Sinquefield Cup 2018

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 15th August, 2018, 10:59 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 15, 2018

Autograph Day Guidelines: August 17, 4-5:30 P.M.

Meet & Greet Autograph Session Attendees are welcome to bring their own items to be autographed, and signable merchandise will be available for purchase at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Due to time constraints, each person will be allowed one autograph per player. In order to accommodate as many attendees as possible, photos with players will not be allowed. This is a first-come, first-served event.

At this year's autograph day, we will also have a special autograph session with the authors of The Sinquefield Cup Celebrating Five Years 2013 - 2017.

In this commemorative book, authors Maurice Ashley, Tatev Abrahamyan, Alejandro Ramirez, Yasser Seirawan, and Jennifer Shahade each examine a year of America's strongest international tournament, along with photographs, games, and more.

Anyone who purchases this book, on sale for $50, on autograph day will receive their normal membership discount (if applicable) and a ticket to one round of the Sinquefield Cup.

https://grandchesstour.org/2018-gran...inquefield-cup

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 17th August, 2018, 03:44 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 17, 2018

Pairings

Round 1, Sat. August 18

Aronian-Karjakin
MVL-Carlsen
Nakamura-Anand
Mamedyarov-So
Caruana-Grischuk

Round 2, Sun. August 19

Caruana-Aronian
Grischuk-Mamedyarov
So-Nakamura
Anand-MVL
Carlsen-Karjakin

Round 3, Mon. August 20

Aronian-Carlsen
Karjakin-Anand
MVL-So
Nakamura-Grischuk
Mamedyarov-Caruana

Round 4, Tue. August 21

Mamedyarov-Aronian
Caruana-Nakamura
Grischuk-MVL
So-Karjakin
Anand-Carlsen

Round 5, Wed. August 22

Aronian-Anand
Carlsen-So
Karjakin-Grischuk
MVL-Caruana
Nakamura-Mamedyarov

Rest Day, Thu. August 23

Round 6, Fri. August 24

Nakamura-Aronian
Mamedyarov-MVL
Caruana-Karjakin
Grischuk-Carlsen
So-Anand

Round 7, Sat. August 25

Aronian-So
Anand-Grischuk
Carlsen-Caruana
Karjakin-Mamedyarov
MVL-Nakamura

Round 8, Sun. August 26

MVL-Aronian
Nakamura-Karjakin
Mamedyarov-Carlsen
Caruana-Anand
Grischuk-So

Round 9, Mon. August 27

Aronian-Grischuk
So-Caruana
Anand-Mamedyarov
Carlsen-Nakamura
Karjakin-MVL

Playoffs* Tue. August 28

_________

*If necessary

Rounds all start at 1 PM local or 2 PM Toronto/Montreal time

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 18th August, 2018, 09:56 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 18, 2018

Round One

Maurice interviews Jon Crumiller (Collectors, The House of Staunton) and Frank Camaratta (House of Staunton.com). Both are lovers of fine chess sets. Frank lectured earlier about Staunton and how the Staunton set evolved.

Jon has been collecting sets for ever and has had some of his sets on display at the Chess Hall of Fame.

Jon saw the Short-Kasparov Match in London and the Staunton set used there and wanted to bring the old world craftmanship back to the making of chess sets.

His website is at:

http://www.crumiller.com/chess/chess_pages/jonchess.htm

Frank designed a set specifically for the Sinquefield Cup. They are not weighted but are DGT compatible.

https://www.houseofstaunton.com/?utm...kId=2410893954

__________

The announcement of the aforementioned talk:

THE STAUNTON STANDARD: A TALK WITH COLLECTORS AND CURATORS

Join us for a moderated discussion about the exhibition inspired by the history of the modern chess set with Frank Camaratta, Jon Crumiller, Shannon Bailey, and Emily Allred. The Staunton Standard: Evolution of the Modern Chess Set includes a spectacular array of Staunton and Staunton-style chessmen, which were first introduced to the public in September of 1849 and are still the international standard for tournament play. The talk will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the process of researching and organizing The Staunton Standard.

Frank Camaratta is an International Correspondence Chess Master, collector, historian, and founder of The House of Staunton. He is the creator of the 2013 Sinquefield Cup Chess Set, the first weighted DGT chess set, and the designer of the Guinness World Records’ “Largest Chess Piece”—a 20-foot African sapele mahogany Staunton king—installed outside the World Chess Hall of Fame.

A longtime chess fan and competitor, Jon Crumiller purchased his first antique chess set online in 2002. This sparked a passion for research and the beginning of a collection of antique sets which now numbers over 600. Crumiller shares beautiful photographs of his stunning collection with curious chess devotees around the world through his website www.chessantique.com.

Shannon Bailey is the chief curator and Emily Allred is the associate curator at the World Chess Hall of Fame.

Free admission. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments are provided.

__________

The commentators are Jennifer Shahade, Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley for the English broadcast, Peter Svidler and Evgeny Miroshnichenko for the Russian and David Martinez for the Spanish.

One chatter said this: Maybe Anish Giri could be invited to do a little color commentary--perhaps on a Grischuk game? I bet Anish Giri and Peter Svidler might be a very entertaining duo.

