Ke4 Ka4 58.Ra7+ Kb3 59.Kf5 Rxg7 60.Rxg7 Kxa3 61.Ke4 1-0

Round 8, June 10, 2016
Fressinet, Laurent – Carlsen, Magnus
D05 Queen's Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5 4.c4 a6 5.b3 c5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Be2 Nc6 8.O-O cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Be7 11.Bb2 Bf6 12.Qd2 Bd7 13.Rd1 Bc6 14.e4 Nf4 15.Qxd8+ Rxd8 16.Rxd8+ Bxd8 17.Bf1 Bxe4 18.Nd2 Bc6 19.g3 Bf6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Rc1 Kd7 22.Rxc6 Kxc6 23.gxf4 Kc5 24.a3 Kd4 25.b4 Rg8+ 26.Kh1 Kc3 27.Ne4+ Kb2 28.Nc5 Rb8 29.a4 Ka3 30.b5 Kb4 31.Nd3+ Ka5 32.Nc5 Kb4 33.Nd3+ Kxa4 34.bxa6 bxa6 35.Nc5+ Ka5 36.Bxa6 Rb4 37.Bd3 f5 38.Kg2 Rxf4 39.Be2 Kb6 40.Nd3 Rd4 41.Kg3 Kc7 42.f4 Kd6 43.Ne5 f6 44.Nf3 Ra4 45.Nh4 Ra3+ 46.Kf2 Kd5 47.Bf3+ Kd4 48.Bc6 Ra2+ 49.Kg3 Ra6 50.Bb7 Rb6 51.Ba8 Ke3 52.Ng2+ Ke2 53.Bf3+ Kf1 54.Ne3+ Kg1 55.Be2 Rb3 56.Kf3 e5 57.Bc4 Rb2 58.Nxf5 Rf2+ 59.Kg3 Rxf4 60.Be6 Rf2 61.h4 e4 62.h5 Rf3+ 63.Kg4 Ra3 64.Kf4 Ra4 65.Bd5 Kg2 66.Bxe4+ Kh3 67.h6 Rxe4+ 68.Kxe4 Kg4 69.Nd6 Kg5 70.Nf5 Kg4 71.Nd6 Kg5 1/2-1/2

Round 8, June 10, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Caruana, Fabiano
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 c6 5.O-O Nf6 6.b3 O-O 7.Bb2 e6 8.c4 b6 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 Qc7 13.Nxf6+ Nxf6 14.Ne5 Rad8 15.Rad1 Nd7 16.Nxd7 Rxd7 17.Rd2 Rfd8 18.Rfd1 Qd6 19.Bc3 Qa3 20.b4 b5 21.Qb3 Qa6 22.c5 Ba8 23.h4 h5 24.Be4 Qc8 25.Bb2 Re7 26.Qe3 Qd7 27.Bc3 Qe8 28.Qf3 Bb7 29.Kh2 Rc7 30.Qf4 Re7 31.Bf3 Bc8 32.Rd3 Kh7 33.Qe4 Rd5 34.Qe2 Rd8 35.Bb2 Rc7 36.Bc1 Bd7 37.Bf4 Rb7 38.Be5 Qh8 39.Be4 Kg8 40.Qf3 Rc8 41.Qf4 Be8 42.Ra3 Rd8 43.Bf3 Kh7 44.Ra6 Rc8 45.Rd3 Rd8 46.Rda3 Bxe5 47.dxe5 Rbd7 48.Rxa7 Rd2 49.Bxc6 R8d4 50.Qe3 Bxc6 51.Rxf7+ Kg8 52.Rc7 Qh6 53.Rc8+ Kg7 54.Ra7+ Bd7 55.Rg8+ Kxg8 56.Qxh6 Rxf2+ 57.Kh3 Rf8 58.Qxg6+ 1-0

Jan and Peter lay the blame for all of Caruana’s losses squarely on the shoulders of Lawrence Trent, his manager and their good friend!

- Rook vs 2 minor pieces in Fressinet vs Carlsen. One of the most interesting imbalances in chess

- Fressinet - Carlsen 1/2. Nakamura is now half a point ahead

- Naka might pull a win against Caruana. Carlsen-Kramnik could very well be a draw

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 10th June, 2016, 02:10 PM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 10, 2016

Round Nine

DailyMotion Games is doing the broadcast in conjunction with chess24.

It usually takes a couple of days to get your act together but the rapid tournament is over in two days. The transmission has failed a couple of times. What I miss most of all is to be able to go over the video of previous rounds to check out the commentary and the reactions of the players.

The good part is that there are four different live commentary feeds – Jan and Peter, Yasser and Jennifer helped by Alejandro, Maurice and Eric, then the Spanish feed with Anna Rudolf and Daniel Forcen and the French with Almira Skripchenko and Jean-Baptiste Mullon.

