2015 World Rapid Day 2: Carlsen rises to the top

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The grand leader of day one had been Sergey Karjakin, with 4.5/5, but his tank ran out of gas
on day two and his momentum came to a screaming halt as he finished with 6.5/10. These
competitions are all adrenaline and snap decisions, and it is quite likely that fatigue after the
marathon World Cup is finally exacting its toll.

Guseinov - Karjakin

Black has played superbly and reached this key moment in a rook
endgame. Black is in check, and only one move wins, can you find it?

Gadir Guseinov - Sergey Karjakin (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)

Admittedly the win was far from easy to see, and both players were down on time, but it was very much the type of day Sergey had.

The World Champion’s rise to the top might appear to be the picture of consistency, since he scored
4.0/5 on day one, and repeated the performance on day two. However, it was not quite such smooth
sailing when he found himself facing imminent death on the board versus 19-year-old Daniil Dubov.

Magnus Carlsen - Daniil Dubov (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)

Vladimir Kramnik (right) was able to outplay Daniil Dubov and stands tied for 3rd with 7.5/10

Mamedyarov has had an irregular tournament so far, and despite beating Vidit Gujrathi, one
of the revelations of day one, found himself on the receiving end of others...

Mamedyarov - Kryvoruchko

Can you see how the Ukrainian concluded his game to beat one
of the world's best? Black to play and win.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov - Yuriy Kryvoruchko (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)

Igor Kovalenko was without a doubt one of the stars of the second day. Not just by virtue
of the scalps he scored, but in how he scored them.

Watch this spectacular and imaginative demolition of Levon Aronian:

Levon Aronian - Igor Kovalenko (annotated by IM Sagar Shah)

The win over Levon Aronian would have been enough, but watch how he saved a game against
Vladimir Kramnik no less

Igor Kovalenko - Vladimir Kramnik

A fantastic save and one of the key reasons that Igor Kovalenko is the top of the group with 7.5/10, claiming third place on day two.

Vishy Anand leans over to watch the game of his former World Championship rival,
Boris Gelfand. The Israeli has had a solid event with 7.0/10 and a 2799 performance.

The playing halls have had large numbers of fans flocking to see the world's best

Parents have taken advantage of the opportunity to share their love of the game with their children...

... and the kibitzing rooms were full.

Needless to say, if you were watching on Playchess you could watch as many boards as you wanted

Watch it live on Playchess!

If you'd like to see it live in your browser, including the multiple boards, or on a smartphone, the click on the link above. Clicking on the above link will take you to our live broadcast of the World Rapid championship in Berlin. If the game has not yet started you will see the previous two games:

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Don't miss out on the action!

Standings after ten rounds

Rk	SNo	Ti.	Name	FED	Rtg	Pts	TB	Perf
1	1	GM	Carlsen Magnus	NOR	2847	8,0	2696	2912
2	34	GM	Zhigalko Sergei	BLR	2698	8,0	2674	2900
3	39	GM	Kovalenko Igor	LAT	2687	7,5	2676	2854
4	7	GM	Kramnik Vladimir	RUS	2798	7,5	2665	2850
5	3	GM	Ivanchuk Vassily	UKR	2835	7,5	2655	2836
6	92	GM	Khismatullin Denis	RUS	2574	7,0	2755	2861
7	36	GM	Kryvoruchko Yuriy	UKR	2694	7,0	2740	2867
8	8	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2789	7,0	2697	2830
9	50	GM	Mamedov Rauf	AZE	2667	7,0	2693	2822
10	89	GM	Bocharov Dmitry	RUS	2577	7,0	2689	2814
11	16	GM	Radjabov Teimour	AZE	2741	7,0	2680	2817
12	12	GM	Gelfand Boris	ISR	2751	7,0	2658	2799
13	9	GM	Mamedyarov Shakhriyar	AZE	2784	7,0	2638	2777
14	13	GM	Dominguez Perez Leinier	CUB	2749	7,0	2636	2775
15	53	GM	Malakhov Vladimir	RUS	2662	6,5	2753	2835
16	71	GM	Kasimdzhanov Rustam	UZB	2619	6,5	2745	2814
17	49	GM	Dubov Daniil	RUS	2667	6,5	2728	2815
18	5	GM	Karjakin Sergey	RUS	2805	6,5	2699	2797
19	38	GM	Onischuk Vladimir	UKR	2692	6,5	2692	2785
20	54	GM	Onischuk Alexander	USA	2662	6,5	2685	2773

Click for complete standings

Photos by Gregor Anthes, Nailya Bikmurzina, and Lena Kashirsky for official site

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