Sinquefield Cup 2018
Round 1, August 18
MVL –- Carlsen, Magnus
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 g6 5.h4 h6 6.h5 g5 7.Nh2 Nf6 8.d3 d6 9.Nf1 Bg4 10.f3 Be6 11.Ne3 Bg7 12.Ncd5 O-O 13.c3 Rb8 14.a4 a6 15.g4 b5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bb3 Ne7 18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.O-O Qb7 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.c4 b4 22.b3 Nd7 23.Qe2 Rbd8 24.Nc2 Nb8 25.Be3 Nc6 26.Kg2 Rf7 27.Ra4 Rdf8 28.Bg1 Bf6 29.Rfa1 Bd8 30.Ra8 Rxf3 31.Qxf3 Rxf3 32.Kxf3 Kg7 33.Ke2 Bb6 34.R8a6 Kf7 35.Ra8 Kg7 36.R8a6 Kf7 37.Ra8 Kg7 1/2-1/2

The longest game in time, going six hours.

Round 1, August 18
Caruana, Fabiano -– Grischuk, Alexander
C55 Two Knights Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 Kh8 8.Nc3 Ng8 9.Nd5 f5 10.h3 fxe4 11.dxe4 Nf6 12.a5 a6 13.Ra3 Be6 14.Nxf6 Bxc4 15.Nd5 Bb5 16.Be3 Qd7 17.Nd2 Nd8 18.c4 Bc6 19.Qg4 Ne6 20.b4 Rae8 21.Nf3 Bd8 22.h4 h6 23.h5 Nd4 24.Qxd7 Nxf3+ 25.gxf3 Bxd7 26.Kg2 Rf7 27.Rh1 Ref8 28.Bc1 c6 29.Nb6 Be6 30.Rd1 Bxb6 31.axb6 Rf6 32.Rad3 Bxc4 33.Rxd6 Rxf3 34.Be3 R3f7 35.R1d2 Kh7 36.Rd7 Rxd7 37.Rxd7 Rf7 38.Rc7 Be6 39.Bd2 g6 40.Bc3 g5 41.Bxe5 Kg8 42.f3 Bb3 43.Kf2 Be6 44.Ke3 Kf8 45.f4 gxf4+ 46.Bxf4 Ke8 47.Bxh6 Bg4 48.Bf4 Bxh5 49.Rc8+ Kd7 50.Rh8 Bg4 51.Bc7 Rf3+ 52.Kd4 Rh3 53.Rb8 c5+ 54.bxc5 Kc6 55.Bd6 Bd7 56.Ke5 Rh6 57.Rg8 a5 58.Kf4 a4 59.Ra8 Rh4+ 60.Ke3 Kb5 61.e5 Bc6 62.Kd3 Rh3+ 63.Kd2 Rh2+ 64.Kd3 Rh3+ 65.Kd2 Rh2+ 66.Kd3 Rh3+ 67.Kd2 1/2-1/2

Round 1, August 18
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar -– So, Wesley
D30 QGD, miniOrthodox

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Qc2 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.h4 g6 9.Nc3 c5 10.dxc5 dxc4 11.h5 g5 12.Bxc4 Qa5 13.Rc1 Nd7 14.O-O Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Qxc3 16.Rxc3 Nxc5 17.Ne5 b6 18.f4 Ne4 19.Rd3 Ng3 20.Rf3 Ne4 21.Rd4 Bb7 22.f5 Nf6 23.Rf1 Rae8 24.fxe6 fxe6 25.Ng6 Rf7 26.Ne5 Rff8 27.Rd6 Bd5 28.Rxf6 Rxf6 29.Bxd5 exd5 30.Rxf6 Rxe5 31.Rxh6 Rxe3 32.Rg6+ Kh7 33.Rxg5 Re2 34.Rxd5 Rxb2 35.Kh2 Rxa2 36.Kh3 a5 37.g4 a4 38.g5 a3 39.Rd7+ Kg8 40.Rd8+ Kh7 41.Rd7+ Kg8 42.Rd8+ Kh7 43.g6+ Kh6 44.Rh8+ Kg7 45.Rh7+ Kg8 46.Ra7 Ra1 47.Kg2 Rc1 48.h6 Rc8 49.Rxa3 b5 50.Ra7 Rb8 51.Kg3 1-0

- big Shakh caught up to Caruana’s rating

Position after Black’'s 27….....Bd5

Round 1, August 18
Nakamura, Hikaru -– Anand, Vishy
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.a3 Nc6 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.O-O Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.Bb5 Rc8 15.Rc1 h6 16.b4 Re8 17.Bd3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Ne5 19.Qe2 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 Nxd3 21.Qxd3 d4 22.exd4 Bxd4 23.Qd2 Qf6 24.Bg3 Rd8 25.Qe2 Qg5 26.Rd1 Qxg3 27.Rxd4 Qc7 28.Rxd8+ Qxd8 29.g3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, August 18
Aronian, Levon - Karjakin, Sergei
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.Bg5 Be6 12.Rfd1 Be7 13.Rd2 Rd8 14.Rxd8+ Kxd8 15.Rd1+ Ke8 16.b3 h4 17.Bc1 a5 18.Ne2 Bd5 19.Ne1 Be6 20.Nf4 Bc8 21.Nf3 Rh6 22.Nh2 Rh8 23.Ng4 Nh6 24.Ne3 Nf5 25.Nc4 g5 26.Ne2 b6 27.Nd2 Ng7 28.Ne4 Ne6 29.Nf6+ Bxf6 30.exf6 Rg8 31.f3 Rg6 32.Bb2 Bd7 33.Nc1 c5 34.Be5 Kd8 35.Nd3 Kc8 36.Bb2 Be8 37.Re1 Rg8 38.Re4 Kd8 39.Kf2 Nf8 40.Ne5 Nh7 41.f4 Rh8 42.Nf3 gxf4 43.Rxf4 Nf8 44.Rxh4 Rxh4 45.Nxh4 Bc6 46.Ke3 Kd7 47.g4 Ng6 48.Nxg6 fxg6 49.Be5 b5 50.Bxc7 a4 51.Bb6 axb3 52.cxb3 g5 53.Bxc5 Ke6 54.Bd4 Bg2 55.h4 gxh4 56.Kf4 Kf7 57.g5 h3 58.Kg3 Kg6 59.Be3 Kf7 60.Bd2 Kg6 61.a4 bxa4 62.bxa4 Kf7 63.a5 Bf1 64.Bf4 Kg6 65.Kg4 Kf7 66.Kf5 Bd3+ 67.Ke5 Be2 68.Kd6 Bd3 69.Kc5 1-0

- Wow, a positional masterpiece by Levon there.