Round Nine Games

Round 9, June 10, 2016
MVL – Giri, Anish
C77 Ruy Lopez, Anderssen Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.Nc3 d6 8.Nd5 h6 9.c3 O-O 10.Nxf6+ Qxf6 11.Bd5 Bd7 12.Rg1 Qd8 13.g4 Kh8 14.g5 g6 15.gxh6 Rb8 16.b4 Bb6 17.Ng5 Qe7 18.h4 f6 19.Nf3 Qe8 20.Qe2 Nd8 21.Be3 Be6 22.Kd2 c6 23.Bb3 c5 24.Rg3 cxb4 25.cxb4 Bxe3+ 26.Qxe3 Qf7 27.Rag1 Bxb3 28.axb3 Qxb3 29.Rxg6 Ne6 30.Qa7 Qxb4+ 31.Ke3 Ra8 32.Qe7 Qc5+ 33.Ke2 Qc2+ 34.Ke3 Qc5+ 35.Ke2 Qc2+ 36.Ke3 Qc5+ 1/2-1/2

(Tim Harding) - amazing 12 Rg1 by MVL and in reply Giri has used more than half his allotted time! 13 mins 19 seconds on one move.

Round 9, June 10, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Topalov, Veselin
A09 Reti, Advance Variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 f6 4.Na3 e5 5.Nc2 Na6 6.Rb1 c5 7.b5 Nc7 8.d3 Bd6 9.g3 b6 10.Bg2 Ne7 11.Nd2 Rb8 12.Ne4 O-O 13.Nxd6 Qxd6 14.O-O Bb7 15.Bxb7 Rxb7 16.e3 Ne6 17.Qf3 Rd7 18.e4 Nc8 19.Qg2 Qe7 20.f4 exf4 21.gxf4 f5 22.e5 Qe8 23.Ne1 Ne7 24.Rb2 Qa8 25.Nf3 Ng6 26.Qg3 a6 27.bxa6 Qxa6 28.h4 Rff7 29.Bd2 Ngf8 30.Rfb1 Rb7 31.h5 Qa8 32.Qg2 Ra7 33.Ng5 Qxg2+ 34.Kxg2 Nxg5 35.fxg5 Rfe7 36.Rxb6 Rxa2 37.R1b2 Rxb2 38.Rxb2 Rxe5 39.Bf4 Re8 40.Rb7 Ne6 41.Kg3 Ra8 42.g6 hxg6 43.hxg6 Rf8 44.Be5 Re8 45.Kh4 Kf8 46.Rf7+ Kg8 47.Kh5 f4 48.Kg4 f3 49.Bd6 Rd8 50.Be7 Re8 51.Kxf3 Nf8 52.Rxf8+ Rxf8+ 53.Bxf8 Kxf8 54.Ke4 Ke7 55.Ke5 1-0

Round 9, June 10, 2016
So, Wesley – Fressinet, Laurent
A30 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 e6 4.Nf3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O Be7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 O-O 9.Rd1 Qc8 10.Bf4 Rd8 11.Nb5 d5 12.Ne5 Na6 13.Rac1 Bc5 14.Qd3 Ne4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Qxd8+ Qxd8 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.Nxa7 f6 19.Nec6 Rd7 20.Be3 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Rd2 22.b4 Rxa2 23.Rd1 Bxc6 24.Nxc6 Rb2 25.Rd8+ Kf7 26.Rd7+ Kg6 27.Nd4 Rxb4 28.Nxe6 Rxc4 29.Rxg7+ Kh6 30.Rg8 b5 31.Nd4 1-0

Eric Hansen announces that Magnus is winning in the endgame against Kramnik and then the two shake hands and Magnus takes the lead in the tourney.

Round 9, June 10, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Kramnik, Vladimir
D35 QGD, Exchange Variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Nf3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.O-O b6 13.a4 Bb7 14.Bd3 e5 15.Qe3 exd4 16.Nxd4 Nc5 17.Bc2 Re8 18.f3 Qf6 19.a5 Rad8 20.Rfd1 Ba6 21.axb6 axb6 22.Ba4 Nxa4 23.Rxa4 b5 24.Rb4 Rd7 25.Rc1 Red8 26.e5 Qb6 27.Rc6 Qa7 28.Nf5 Qxe3+ 29.Nxe3 Ra8 30.Kf2 g6 31.h4 h5 32.e6 fxe6 33.Rxe6 Kh7 34.Rf4 Bc8 35.Rb6 Ra2+ 36.Kg3 Re2 37.Re4 Bb7 38.Nd5 Rxe4 39.Nf6+ Kg7 40.Nxd7 Re7 41.Nb8 Rc7 42.Rxb5 Kf6 43.Rb2 Kf5 44.Rb6 Re7 45.Rb5+ Kf6 46.Kf4 Rc7 47.Rb6+ Kg7 48.Rd6 Rc4+ 49.Kg3 Rc7 50.Rd7+ Rxd7 51.Nxd7 Ba6 52.Nc5 Bf1 53.Ne4 Kf7 54.Nd2 Bd3 55.Kf4 Ke6 56.Kg5 Kf7 57.Nb3 Bf1 58.g3 Kg7 59.Nd4 Bc4 60.f4 Bd3 61.f5 gxf5 62.Nxf5+ Kh7 63.Ne3 1-0

Round 9, June 10, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
A14 English, Neo-Catalan Declined

