São Paulo Masters – Nakamura, Carlsen win, Nakamura in second place

The first leg of the Grand Slam is being staged in São Paulo, Ibirapuera Park, from September 25th to October 1st, the second leg is in Bilbao, Alhóndiga, from 5th to 11th October. Tournament sytem: double round robin with six players over ten rounds. Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 10 seconds/move starting with the 1st move. Game start: 15:00h local São Paulo time (2 p.m. New York, 20:00 h Europe).

Round five

By Albert Silver

Before the games started, the usual platoon of photographers and media was there

In a sense, the game between Ivanchuk and Carlsen was almost more awaited than the first round between Anand and Carlsen. The reason is that while the game between the world's top two players might have great expectations for who they are, here there was added drama because Ivanchuk was on a fantastic run, outracing and outpacing his 2800+ colleagues, while Carlsen was the last and most prominent opponent in this leg. Would Magnus be able to prevent the Ukrainian from running away with the tournament?

Magnus Carlsen ready to fight the good fight

The game between Carlsen and Ivanchuk gets underway with an avid audience

It was a hot sunny day in São Paulo, with the thermometer registering temperatures
as high as 38 C. (100 F.) though not for the players.

After the game, Magnus came down the corridor to the stage, bombarded by autograph requests and pictures, and looking as serious as always. In fact, considering the stoic look he carries when he comes to the board, with an air of nigh indifference, even after the game's tension has been released, one might easily be inclined to believe that this statuesque demeanor is his natural state. Well, it is not.

After his fantastic victory over the tournament leader, he left the board as concentrated-looking as usual and entered the small private player's area. Not noticing anyone else around, and thinking he was alone, he suddenly bent over, pumping his fist like crazy, saying "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Aronian and Anand focus before the game is started

The inaugural move is played by a young fan with Juan Carlos Garcia, director of the
Grand Slam Masters, and Davy D'israel, co-organizer of the São Paulo leg.

Anand played an early 6.d3 in a Ruy Lopez against Aronian, and while this might seem unambitious to some, bear in mind Aronian's likely choice would have been a Marshall, his usual weapon when he wants to secure a draw. It isn't that the Armenian never wins with it, but mostly it leads to lines that are literally 30 moves deep, and analyzed well into the phase of simplifications.

The formalities having been respected, time for action

A view of the players from outside the glass box, referred by them as the 'fish bowl'

Aronian had wanted to punish Anand's intrepidity but admitted he had probably
overestimated his position.

In the post-game press conference, Levon commented that after Vishy's 28.f4 he had wanted to punish him for endangering his king, and probably overestimated his own position at this point. Despite the potentially risky look the endgame gave, he did not feel he was ever in any real danger.

On his way out, the World Champion's name was repeated like a magic word by the
children, "Anand! Anand! Anand!"

The last game to finish was between Hikaru Nakamura and Franciso Vallejo Pons, and the gloves were taken off as both players played with gusto.

Hikaru Nakamura broke into a smile before the game's start, showing good spirits

Paco turned out to be the more "enterprising" of the two, as he sacrificed a piece to generate threats against Nakamura's king, preferring this than to finding himself being on the defensor's side. Despite genuine threats that required careful play by the American, Hikaru found his way out of the jungle, and was able to convert his material advantage.

After that, he recovered his concentration, evident from the hard game he won

In the post-mortem, Nakamura explained that although he was delighted to have won, it is always very unpleasant to find yourself defending such a position, and would much have preferred to be the attacker in the game. In compensation, he took clear second in both the traditional and Bilbao scoring system, and is also the only undefeated player thus far.

Gallery of pictures

A view of the lake in Ibirapuera Park

One could follow the games on the overhead screens, with video transmission of the
players in the fourth and right-most screen.

In the center is FM Luiz Loureiro, who provided dynamic commentary with a
wealth of anecdotes and information for the audience.

The audience was unsure which direction to position their chairs and some pointed
to the screens, while others toward the stage.

GM Milos gave a simul as the day's side-event

Many children participated, boys and girls alike

Though some preferred to set up their own chess fun

The event could never have flowed without the diligent work of the arbiters Marius van
Riemsdijk, Blas Pingas, and Chief Arbiter Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk.

Your reporter

Pictures by Albert Silver

Bilbao system scores after five rounds

Traditional crosstable after five rounds

Schedule and results

Links Official tournament site (São Paulo) Official tournament site (Bilbao) All ChessBase reports All the games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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