- (Mike Klein) - Aronian, got the full point despite overlooking the tenacity of a late endgame resource. You don't often see a one-time 2800 spend 40 minutes in a winning position in a bishop ending, but that's what the Armenian needed after being surprised by 52...g5.

- Karjakin lost by one tempo

Standings after Round One

1-2 Mamedyarov, Aronian 1
3-8 Carlsen, Caruana, MVL, Nakamura, Anand, Grischuk 0.5
9-10 So, Karjakin 0

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 19th August, 2018, 10:58 AM

Two games of the round. Shak - So saw the f5 breakthru which turned out to be complicated - the further Rd6 and Rxf6! ended up in a lovely endgame with connected passed pawns on both sides but whites ready to strike! Levon - Karjakhin saw Levon build against the best defender in the world with the anchor pawn f6 leading the way which Levon duely found. Nice very nice.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 19th August, 2018, 09:42 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 19, 2018

Round Two

Alexander Grischuk comes in to talk to Maurice after his draw with Mamedyarov – a three-fold repetition. He said that yesterday against Caruana he went for a line in which he thought he would find something and he didn’t.

Ashley: So far you have two draws in the tournament, What are your thoughts about that?

Grischuk: What is funny is that yesterday I played against the Number Two player in the World and today, again I played the Number Two player.

What Alexander is joking about is that yesterday Caruana was No. 2 and then flipped with Mamedyarov

One feature of the game is that Mamedyarov missed playing 19….e5, which would have given him an advantage.

Round 2, August 19
Grischuk, Alexander –- Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C17 French, Winawer, Advance

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 cxd4 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.Nb5 Bb6 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.Bb2 Nge7 11.Bd3 Ng6 12.Qg3 f6 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Nbxd4 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 fxe5 16.Nf3 e4 17.Ne5 Kg8 18.Qxg6 Qe7 19.Ng4 Bd7 20.Nf6+ Kf8 21.Nh7+ Kg8 22.Nf6+ Kf8 23.Nh7+ Kg8 24.Nf6+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

Position after 19.Ng4

Chessbomb.com kibitzers

Shak missed an opportunity to possibly win with Black. On 19...e5 20.Nxe5 Be6 21.O-O? e3! White is already in serious trouble. Or 21.O-O-O Bxf2 Black gets his pawn back and stands better.

- I think grischuk would have gone ng4 after be6
- Ne5 Be6 then Ng4 and it is double-edged. Then White might consider 0-0-0 and f3 to open f File, so it is certainly risky for both sides. I am pretty sure Shak saw it all.

Round 2, August 19
Caruana, Fabiano –- Aronian, Levon
D11 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qb3 e6 5.g3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qb3 Bb7 8.Bg2 a6 9.a4 c5 10.axb5 c4 11.Qd1 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bxa8 13.O-O Be7 14.b3 cxb3 15.Qxb3 b4 16.Bb2 Nbd7 17.Nbd2 O-O 18.Ra1 Qb8 19.Ne1 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Rc8 21.e4 h5 22.Nd3 h4 23.Rc1 Rxc1 24.Nxc1 Qb5 25.Qd3 Qxd3 26.Nxd3 hxg3 27.hxg3 Nb6 28.Kf3 Nfd7 29.Nb3 Nc4 30.Bc1 e5 31.dxe5 Ncxe5+ 32.Nxe5 Nxe5+ 33.Ke2 Kf8 34.f4 Ng4 35.Kf3 Nh2+ 36.Kg2 Ng4 37.Kf3 Nh2+ 38.Kg2 Ng4 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 19
Anand, Vishy -– MVL
B96 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Be7 10.Bf2 Qc7 11.Qf3 Nbd7 12.O-O-O b5 13.g4 Bb7 14.h4 Nc5 15.Bd3 Nxd3+ 16.Rxd3 d5 17.e5 Ne4 18.Be1 O-O-O 19.g5 hxg5 20.hxg5 Qb6 21.Nce2 Kb8 22.Qg2 g6 23.Rxh8 Rxh8 24.Bb4 Bxb4 25.axb4 a5 26.Rh3 Rc8 27.Qh2 axb4 28.Rh8 Qa7 29.Rxc8+ Kxc8 30.Kb1 Nd2+ 31.Kc1 Nf1 32.Qh8+ Kd7 33.Kb1 Nd2+ 34.Kc1 Ne4 35.Kb1 Nd2+ 36.Kc1 Ne4 37.Kb1 Nd2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 19
So, Wesley -– Nakamura, Hikaru
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.d4 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Rd1 Ba6 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.e4 Bxf1 12.Kxf1 Qc8 13.Ne2 h6 14.Bxf6 Nxf6 15.f3 Qb7 16.Rc1 c5 17.dxc5 bxc5 18.Kf2 Rab8 19.Qxc5 Qxb2 20.Qxa7 Ra8 21.Qd4 Qxa3 22.Ra1 Qe7 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Ra1 Rxa1 25.Qxa1 Qc5+ 26.Qd4 Qc7 27.h3 Nd7 28.Qc3 Qb6+ 29.Qd4 Qc7 30.Qc3 Qb6+ 31.Qd4 Qc7 1/2-1/2

A six and a half hour game. One worthy of being in the World Championship Match!