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.c4 O-O 6.b3 c5 7.e3 d4 8.exd4 cxd4 9.d3 Nc6 10.Qe2 Nd7 11.Nbd2 e5 12.Ne4 Re8 13.a3 a5 14.Rb1 h6 15.g4 Nf8 16.g5 hxg5 17.Nexg5 Bf5 18.c5 Ng6 19.b4 axb4 20.axb4 Qd7 21.Re1 Bf8 22.Qc2 b5 23.Qb3 Ra6 24.h4 Bg4 25.Re4 Bf5 26.Re1 Bg4 27.Re4 Nd8 28.Bd2 Kh8 29.h5 Bxh5 30.Bh3 f5 31.Kg2 Nf4+ 32.Bxf4 exf4 33.Rxf4 g6 34.Rxd4 Qb7 35.Qd5 Qxd5 36.Rxd5 Nc6 37.Nd4 Nxd4 38.Rxd4 Kg7 39.Rc1 Re7 40.c6 Kf6 41.f4 Rc7 42.Nh7+ Kg7 43.Rd7+ Rxd7 44.cxd7 Be7 45.Re1 Kf7 46.Ng5+ Bxg5 47.fxg5 Rd6 48.Re5 Rxd7 49.Rxb5 Rxd3 50.Rb6 Bf3+ 51.Kh2 Be4 52.Bf1 Rd1 53.Bc4+ Kg7 54.b5 f4 55.Kh3 Bf3 0-1

(Tarjel Svensen) - Caruana blunders away a won position and loses

Nakamura wins the rapids portion of the tournament, without losing a game

(Tim Harding) - Nakamura's "half-point", lead as Svidler called it, is a whole point really because the blitz games count 1, the rapid 2.

Final Standing

1. Nakamura 14/18
2. Carlsen 13/18
3. MVL 11/18
4. So 11/18
5. Kramnik 10/18
6. Aronian 9/18
7. Giri 9/18
8. Fressinet 5/18
9. Caruana 4/18
10. Topalov 4/18

Tomorrow is the first day of the blitz tournament. When the two days are over, everyone moves to Leuven in Belgium for the resumption of the tournament there on the 16th.

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 11th June, 2016, 10:27 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 11, 2016

Blitz Rounds 1 to 9

Giri has been burning up the blitz competition but in a winning position against Nakamura lost (Round B5).

The Total Standings After Blitz Round Five

1. Nakamura 17.5/23
2. Carlsen 16.5/23
3. MVL 14.5/23
4. So 13/23
5. Giri 12.5/23
6. Aronian 12/23
7. Kramnik 12/23
8. Fressinet 6.5/23
9. Caruana 5.5/23
10. Topalov 5/23

Eric Hansen is doing the demonstration board analysis on the American channel

Four more rounds today

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 12th June, 2016, 01:26 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 11, 2016

Blitz Round Six June 11, 2016

So-Fressinet 1/2-1/2
Nakamura-Topalov 1-0
Carlsen-Giri 1-0
Caruana-Kramnik 1-0
MVL-Aronian 1/2-1/2

Blitz Round 6, June 11, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish
B50 Sicilian

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 g6 5.e5 dxe5 6.Nxe5 e6 7.Qf3 Nbd7 8.Bb5 Bg7 9.Bxd7+ Bxd7 10.Qxb7 O-O 11.Nc3 Be8 12.Nc6 Bxc6 13.Qxc6 Nd5 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.O-O Rc8 16.Qa4 Qc7 17.c3 Qb7 18.Re1 Rc6 19.Re2 Rb6 20.Qc2 Rb8 21.Rb1 Qa6 22.Bf4 Rc8 23.b3 c4 24.bxc4 dxc4 25.d4 Rxb1+ 26.Qxb1 h5 27.h4 Qa5 28.Re3 Qd5 29.Qe4 Qd7 30.d5 Bf6 31.g3 Qg4 32.d6 Kh7 33.Qd5 Rb8 34.Qxf7+ 1-0

Blitz Round 6, June 11, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Kramnik, Vladimir
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.Re1 g6 7.c3 Bg7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Ba4 Nh5 10.Nf1 Kh8 11.h3 f5 12.exf5 gxf5 13.d4 e4 14.Ng5 Nf6 15.d5 Ne5 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 17.Ne6 Nd3 18.Re3 Nxd5 19.Rxd3 exd3 20.Nxf8 Rxf8 21.Qxd3 c6 22.Bd2 Re8 23.Ng3 Rf8 24.Nh5 Be5 25.f4 Bg7 26.Re1 Nf6 27.Ng3 Ng8 28.Be3 Qe6 29.Bf2 Qg6 30.Bxa7 c5 31.Bb6 Bh6 32.Qf3 Nf6 33.Re6 Qf7 34.Rxd6 Qxa2 35.Bxc5 Qxb2 36.Bd4 Bg7 37.Kh2 Qb1 38.Rb6 Qc2 39.Rxb7 Ne8 40.Rxg7 Nxg7 41.Nh5 Rg8 42.Nxg7 1-0

Blitz Round 7, June 11, 2016

Aronian-So 1/2-1/2
Kramnik-MVL 1-0
Giri-Caruana 0-1
Topalov-Carlsen 1/2-1/2
Fressinet-Nakamura 1-0

Blitz Round 7, June 11, 2016
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
B41 Sicilian, Kan Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.g3 b5 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Re1 Bc5 9.a4 b4 10.c3 Qc7 11.Nd2 d6 12.N2b3 bxc3 13.bxc3 Nbd7 14.Bg5 Ba7 15.Bd2 Ne5 16.Qe2 O-O 17.Rab1 Rab8 18.h3 Nfd7 19.Kh2 Nc4 20.Bc1 Ba8 21.Qc2 Rfc8 22.Nd2 Nce5 23.Rxb8 Nxb8 24.N2b3 Qxc3 25.Qd1 Qc4 26.Be3 Qxa4 27.Qe2 Qd7 28.Rd1 Qe7 29.Na5 Qc7 30.Rc1 Qd7 31.Rb1 Bc5 32.f4 Nec6 33.Nab3 Nxd4 34.Nxd4 Qa7 35.Qd3 Nd7 36.Ra1 Bb7 37.Bg1 Nf6 38.e5 dxe5 39.fxe5 Nd5 40.h4 Qb6 41.Rb1 Qc7 42.Qb3 Ba8 43.Re1 h6 44.Qb2 Rb8 45.Qa1 a5 46.Rc1 Qb6 47.Be4 Qb2+ 48.Qxb2 Rxb2+ 49.Kh3 Bf8 50.Rc8 Nf4+ 51.gxf4 Bxe4 52.Nxe6 Bf5+ 0-1

Blitz Round 8, June 11, 2016

So-Nakamura 0-1
Carlsen-Fressinet 1-0
Caruana-Topalov 1-0
MVL-Giri 1/2-1/2
Aronian-Kramnik 1/2-1/2

Blitz Round 8, June 11, 2016
So, Wesley – Nakamura, Hikaru
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Nc4 Nd7 8.Qe2 Re8 9.Bg5 f6 10.Be3 a5 11.a4 Be7 12.O-O c5 13.Nh4 Nf8 14.Nf5 Ng6 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.b3 b6 17.f4 exf4 18.Bxf4 f5 19.Bg3 fxe4 20.Qxe4 Qxe4 21.dxe4 Re7 22.Rfe1 Bb7 23.Rad1 Rae8 24.e5 Nf8 25.Rd2 Ne6 26.Red1 Be4 27.Bf2 Rf7 28.Re1 Bc6 29.Be3 h6 30.h4 Bb7 31.Rf2 Rxf2 32.Kxf2 Rf8+ 33.Kg3 Be4 34.Re2 Bd5 35.Na3 Rf5 36.Bg1 Bb7 37.Nb5 Ba6 38.Bh2 Bxb5 39.axb5 h5 40.Kh3 Kf7 41.Rd2 Ke7 42.g4 Rf3+ 43.Bg3 Nf4+ 44.Kh2 hxg4 45.Bxf4 Rxf4 46.Kg3 Re4 47.h5 c4 48.bxc4 Rxc4 49.Rd3 a4 50.Kh4 Rxc2 51.Kxg4 Rc5 52.Kf5 Rxb5 53.Rg3 Kf8 54.Rd3 Ra5 55.Rd8+ Ke7 56.Rg8 a3 57.Rxg7+ Kf8 58.Rg1 a2 59.Ra1 b5 60.Ke4 b4 61.Kd4 c5+ 62.Kc4 Ra3 63.h6 Rc3+ 64.Kd5 b3 65.e6 b2 66.h7 Rh3 67.Rf1+ Ke8 68.Rg1 b1=Q 0-1

Blitz Round 9, June 11, 2016

Kramnik-So 1-0
Giri-Aronian 1/2-1/2
Topalov-MVL 1-0
Fressinet-Caruana 0-1
Nakamura-Carlsen 0-1

Caruana is staging a comeback with his fourth win in a row.

Blitz Round 9, June 11, 2016
Fressinet, Laurent – Caruana, Fabiano
B43 Sicilian, Kan

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Bd3 Bc5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Qg4 g6 9.Qe2 d6 10.O-O Nd7 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.Bh6 b5 13.f4 Bb7 14.Rae1 b4 15.Nd1 d5 16.e5 Ne4 17.Nf2 Ndc5 18.Kh1 O-O-O 19.Nd4 Bh4 20.Bg5 Bxg5 21.fxg5 Qxe5 22.Nf3 Qxb2 23.Ng4 Rhf8 24.Nfe5 f5 25.gxf6 h5 26.Bxe4 Nxe4 27.Nd3 Qc3 28.Nge5 Nxf6 29.Nxg6 Rfe8 30.Nge5 Ne4 31.Rf7 h4 32.Ref1 h3 33.Rxb7 Kxb7 34.Rf7+ Ka8 35.Nxb4 hxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Rg8+ 37.Kh1 Rd6 38.Nbd3 Rb6 39.Rf1 Rb7 40.Nf4 Qxe5 41.Qxa6+ Kb8 42.Nd3 Ng3+ 43.hxg3 Rh7+ 0-1

(Peter Doggers in chess.com):

The tournament finished today with a wonderful final clash between Nakamura and Carlsen, the two horses who are ahead of the pack so much that “we can't even see the other players,” as Maurice Ashley put it. With a 1.5 point lead, it was more or less a must-win for Carlsen but that didn't seem to happen. Nakamura was in full control from the start, and the Norwegian could barely hold it, until the position was repeated a few times.

But... Nakamura decided to play on, got lower on time and the position became better for Black. Playing several moves on increment (with three seconds ticking away each time!) Nakamura failed to defend it, and lost, to his bitter disappointment.

“I really really really needed this one,” said Carlsen. “If I would have lost it, that would have been it. The last phase wasn't about chess, it just came down to nerves.”