Round 2, August 19
Carlsen, Magnus –- Karjakin, Sergey
A13 English

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nf3 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.d4 dxc4 8.Ne5 Nc6 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Nxc6 Qe8 11.Nxe7+ Qxe7 12.Qa4 c5 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Be3 Qc7 15.Rd1 Nd5 16.Bd4 Rd8 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Qc2 Qe7 19.O-O Bh3 20.Rfe1 Rd7 21.Bc3 Re8 22.Rd4 Qg5 23.Qd2 Qxd2 24.Rxd2 Be6 25.Red1 Rde7 26.f3 h5 27.Kf2 f6 28.Rd4 Kh7 29.R1d2 Bf7 30.h3 a6 31.Rf4 Kg8 32.Bd4 Kh7 33.Bc3 Kg8 34.g4 hxg4 35.hxg4 Kh7 36.Rf5 Rb7 37.Rfxd5 Bxd5 38.Rxd5 Kg6 39.Rc5 Rh8 40.Kg3 Rb6 41.Rxc4 Rh1 42.Rc7 Rc1 43.Rd7 Rc6 44.a4 Rg1+ 45.Kf2 Ra1 46.a5 Ra4 47.Kg3 Rac4 48.Ra7 Re6 49.e4 Rc8 50.Rd7 Rec6 51.f4 R8c7 52.f5+ Kh7 53.Rd8 Rc8 54.Rd3 Re8 55.Rd4 Rc7 56.Kf4 Rce7 57.Rc4 Kh6 58.Kf3 Rd7 59.Bd4 Kh7 60.b4 Rd6 61.Ke3 Kh6 62.Rc1 Kh7 63.Bb6 Rd7 64.Bc5 Red8 65.Rh1+ Kg8 66.Kf4 Re8 67.Re1 g5+ 68.fxg6 Kg7 69.g5 Kxg6 70.gxf6 Kxf6 71.Rh1 Rf7 72.Ke3 Ke6 73.Rh4 Rf6 74.Rh7 Rf7 75.Rh5 Kd7 76.e5 Rf1 77.Ke4 Kc6 78.Rh6+ Kb5 79.Rb6+ Kc4 80.e6 Re1+ 81.Kf5 Rf1+ 82.Ke5 Re1+ 83.Kf6 Rf1+ 84.Kg7 Ra8 85.e7 Re1 86.Kf7 Re4 87.Rd6 Rh8 88.Rxa6 1-0

Position after White's 77.Ke4. Black replied Kc6?? instead of making a rook move such as Re1+.

Comments from the Chat-Room

Sergey kept the draw until move 77 - that is not smooth win for Carlsen
games like this scare the S... out of every opponent...hope fabi won't be one of them
don't downplay this dude.....that was genius
Carlsen was just gifted with a win in this game. But blunder is part of the game. It happens. I can't complain. As the cliche goes: a win is a win.
Seems like a great game by Carlsen to me. How many other players would have played 37.Rfxd5!!? Not that it's winning at that point, but it's got to give better winning chances than simplifying to opposite-colored bishops.
Carlsen vs Aronian, the Class Game. I can't wait...both of these players are very respectful towards each other.
everyone else woulda repeated and agreed to a draw hours ago. Carlsen CAUSED the blunder by constantly keeping up the pressure.
turn off your engines and study this game. You'll see how great Carlsen played. His fighting spirit is part of his genius
no one on earth can play endgame better than MC !!!!
move 38 black could have and should have saved his c pawn

Standings after Round Two

1-3 Carlsen, Mamedyarov, Aronian 1.5
4-8 Anand, Caruana, MVL, Nakamura, Grischuk 1
9 So 0.5
10 Karjakin 0

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 20th August, 2018, 09:33 AM

Rd 2 was all Magnus. An "equal" middlegame with maneuvering resulted in the king of defenders "allowing" an exchange sacrifice. Still it was objectively drawn. But when Magnus grabbed the C pawn he had enough and fifty moves later he converted. That sitzfleisch ability has him now tied for first.

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 20th August, 2018, 09:50 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 20, 2018

Round Three

Round 3, August 20
Aronian, Levon -– Carlsen, Magnus
C50 Giuoco Pianissimo

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.Re1 h6 8.b4 Ba7 9.a4 O-O 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Ng3 Ne7 14.d4 Ng6 15.Qc2 c6 16.h3 Qc7 17.Be3 d5 18.Nxe5 Nxe5 19.dxe5 Qxe5 20.exd5 cxd5 21.Rad1 Bxe3 22.Rxe3 Qc7 23.Nf5 Rae8 24.Qd3 Qf4 25.g3 Qc7 26.a5 Rxe3 27.Nxe3 Qc6 28.Nxd5 Nxd5 29.Qxd5 Re1+ 30.Kh2 Rxd1 31.Qxd1 Qxc3 32.Qd8+ Kh7 33.Qd5 Qxb4 34.Qf5+ Kg8 35.Qc8+ Kh7 36.Qf5+ Kg8 37.Qc8+ Kh7 38.Qf5+ 1/2-1/2

"A Giuoco Piano was reached, with Aronian having the biggest chance to create an imbalance. Whereas Carlsen had the queen versus two rooks in round one, this time Aronian could have saddled him with the opposite.

Instead, liquidation and handshakes.