Blitz Round 9, June 11, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
E10 Queen’s Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 b5 7.Nxb5 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Nd5 9.a3 Nxc3 10.Qd2 Ne2 11.axb4 Nxf4 12.exf4 Bb7 13.Be2 O-O 14.O-O Nb6 15.Ne5 Qd6 16.Rfd1 Rfb8 17.Rac1 Qd5 18.Bf1 h6 19.Nxc4 Nxc4 20.Rxc4 Qd6 21.Rc5 Bd5 22.b5 c6 23.bxc6 Bxc6 24.b4 Bd5 25.b5 Rb7 26.Rdc1 Rd8 27.Qe3 Rbd7 28.Qe5 Qxe5 29.dxe5 g5 30.fxg5 hxg5 31.Rc7 Kg7 32.Rxd7 Rxd7 33.Ra1 Kg6 34.g4 Bf3 35.h3 Rd2 36.Ra3 Bd5 37.Ra1 Bf3 38.Ra3 Bd5 39.f3 f5 40.exf6 Kxf6 41.Rxa7 Bxf3 42.Ra3 Bd5 43.Rc3 Rb2 44.Rc1 Ke5 45.Re1+ Kf4 46.Rd1 Kg3 47.Re1 Rb3 48.Rd1 Bf3 49.Re1 Bd5 50.Rd1 Rb2 51.Re1 Kf4 52.Rd1 Bf3 53.Rd4+ Kg3 54.Rd3 e5 55.Ra3 e4 56.b6 Rxb6 57.Ra2 Rb1 58.Ra3 Kf4 59.Ra2 e3 0-1

Combined Standings After Blitz Round 9

1. Nakamura 20.5 (Blitz) 6.5 (Rapid) 14
2. Carlsen 20 (Blitz) 7 (Rapid) 13
3. MVL 15.5 (Blitz) 4.5 (Rapid) 11
4. Kramnik 14.5 (Blitz) 4.5 (Rapid) 10
5-6 So 14 (Blitz) 3 (Rapid) 11
5-6 Aronian 14 (Blitz) 5 (Rapid) 9
7. Giri 13.5 (Blitz) 4.5 (Rapid) 9
8. Caruana 9.5 (Blitz) 5.5 (Rapid) 4
9. Fressinet 7 (Blitz) 2 (Rapid) 5
10. Topalov 6.5 (Blitz) 2.5 (Rapid) 4

**Jack Maguire** · Sunday, 12th June, 2016, 08:46 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Magnus is quite the Dimitri Payet fan. (:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/footba...-chess-8167336

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 12th June, 2016, 10:49 AM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 12, 2016

Blitz Rounds 10 to 12

Blitz Round 10, June 10, 2016

So-Carlsen 0-1
Nakamura-Caruana 1/2-1/2
Fressinet-MVL 1/2-1/2
Topalov-Aronian 1/2-1/2
Giri-Kramnik 1/2-1/2

Quite a nice ending in So-Carlsen

Blitz Round 10, June 12, 2016
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.a3 Re8 10.b4 Bf8 11.Bb2 Bg4 12.Nd2 Qc8 13.Re1 a5 14.b5 Nd4 15.Nb3 a4 16.Nxd4 exd4 17.Ne4 Qd7 18.Qc2 Rad8 19.Nc5 Bxc5 20.Qxc5 Rxe2 21.Rxe2 Bxe2 22.Bxb7 Bxd3 23.Rd1 Qxb5 24.Qxc7 Rf8 25.Bxd4 Nc4 26.Bf3 Qb3 27.Bc5 Re8 28.Qd7 Qxd1+ 0-1

Blitz Round 11, June 10, 2016

Giri-So 0-1
Kramnik-Topalov 0-1
Aronian-Fressinet 1/2-1/2
MVL-Nakamura 1-0
Caruana–Carlsen 1-0

Blitz Round 11, June 10, 2016
MVL-Nakamura
E05 Catalan, Open, Classical Line

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.d4 O-O 6.c4 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qd3 c5 12.Nc3 Bc6 13.Rfd1 cxd4 14.Nxd4 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 Nbd7 16.Rac1 Qa5 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Qf3 Qb4 19.Rc2 Rac8 20.Rcd2 h6 21.h3 Rc7 22.e3 Rfc8 23.Qe2 Qb6 24.Nf3 Rc5 25.e4 e5 26.Nd5 Nxd5 27.exd5 Bd6 28.Nxe5 R5c7 29.Ng4 Qb3 30.Ne3 Qxa4 31.Nf5 Qd7 32.Qg4 g6 33.Nxh6+ Kg7 34.Qh4 Be7 35.Qd4+ Bf6 36.Qe3 Re8 37.Qf4 g5 38.Qf3 Kg6 39.Ng4 Bg7 40.d6 Rc5 41.Rd5 Rxd5 42.Rxd5 f5 43.Ne3 Re5 44.g4 f4 45.Nc4 Rxd5 46.Qxd5 Bxb2 47.Nxb2 Kf6 48.Nc4 b5 49.Qe5+ Kf7 50.Nb6 Qc6+ 51.Nd5 Qb7 52.Qf5+ Ke8 53.Qe6+ Kd8 54.h4 1-0

Blitz Round 11, June 10, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Carlsen, Magnus
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 h6 7.a4 a5 8.Na3 Bxa3 9.Rxa3 O-O 10.Re1 Re8 11.h3 Be6 12.Bb5 Bd7 13.Be3 Ne7 14.Bc4 Ng6 15.Qb3 Be6 16.Bxe6 Rxe6 17.Qxb7 Rb8 18.Qa6 Rxb2 19.Qxa5 d5 20.Raa1 dxe4 21.dxe4 Qc8 22.Nd2 Nh5 23.Nc4 Rb8 24.Reb1 Ra8 25.Qc5 Nhf4 26.Bxf4 Nxf4 27.Nxe5 Qe8 28.Nf3 Rg6 29.Qf5 Nxg2 30.Kh1 Raa6 31.e5 Qa8 32.Rb4 c5 33.Re4 Qd5 34.c4 Qd3 35.Rg1 Rxa4 36.e6 Rxe6 37.Ne5 Nh4 38.Qxf7+ 1-0

Blitz Round 12, June 10, 2016

So-Caruana 1-0
Carlsen-MVL 1/2-1/2
Nakamura-Aronian 1/2-1/2
Fressinet-Kramnik 1-0
Topalov-Giri 1-0

Blitz Round 12, June 10, 2016
So, Wesley – Caruana, Fabiano
D31 QGD, Charousek (Petrosian) Variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 Nf6 7.h3 g6 8.e3 Bf5 9.Qd2 Qb6 10.Nge2 Nbd7 11.Ng3 Be6 12.Bh6 Bf8 13.Bxf8 Kxf8 14.Bd3 Kg7 15.f4 Qc7 16.Qf2 h5 17.f5 h4 18.Nge2 gxf5 19.Bxf5 Bxf5 20.Qxf5 Rh5 21.Qf2 Rah8 22.O-O Rg5 23.e4 dxe4 24.Nxe4 Rg6 25.Nxf6 Rxf6 26.Nf4 Qd6 27.Rae1 Rf5 28.Qe3 Nf6 29.Nd3 Re8 30.Ne5 Rh5 31.Qf2 Re6 32.Nc4 Qd5 33.Rxe6 Qxe6 34.Ne3 Ne4 35.Qf3 Ng3 36.Rd1 Rg5 37.d5 cxd5 38.Nxd5 Qe5 39.Ne3 Rg6 40.Nf1 Ne2+ 41.Kh1 Nf4 42.Rd2 Nh5 43.Rf2 Rf6 44.Qg4+ Rg6 45.Qxh4 Nf6 46.Qf4 Qc5 47.Ne3 Kh7 48.Qh4+ Qh5 49.Qxh5+ Nxh5 50.Rxf7+ Kg8 51.Rxb7 Ra6 52.a3 Re6 53.Ng4 Ng3+ 54.Kh2 Nf1+ 55.Kg1 Re1 56.Kf2 Rb1 57.Rd7 Kf8 58.b4 Ke8 59.Nf6+ Kf8 60.Ne4 Ke8 61.Rxa7 Nh2 62.Nd2 1-0

Standings After Blitz Round 12

1. Carlsen 21.5
2. Nakamura 21.5
3. MVL 17.5
4. So 16
5. Aronian 15.5
6. Kramnik 15
7. Giri 14
8. Caruana 11
9. Topalov 9
10. Fressinet 9
_________

There was a “technical” break after Round 12 which had the commentators scrambling to fill air time.

In St. Louis, Yasser Seirawan and Eric Hansen played the first ever pushup blitz chess game.

The times were 3 minutes for Yasser (White) and 6 for Eric (Black) and after each capture Eric had to do five pushups. Jennifer Shahade was the referee and had to keep reminding Eric to do his pushups.

Eric also tried to trash talk and near the end knocked over his stool but he really didn’t look winded from the pushups.

Result: Eric beat Yasser

Hilarious contest.

More pushup blitz chess to come during the intermissions at the Sinquefield!

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 12th June, 2016, 04:29 PM

Re: Paris Grand Chess Tour 2016

Grand Chess Tour Paris

June 12, 2016

Blitz Round 13, June 12, 2016

Topalov-So 1/2-1/2
Giri-Fressinet 1-0
Kramnik-Nakamura 0-1
Aronian-Carlsen 1-0
MVL-Caruana 1-0

Blitz Round 14, June 12, 2016

So-MVL 1/2-1/2
Caruana-Aronian 0-1
Carlsen-Kramnik 1-0
Nakamura-Giri 1-0
Fressinet-Topalov 1/2-1/2

Blitz Round 15, June 12, 2016

Fressinet-So 1/2-1/2
Topalov-Nakamura 1/2-1/2
Giri-Carlsen 1-0
Kramnik-Caruana 0-1
Aronian-MVL 0-1

Blitz Round 16, June 12, 2016

So-Aronian 1/2-1/2
MVL-Kramnik 1-0
Caruana-Giri 0-1
Carlsen-Topalov 0-1
Nakamura-Fressinet 1-0

Blitz Round 17, June 12, 2016

Nakamura-So 1/2-1/2
Fressinet-Carlsen 0-1
Topalov-Caruana 0-1
Giri-MVL 1/2-1/2
Kramnik-Aronian 1/2-1/2

Blitz Round 18, June 12, 2016

So-Kramnik 1-0
Carlsen-Nakamura 1-0
MVL-Topalov 1/2-1/2
Caruana-Fressinet 1-0
Aronian-Giri 1/2-1/2

Final Overall Standings

1. Nakamura 25.5/36
2. Carlsen 24.5/36
3. MVL 22/36
4. So 19.5/36
5. Aronian 19/36
6. Giri 18/36
7. Kramnik 15.5/36
8. Caruana 14/36
9. Topalov 12/36
10. Fressinet 10/36

Hikaru Nakamura wins the tournament with two rounds left but loses to Magnus in the last round. Hikaru collects $37,500 and 13 Grand Chess Tour points.