"It wasn't the most exciting of games obviously," Carlsen said, adding that he didn't sleep well last night since he couldn't stop being a "little too excited" about his long win yesterday."

Mike Klein at chess.com

Round 3, August 20
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar -– Caruana, Fabiano
D24 QGA

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.Nxb5 Nb6 8.Be2 Nc6 9.O-O Be7 10.Be3 O-O 11.Nc3 Rb8 12.a3 Bb7 13.Qc2 Na5 14.Rad1 h6 15.Nd2 Qd7 16.f4 Nd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Qc3 Rb5 19.Nxc4 Nxc4 20.Bxc4 Bxc4 21.Qxc4 Rxb2 22.d5 exd5 23.Rxd5 Qf5 24.a4 Rfb8 25.Rb5 c5 26.Rxb8+ Rxb8 27.Qd5 Rd8 28.Qc4 Rb8 29.Qd5 Rd8 30.Qc4 a5 31.h3 h5 32.Rc1 Rd3 33.Kf2 Qg6 34.g3 Qf5 35.Rb1 Ra3 36.Rb3 Rxb3 37.Qxb3 Qxh3 38.Qb8+ Kh7 39.Qc7 Qe6 40.Qxa5 h4 41.gxh4 Bxh4+ 42.Ke2 Qc4+ 43.Kd2 Qa2+ 44.Kd1 Qb1+ 45.Ke2 c4 46.Qc3 Qe4 47.Kd1 Qf3+ 48.Kc1 Bg3 49.Qd2 c3 50.Qd4 Be1 51.Qd3+ g6 52.Kc2 Qg2+ 53.Kd1 Qh1 54.Kc2 Qc6 55.Kd1 Bg3 56.Qd4 Qf3+ 57.Kc2 Be1 58.Qd3 Qc6 59.Kd1 Bg3 60.Qd4 Qf3+ 61.Kc2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 20
MVL –- So, Wesley
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Be3 h5 13.Rad1+ Ke8 14.Ne2 Be7 15.Rfe1 a6 16.Bf4 g5 17.Bh2 Rh6 18.e6 Bxe6 19.Bxc7 Rc8 20.Ba5 c5 21.Nc3 Rc6 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.Rxd5 Rhe6 24.Kf1 Rxe1+ 25.Bxe1 Rd6 26.Rxd6 Bxd6 27.g4 hxg4 28.hxg4 c4 29.Ke2 Kd7 30.Ke3 Bc5+ 31.Ke4 Ke6 32.f3 b5 33.Ba5 f6 34.b3 cxb3 35.cxb3 Bf2 36.a4 Bc5 37.axb5 axb5 38.Bd2 Bb6 39.f4 gxf4 40.Bxf4 Bc5 41.Bd2 Bb6 42.Bf4 Bc5 43.Bd2 Bb6 44.Bf4 Bc5 45.Bd2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 20
Nakamura, Hikaru -– Grischuk, Alexander
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c3 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Re1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Nb6 10.Bb5 Bd6 11.h3 Bh5 12.Ne4 Re8 13.Bg5 f6 14.Be3 a6 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Ng3 Bf7 17.c4 Bb4 18.Re2 Bf8 19.b3 c5 20.Qe1 a5 21.Rd1 a4 22.Nd2 Qd7 23.Nb1 axb3 24.axb3 Bg6 25.f3 Rad8 26.Qf2 Qc6 27.Red2 Nd7 28.Nc3 h6 29.Kh1 Kh8 30.Nb5 Bh7 31.Ra2 f5 32.Bc1 Nf6 33.Nc3 Qb7 34.Rb2 g5 35.Rb1 Qc6 36.Bb2 Kg8 37.Nf1 Nh5 38.Nd5 Qd6 39.Ng3 c6 40.Nc3 Nf4 41.Qf1 Nxd3 42.Nce2 Qe6 43.Bc3 Rd6 44.Rd2 Red8 45.Rbd1 Bg6 46.Nc1 Nxc1 47.Rxd6 Bxd6 48.Rxc1 Rb8 49.Ra1 Rxb3 50.Ra8+ Rb8 51.Ra6 Bf8 52.Qe2 Bg7 53.Ra7 Re8 54.h4 gxh4 55.Nf1 f4 56.Nd2 Re7 57.Rxe7 Qxe7 58.Ne4 Bf7 59.Kh2 h3 60.gxh3 Qe6 61.Qg2 Kh7 62.Qc2 Kh8 63.Qb2 Kh7 64.Qc2 Qg6 65.Qe2 Be6 66.Qf1 Bf5 67.Qe2 Qh5 68.Nf2 Qh4 69.Ne4 Qxh3+ 70.Kg1 Qh5 71.Be1 Bxe4 72.Qxe4+ Qg6+ 73.Kh2 Qxe4 74.fxe4 Kg6 75.Kh3 Kh5 76.Bh4 f3 77.Bf2 Bf6 78.Be1 Bg5 79.Bf2 Be7 80.Be1 Bd8 81.Bg3 Kg5 82.Bxe5 Bf6 83.Bd6 f2 84.Kg2 Bd4 85.Kf1 Kg4 86.Ke2 h5 87.Kf1 h4 88.Bh2 h3 89.Ke2 Be3 0-1

Position after White’'s 41.Qf1

This is a mighty endgame lesson for free. and what a thrill. Game of the Day, eh?
What technique by Sasha!
The stones on Grischuk to allow 82.Bh4+ with ~1 minute left
sasha needs this win so bad, great player
Impressive. Ruthless, faultless technique in time trouble
even after playing this long, they wanna analyse hehe, great stuff
I must say Hikaru is a real fighter. Won't blame him.
Caruana vs Nakamura tomorrow
Shak vs Aronian tmr will be good!
No interview with sasha. He had to relax (= smoke)