The top three, as predicted by most, are Nakamura, Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL).

In the blitz, Hikaru lost three games (to Carlsen B9, MVL B11 and Carlsen B19), Magnus, four games (to Caruana B11, Aronian B13, Giri B15 and Topalov B16) and MVL, only two (to Kramnik B7 and Topalov B9). About his performance Magnus tweeted:

A good old fashioned meltdown today, but happy to at least get second place. On to the next one!

And what is the next one?

(Peter Doggers at chess.com) - Now the whole caravan will move to Leuven, Belgium to play an identical tournament, starting Friday the 17th. Will that one also be a two-horse race? Well, maybe Vishy Anand can do something about that; as a Grand Chess Tour regular the five-time world champion will play instead of Fressinet.

I lost the broadcast countless times in two days. As for broadcast quality, Jan and Peter in Hamburg were good but the American transmission had Yasser, Jennifer and Eric in St. Louis and Maurice and Alejandro in Paris. They were more entertaining.

Magnus and Hikaru were clearly enjoying themselves. With his hair in sort of a cowlick at the front, Magnus resembles no one so much as the cartoon character Tintin.

Comments Online

(Anish Giri) – Won nice games back to back against Carlsen and Caruana. Anything to get back to 50%

- Congratulations! Well done Naka!

- Thank you so much for this great organisation. That was a wonderful tournament !

A Selection of games from the last six rounds

Blitz Round 13, June 12, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Nakamura, Hikaru
E05 Catalan, Open, Classical Line

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.c4 O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 e5 12.dxe5 Qxe5 13.Qxc4 Be6 14.Qd3 Rad8 15.Qe3 Qh5 16.f3 Bc4 17.Nc3 Rfe8 18.g4 Qg6 19.Qf2 Nd5 20.Nxd5 Rxd5 21.Re1 h5 22.g5 f6 23.h4 Rde5 24.e4 f5 25.Bf4 R5e7 26.Rac1 Bxa2 27.Qxa7 Bf7 28.Rxc7 Rxc7 29.Qxc7 fxe4 30.Rxe4 Rxe4 31.fxe4 Qxe4 32.Qe5 Qf3 33.Bg3 Bd5 34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.g6+ Kh6 36.Qh8+ Kxg6 37.Qe8+ Kh7 0-1

Blitz Round 14, June 12, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Giri Anish
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 c6 3.Bb2 Bg4 4.Ne5 Bf5 5.e3 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Qxd7 7.Be2 e6 8.d3 Nf6 9.Nd2 Qc7 10.Nf3 Bb4+ 11.c3 Be7 12.Nh4 Bg6 13.h3 Nd7 14.Nxg6 hxg6 15.Qc2 a5 16.c4 Bb4+ 17.Kf1 O-O 18.h4 Be7 19.h5 gxh5 20.Rxh5 Bf6 21.g4 g6 22.Rh3 Bxb2 23.Qxb2 Qe5 24.Qxe5 Nxe5 25.f4 Nd7 26.cxd5 cxd5 27.Ke1 Kg7 28.Kd2 Rac8 29.g5 Rh8 30.Rxh8 Kxh8 31.Rb1 Kg7 32.b4 axb4 33.Rxb4 Nc5 34.Rb5 Kf8 35.Bf3 Rc7 36.d4 Nd7 37.Be2 Ke7 38.Ra5 Nb6 39.Ra7 Nc8 40.Ra3 Nd6 41.Bd3 Nc4+ 42.Bxc4 Rxc4 43.Rb3 Rc7 44.a4 Kd7 45.Rb5 Kd6 46.Kd3 Kd7 47.a5 Kd6 48.e4 dxe4+ 49.Kxe4 Rd7 50.Rc5 Rd8 51.Rb5 Rd7 52.Rb1 Rc7 53.Rb6+ Ke7 54.Ke5 Rd7 55.Rb5 Rc7 56.d5 exd5 57.Kxd5 f6 58.Rb6 Rd7+ 59.Kc5 fxg5 60.fxg5 Kf7 61.Rf6+ Kg7 62.Rd6 Re7 63.Kb6 Kf7 64.Rf6+ Kg7 65.Rf1 Re5 66.Ra1 Rxg5 67.Kxb7 Rb5+ 68.Kc6 Rb8 69.a6 Kf6 70.a7 Ra8 71.Kb7 Rxa7+ 72.Kxa7 Ke5 73.Kb6 g5 74.Kc5 g4 75.Re1+ Kf4 76.Kd4 g3 77.Rf1+ Kg4 78.Ke3 Kh3 79.Ra1 Kh2 1-0

Blitz Round 15, June 12, 2016
Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
B41 Sicilian, Kan Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.g3 d6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.c4 Bd7 8.O-O Nc6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.a4 a5 12.Be3 O-O 13.Qe2 Nd7 14.Rfd1 Qb8 15.Nb5 Rd8 16.f4 b6 17.e5 Bxg2 18.exd6 Bc6 19.dxe7 Re8 20.Nd4 Be4 21.Nxe6 Rxe7 22.Nxg7 Qb7 23.Bd4 Bh1 24.Qf2 Rae8 25.Nxe8 Rxe8 26.Re1 Be4 27.f5 f6 28.Qf4 Qc6 29.Re3 Nc5 30.Rae1 Nd3 31.Qg4+ Kf8 32.R1e2 Nc5 33.h4 Re7 34.Qf4 Nd3 35.Qh6+ Kf7 36.Rxd3 Qxc4 37.Qxf6+ Ke8 38.Qh8+ Kd7 39.Rdd2 Kc7 40.Qf6 Rd7 41.Qe5+ 1-0

Vladimir must have been very tired in the last round of a long tournament. See what happens after 45…f5

Blitz Round 18, June 12, 2016
So, Wesley – Kramnik, Vladimir
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nf5 8.c3 Nxe5 9.Rxe5 d6 10.Re1 O-O 11.d4 d5 12.Bf4 c6 13.Bd3 Bd6 14.Qf3 Bxf4 15.Qxf4 Qd6 16.Qf3 g6 17.Nd2 Bd7 18.Re2 Ng7 19.Rae1 Rae8 20.Rxe8 Rxe8 21.Rxe8+ Nxe8 22.Qe3 f6 23.Nf3 Ng7 24.Kf1 g5 25.h3 h6 26.Ng1 Kf7 27.Ne2 h5 28.Kg1 h4 29.Bc2 Bf5 30.Bxf5 Nxf5 31.Qd3 Qe6 32.Kf1 Qe4 33.Nc1 Nd6 34.f3 Qxd3+ 35.Nxd3 Ke6 36.Ke2 Kf5 37.b3 a5 38.Nc5 Kf4 39.Kf2 b6 40.Nd3+ Kf5 41.a4 b5 42.Nc5 bxa4 43.Nxa4 Kf4 44.Nc5 Nb5 45.Na4 f5 46.Nc5 g4 47.Ne6# 1-0

Blitz Round 18, June 12, 2016
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.h3 O-O 7.Nc3 Re8 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.fxe3 Nd7 10.O-O Nf8 11.Qe1 f6 12.g4 Ng6 13.Qg3 h6 14.Rf2 Qe7 15.Raf1 Be6 16.h4 Qd7 17.Rg2 Rf8 18.d4 exd4 19.exd4 Rae8 20.h5 Nh8 21.Rd1 Qd6 22.Qxd6 cxd6 23.Nh4 d5 24.exd5 Bxd5 25.Nxd5 cxd5 26.Kf1 Re4 27.Nf5 Nf7 28.Re1 Rf4+ 29.Kg1 Ng5 30.Re7 Rf7 31.Re8+ Kh7 32.Kh2 Ne4 33.Nh4 Nd6 34.Rd8 Rc7 35.Rxd6 1-0

Live Blitz Ratings at the end of the tournament:

The 2800 Club

Carlsen 2896.2
Nakamura 2879.4
(Ding Liren) 2875.0
MVL 2864.2
(Nepomniachtchi) 2846.0
Aronian 2808.4
(Karjakin) 2801.0
Giri 2800.4

2700chess.com lists a Russian grandmaster, Iuri Shkuro of the Soviet Union, as World #8 in Blitz with a rating of 2814. Does anyone know who this is?

Added later: Today I want to speak of one very " interesting" person GM Iuri Shkuro Юрий Шкуро - "famous" 2814 Fide blitz rated player. GM Andrey Deviatkin has already raised the problem in one of his FB posts. I would call the raised problem - problem of "legal cheating". The abovementioned player practically never plays outside of his city - Kherson, usually scoring 90-100% with the very low-rated players. I suspect these events to exist only on paper, but I have no proofs of it, so can't make any substantiated statements. But that is already a serious question: is that normal that a well-known GM Caruana is 2665 Blitz rated while Shkuro is 2814 and steadily growing?. Can it be fixed somehow or we have to suffer from this stupid situation? Can I know your opinion Emil Sutovsky? Now, let me proceed to the final interesting moment that made me to lose my patience and write this post: please pay attention to the following link https://www.chess.com/coach/iuri-shkuro where GM Shkuro states once upon a time he has reached the Quarter Final of the World Cup! Of course he keeps silence of the fact that was an ICCF event. Secondary, that lie hurts me (who lost in 1\32, being almost qualified to 1\16 after beating Ray Robson and almost beating Wei Yi!). That also hurts GM Alexander Areshchenko (who lost in 1\16 just after beating the Khismatullin and Aronian!!!) and lots of other players - real World Cup contenders! Shkuro also states that his students are winners of World and European championships, but nobody can name a player who was really raised by this coach (I stress the word "raised", as some insignificant occasional help can't make you state somebody is your student). Now, let's analyze the latter situation from the financial point of view. Some potential students read the information on the Shkuro's coaching profile, that is very and very partially true, purchase lesson and get not what they wanted. In my opinion it is a pure fraud.

Yuri Vovk in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yuri.vovk/p...85713594789061