Round 3, August 20
Karjakin, Sergey -– Anand, Vishy
C80 Ruy Lopez, open

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Be3 Be7 10.c3 O-O 11.Nbd2 Bg4 12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Qd5 Qxd5 14.Bxd5 exf3 15.Bxc6 fxg2 16.Rfc1 Rab8 17.a4 b4 18.cxb4 Rxb4 19.Bxg2 c5 20.Bxc5 Bxc5 21.Rxc5 Rxb2 22.Bf1 Be2 23.Rac1 g6 24.R1c2 Rxc2 25.Rxc2 Bxf1 26.Kxf1 Re8 27.Rc5 f6 28.Rc6 Rxe5 29.Rxa6 Kg7 30.Ra7+ Kh6 31.Rc7 Re4 32.Rc6 Rxa4 33.Rxf6 Rh4 34.Kg2 Rg4+ 35.Kf1 Rh4 36.Kg2 Rg4+ 37.Kf1 Rh4 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Three

1-4 Grischuk, Carlsen, Mamedyarov, Aronian 2
5-7 MVL, Anand, Caruana 1.5
8-9 So, Nakamura 1
10 Karjakin 0.5

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 21st August, 2018, 10:06 AM

Rd 3 Game of the round is Sasha Grischuk's win over Nakamura. Everybody praised his endgame but the game was about getting to the endgame. Piece play that forced one pawn after another to drop (before the endgame). By the time the endgame happened white's helplessness was almost humorous.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 21st August, 2018, 09:19 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 21, 2018

Round Four

There is a lot of twitter action about this position from Round Two:

This is Aronian vs Carlsen after Carlsen’s 20^thmove. Aronian replied to it with 21.Rad1.

Tweet from Mikhail Golubev:How it's possible that @LevAronian hasn't played 21.Bax7!, an obvious and a good move? Opponents are, simply, too afraid of @MagnusCarlsen, he dominates them psychologically. So, they can't believe that their Q can be stronger than his R+R.

Mikhail Golubev: Just for the record, what I was looking before saying something about world's top players' game was 21.Bxa7 Qxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 23.Kh2 Rxa7 24.Qd2 Re6 25.Qf4 Ra8 26.Qc7 b5 and now 27.Qb7 or 27.axb5 axb5 28.Nf5.

Reply from Levon Aronian: Dear Mikhail, you are most likely fooled by weak chess engines evaluation. If you analyse the position without a bias, you will see that black is at least holding the draw with 2 Rooks against the Queen.

Mikhail Golubev: Dear Levon, I had been taught that Q + N is generally a strong pair (and that a rook on a7 stands poorly), and probably was fooled by that. My weak understanding is that it's White who is better after Bxa7, but I can believe indeed that Black holds there.

Levon Aronian: I think if you get a chance to analyse it over the board you will indeed confirm my assessment of the position.

https://twitter.com/LevAronian/statu...85212797906946

__________

A viewer asks the commentating team how they see the position in their head when they are playing blindfold. Yasser says that he can only play three games blindfold at a time comfortably. Surprisingly, Maurice has trained himself to play ten boards blindfold. He says that he saw Magnus Carlsen play just three games blindfold simultaneously but he was given just nine minutes on the clock against his three opponents.

And two bits of humour from chessbomb kibitzers in the chat:

"More funny things are said in a cocktail party in France than in the entire year in Germany".....

Does Nigel have any shot at becoming FIDE prez?
Yez
Isn't he busy with his olive trees though?
Perhaps Kirsan will now return to the mother ship.
hope so
I picture him at the door of the UFO waving bye-bye like Nixon.

___________

Round 4, August 21
Anand, Vishy -– Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Be3 b6 9.Qd2 e5 10.Bh6 Qd6 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.a4 Ne8 13.Nh2 Nc7 14.Ng4 f6 15.f3 Ne6 16.h4 Nd4 17.h5 g5 18.Ne3 Be6 19.Ne2 Kh8 20.Ng3 Rad8 21.Kf2 Qe7 22.Qd1 c4 23.dxc4 f5 24.exf5 Nxf5 25.Ngxf5 Bxf5 26.Qe2 g4 27.Kg1 gxf3 28.Qxf3 Bxc2 29.Qg3 Bd3 30.Rh4 Rd4 31.Rg4 Rxg4 32.Nxg4 e4 33.Qe5+ Qxe5 34.Nxe5 Kg7 35.Rd1 Rd8 36.Nxc6 Re8 37.Kf2 e3+ 38.Ke1 Bxc4 39.Rd4 Bf7 40.g4 a5 41.b4 axb4 42.Rxb4 Be6 43.g5 Bf7 44.h6+ Kg6 45.Rb5 Ba2 46.Re5 Rxe5 47.Nxe5+ Kxg5 48.Nd7 Bb3 49.Nxb6 Bxa4 50.Nxa4 Kxh6 51.Nc3 e2 52.Nxe2 Kg5 53.Ng3 h5 54.Nxh5 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 21
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Aronian, Levon
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.Bd3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 Ba6 11.O-O Qc8 12.h3 Qb7 13.Qc2 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 axb4 15.axb4 Rxa1 16.Rxa1 Ra8 17.Qb1 Rxa1 18.Qxa1 bxc5 19.bxc5 h6 20.Qb1 Qa8 21.Qa2 Qb7 22.Qb1 Qa8 23.Qa2 Qb7 24.Qb1 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 21
Grischuk, Alexander –- MVL
B96 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Be7 10.Bf2 Qc7 11.Qf3 Nbd7 12.O-O-O b5 13.g4 Bb7 14.h4 Nc5 15.Bd3 h5 16.g5 Ng4 17.Rhg1 Qb6 18.Kb1 b4 19.axb4 Qxb4 20.Rxg4 hxg4 21.Qxg4 Rb8 22.Na2 Qa4 23.Nc3 Qb4 24.Na2 Qa4 25.Nc3 Qb4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 21
So, Wesley –- Karjakin, Sergey
A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 Qe7 7.d4 Ne4 8.Qd3 exd4 9.Nxd4 O-O 10.Be2 Qb4+ 11.Kf1 Qe7 12.f3 Nc5 13.Qd2 a5 14.b3 d6 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Bb2 Re8 17.Kf2 Nd7 18.h4 h5 19.e4 Ne5 20.Rae1 a4 21.b4 a3 22.Ba1 f6 23.Rc1 Be6 24.Rc2 Ra4 25.c5 Rb8 26.cxd6 cxd6 27.Bc3 c5 28.bxc5 dxc5 29.Rd1 Nc4 30.Bxc4 Rxc4 31.Ba1 Rxc2 32.Qxc2 Rd8 33.Rd3 Rxd3 34.Qxd3 Qd7 35.Qxd7 Bxd7 36.Bc3 Be6 37.Bd2 Bxa2 38.Bc1 c4 39.Bxa3 c3 40.Ke3 Bc4 41.Kd4 Bf1 42.g3 Bg2 43.Kxc3 Bxf3 44.Kd4 Bg4 45.Kd5 Bf3 46.Kd4 Bg4 47.Kd5 Bf3 48.Kd4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 21
Caruana, Fabiano –- Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3 dxc4 6.Bg2 O-O 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 c5 12.dxc5 Qxc5 13.Be3 Qc7 14.O-O-O Ng4 15.Rd2 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Rb8 17.Rhd1 a5 18.Kb1 h6 19.Ka1 Rb4 20.Qc2 Rb8 21.Qe4 Bb7 22.Qd4 Ba8 23.e4 Rfc8 24.Qf2 Bc6 25.Qc5 Be8 26.Qxc7 Rxc7 27.Rd6 Kf8 28.Ra6 Rc5 29.Ra7 Rbc8 30.Kb1 Rh5 31.h4 Re5 32.Kc2 g5 33.Rf1 Kg7 34.Rb7 Kg6 35.Kd2 f5 36.hxg5 fxe4 37.Ke3 Bc6 38.Re7 Rxg5 39.Rxe6+ Kg7 40.Re7+ Kg6 41.Rd1 Kf6 42.Ra7 Ke6 43.Rh1 h5 44.g4 Be8 45.gxh5 Bxh5 46.Nxe4 Rf5 47.Ra6+ Ke7 48.Nd6 Re5+ 49.Kd4 1-0

Final position

The ending of this game was rather bizarre for the viewers. Caruana had clearly won and shook hands with Nakamura. But, with that Kd4 as the last move, the system thought the game was a draw and chessbomb, 2700chess and the transmission recorded it as a draw. This was not changed for several minutes and even when Maurice started to interview Fabi, the board said it was a draw!

The chessbomb kibitzers:

- corrected now
- Haaaaa finally they corrected the result
- Nice game by Fab! Poor Naka is now the designated victim.
- Nakamura tried to Russian Hack the result
- draw via fake news

The second last remark lends the appetizing possibility of someone hacking into the system and changing a result – although, with thousands of viewers watching the actual game, what good would that do?

Mike Klein at chess.com: – “"Caruana’s game lasted just over four hours and now exactly half the field (five players) are at the top of the standings with 2.5/4.

Peter Svidler, who gave up a spot in the Russian Superfinals to do commentary in ST. Louis thanked Fabiano for not making him put in another 6.5 hour shift!

Caruana, who hasn't lost a true classical game to Nakamura since Norway, 2015, chalked up his win thanks to something he'd prepared a few months back: castling queenside after a Catalan structure.”"

Standings after Round Four

1-5 Caruana, Mamedyarov, Aronian, Grischuk, Carlsen 2.5
6-7 MVL, Anand 2
8 So 1.5
9-10 Nakamura, Karjakin 1

**Hans Jung** · Wednesday, 22nd August, 2018, 10:40 AM

There was no real game of the day in the last round. The field is tight. The only fight was Caruana-Nakamura. Nakamura seemed to relax after the queen exchange and his position went south. Caruana wrapped it up nicely.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 22nd August, 2018, 08:51 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2018

August 22, 2018

Round Five

Peter and Evgenyi on the Russian broadcast look more relaxed now that they have lost the ties and are wearing more comfortable sports jackets.

Yasser was talking about early computer translation and said that once he had put the expression “out of mind, out of body” in English and the machine translated it as “invisible lunatic”.

I recall an old joke, where “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” was entered and got “the vodka is good but the meat is rotten”.

Round 5, August 22
Carlsen, Magnus –- So, Wesley
D42 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bd3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2 b6 10.Rd1 cxd4 11.Nxd5 Qxd5 12.exd4 Bb7 13.Be4 Qd6 14.g3 Bf6 15.Bg5 Qe7 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Ne5 Rfc8 18.Qb5 Na5 19.Bxb7 Nxb7 20.Qd7 Nc5 21.dxc5 Qxe5 22.c6 h5 23.Rd6 Qxb2 24.Rad1 Qc2 25.h4 Rd8 26.Qxd8+ Rxd8 27.Rxd8+ Kh7 28.R8d7 a5 29.c7 b5 30.R1d2 Qc1+ 31.Rd1 Qc2 32.R1d4 f6 33.Rd2 Qc1+ 34.Rd1 Qc2 35.R1d6 Qb1+ 36.Rd1 Qc2 37.R1d6 Qb1+ 38.Kg2 Qe4+ 39.Kh2 Qc2 40.Rd2 Qc3 41.R2d6 Qc2 42.Rd2 Qc3 43.Re2 e5 44.Red2 b4 45.R2d6 Kg6 46.Kg2 Qc2 47.Re7 Qe4+ 48.Kg1 Qe1+ 49.Kg2 Qe4+ 50.Kg1 Qe1+ 51.Kg2 Qe4+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 22
MVL –- Caruana, Fabiano
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack
[Event "Sinquefield Cup"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Be6 9.O-O-O Qd7 10.Kb1 Bf6 11.h4 O-O-O 12.Nd4 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Be5 14.Be2 Qa4 15.b3 Qa5 16.f4 Bxd4 17.Qxd4 g6 18.h5 Qc5 19.Qd2 Rhe8 20.Bf3 Bf5 21.hxg6 hxg6 22.Rh7 Re7 23.g4 Bd7 24.Re1 Rxe1+ 25.Qxe1 Re8 26.Qd2 Qe3 27.Qxe3 Rxe3 28.Rh8+ Re8 29.Rxe8+ Bxe8 30.Kc1 b6 31.g5 Kd8 32.Kd2 Bd7 33.Be4 Ke7 34.Ke3 Be6 35.c4 c5 36.Kf3 Bd7 37.Ke3 Be6 38.Kf3 Bd7 39.Ke3 Be6 40.Kf3 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 22
Nakamura, Hikaru –- Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D34 QGD, Tarrasch, Prague variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.Nc3 O-O 9.h3 Ne4 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Bf4 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bf5 13.Nd2 Re8 14.g4 Bg6 15.e3 Bb6 16.Qb3 Re7 17.Rfd1 Rd7 18.a4 Rc8 19.Rac1 h6 20.Qa2 Bc7 21.Nb3 b6 22.Qd2 f5 23.c4 Bxf4 24.exf4 d4 25.Bd5+ Bf7 26.Qe2 fxg4 27.hxg4 Qf6 28.Qf3 Rdd8 29.Nd2 Rf8 30.Ne4 Qe7 31.Ng3 Qf6 32.Ne4 Qe7 33.Ng3 Qf6 34.Nf5 Kh8 35.Bxf7 Rxf7 36.c5 Rcc7 37.cxb6 axb6 38.Re1 Rf8 39.Qe4 g6 40.Nxd4 Qxd4 41.Qxd4+ Nxd4 42.Rxc7 Nf3+ 43.Kf1 Nxe1 44.Kxe1 Rxf4 45.Rc6 Kg7 46.Rxb6 Rxa4 47.f3 g5 48.Rb7+ Kg6 49.Rb6+ Kg7 50.Rb7+ Kg6 51.Rb6+ Kg7 52.Rb7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 22
Aronian, Levon -– Anand, Vishy
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.a3 Nc6 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.O-O Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.b4 d4 15.b5 Na5 16.exd4 Qf6 17.Be3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Qxf3 19.gxf3 Rfd8 20.Rfd1 Nb3 21.Rab1 Nxd4 22.Kg2 Ne6 23.Bf5 Bxe3 24.Bxe6 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Bb6 26.Bb3 Rd8 27.Rxd8+ Bxd8 28.f4 Kf8 29.f5 a6 30.b6 Bxb6 31.Bd5 Bc5 32.Bxb7 Bxa3 33.Bxa6 Bb2 34.Bf1 Ba3 35.Ba6 Bb2 36.Bf1 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 22
Karjakin, Sergey -– Grischuk, Alexander
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 h6 10.Rd1+ Ke8 11.Nc3 Ne7 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Bh2 Be7 14.Nd4 Nf8 15.a4 a5 16.Nce2 h5 17.e6 Nxe6 18.Nxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxc7 Bd8 20.Bd6 f6 21.Nd4 Bc8 22.h4 Kf7 23.f3 g5 24.Bg3 Bb6 25.Bf2 Re8 26.Rd2 Bxd4 27.Rxd4 Bf5 28.Rd2 Rad8 29.Rad1 Rxd2 30.Rxd2 Re5 31.Kf1 Rd5 32.Ke2 Ke6 33.b3 gxh4 34.Bxh4 c5 35.Bg3 Rxd2+ 36.Kxd2 Kd7 37.Bh4 Ke6 38.Bg3 Kd7 39.Bh4 Ke6 40.Bg3 1/2-1/2

Black moved that knight 7 times in the first 14 moves. That’s a little too much.

Standings after Round Five

1-5 Caruana, Mamedyarov, Aronian, Grischuk, Carlsen 3
6-7 MVL, Anand 2.5
8 So 2
9-10 Nakamura, Karjakin 1.5

**Hans Jung** · Thursday, 23rd August, 2018, 01:08 PM

Nice save by the Shak. Lots of calculation there.

**Hans Jung** · Thursday, 23rd August, 2018, 01:09 PM

Rest day today. Go out and enjoy the sunshine, breezes, and low humidity.

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 24th August, 2018, 03:40 PM

In the Grischuk-Carlsen game (happening right now) from a Benko structure on move 12 for Black the computer liked Bc2 hitting queen and the Bb3 with tactical pyrotechnics. Magnus played 12...Nc2 (right square different piece) and now Grischuk played 13.g4. Amazing.