London Rd9: Three-way playoff, Carlsen is champion

by ChessBase
12/14/2015 – Three players finished with 5.5/9 points, leading to a very exciting three-way playoff. Due to the nature of the rules, Vachier-Lagrave and Giri first squared off, with MVL prevailing in a dramatic turnaround. He then faced Carlsen for the title. More playoff tension, but in the end Magnus Carlsen claimed both the London Classic title and the Grand Chess Tour. Express report.

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The 7th London Chess Classic, England's premier tournament, takes place at its traditional venue of Kensington Olympia from Friday December 4th to Sunday December 13th. The main event, the strongest ever held in the UK, is a nine-round ten-player super tournament played at a rate of 40 moves in 2 hours, followed by the rest of the game in one hour with a 30-second increment from move 41. The overall prize fund is $300,000, with the winner getting $75,000.

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Round 9 Sunday 13 Dec, 14.00-21.00
Viswanathan Anand
½-½
Anish Giri
Michael Adams
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Levon Aronian
½-½
M Vachier-Lagrave
Magnus Carlsen
1-0
Alexander Grischuk
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Veselin Topalov

Playoff

Tiebreak regulations:

Three Players: The two players placed lowest on tiebreak shall contest a two game Rapidplay match at a time limit of Game / 25 mins + 5 secs / move throughout. Lots shall be drawn to decide which player has White in the first game. If the two game Rapidplay match is drawn the players shall contest an Armageddon Game. The successful player in that game shall then play the player with the highest tiebreak in accordance with the procedure for two players specified in Regulation 6.

Match one

Player
G1
G2
G3
Total
M. Vachier-Lagrave
0
1
1
2.0
Anish Giri
1
0
0
1.0

Game one: For many, the appearance of the Berlin in game one was synonymous of groans, but Anish Giri's play as black was nearly exemplary to the very end as he made it almost look like a walk in the park. MVL eventually conceded after 43 moves, and will have a significant mountain to climb as he faces a must-win with black in game two. The stakes could not be higher: the overall winner will not only win the London Chess Classic tournament, he will win the entire Grand Chess Tour.

Game two: At the top, the players are quick to point out that if White refuses to fight, there is very little Black can do about it. Anish Giri showed how true that can be as he chose the Fianchetto line against the Gruenfeld and was content to kill any of MVL's ambitions in their tracks. The Frenchman did his best but was never able to generate any play, until late in the endgame, MVL began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. What had seemed like a done deal in favor of Anish Giri was suddenly no longer obvious, and in the mad time scramble the Frenchman pulled off his miracle.

Armageddon: Being described as the most solid player of the Grand Chess Tour is a mixed blessing as Anish Giri found out. In the Armageddon game, the young Dutch player had White, which meant a draw was effectively a loss. MVL's renowned blitz skills came to the fore as he did more than hold with black and dominated the game to reserve a seat for a showdown with the World Champion.

Match two

Player
G1
G2
G3
Total
Magnus Carlsen
1
½
 
1.5
M. Vachier-Lagrave
0
½
 
0.5

Game one: It was a strange choice by MVL, who played his pet Sicilian, but somehow went for a line that allowed a form of Maroczy bind. This was the sort of position Carlsen lives for and the ensuing middlegame seemed all in his favor as he built a huge position. Incredibly, just when it seemed only a matter of time, the World Champion began to falter at the finish line and a number of inaccuracies saw a huge advantage dissipate and the game seemed destined for a draw. Then Magnus pulled off his magic as he played one simple move that confused his opponent, and showing that even the very best can err in basic endgames, MVL lost.

Game two: It became clear fairly soon that MVL was still not recovered from his shock loss in the previous game, and a number of dubious positional moves that left grandmasters perplexed eventually led to a worse and even lost game. Magnus felt no need to push the point, content to draw, winning both the London Chess Classic and the Grand Chess Tour.

Video of round nine

Replay games of round nine and playoff (with times per move)

[Event "7th London Classic 2015"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "9"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "2834"] [BlackElo "2747"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. Nf3 {(3s)} c5 {(49s)} 2. e4 {(11s)} d6 {(5s)} 3. Bb5+ {(3s)} Nd7 {(23s)} 4. O-O {(9s)} a6 {(158s)} 5. Bd3 {(11s)} Ngf6 {(74s)} 6. Re1 {(18s)} b5 {(206s)} 7. c4 {(8s)} g5 {(6s)} 8. Nxg5 {(4s)} Ne5 {(11 s)} 9. Be2 {(4s)} bxc4 {(121s)} 10. Nc3 {(2s)} Rb8 {(1004s)} 11. Rf1 {(1321s)} h6 {(989s)} 12. Nf3 {(8s)} Nd3 {(6s)} 13. Ne1 {(664s)} Nxb2 {(709s)} 14. Bxb2 {(354s)} Rxb2 {(20s)} 15. Bxc4 {(2s)} Rb4 {(861s)} 16. Qe2 {(170s)} Bg7 {(53s)} 17. Nc2 {(445s)} Rb6 {(12s)} 18. Rab1 {(166s)} O-O {(549s)} 19. Rxb6 {(8s)} Qxb6 {(6s)} 20. Ne3 {(6s)} e6 {(272s)} 21. f4 {(8s)} Kh8 {(596s)} 22. f5 {(407s)} a5 {(23s)} 23. a4 {(208s)} Qd8 {(40s)} 24. h3 {(150s)} Qe7 {(241s)} 25. Ba6 {(92s)} Bxa6 {(390s)} 26. Qxa6 {(3s)} Nh5 {(17s)} 27. Rf3 {(219s)} Rg8 {(73s)} 28. Nb5 {(465s)} Be5 {(11s)} 29. Ng4 {(231s)} Qh4 {(178s)} 30. fxe6 {(198s)} fxe6 {(114s)} 31. Nxe5 {(135s)} dxe5 {(43s)} 32. Qxe6 {(50s)} Qe1+ {(130s)} 33. Kh2 {(7s)} Rxg2+ {(53s)} 34. Kxg2 {(4s)} Qxd2+ {(9s)} 35. Kg1 {(128s)} Qe1+ {(7s)} 36. Rf1 {(38s)} Qe3+ {(2s)} 37. Rf2 {(68s)} Qe1+ {(82s)} 38. Kg2 {(14s)} 1-0 [Event "7th London Classic 2015"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "9"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2737"] [BlackElo "2787"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. e4 {(3s)} e5 {(4s)} 2. Nf3 {(4s)} Nc6 {(4s)} 3. Bb5 {(6s)} a6 {(3s)} 4. Ba4 {(10s)} Nf6 {(6s)} 5. O-O {(9s)} Bc5 {(3s)} 6. c3 {(197s)} b5 {(6s)} 7. Bb3 {(3s)} d6 {(10s)} 8. a4 {(17s)} Bg4 {(16s)} 9. d3 {(142s)} O-O {(1003s)} 10. Nbd2 {(434s)} Na5 {(496s)} 11. Ba2 {(459s)} b4 {(8s)} 12. h3 {(8s)} Bh5 {( 237s)} 13. Nc4 {(812s)} Nxc4 {(12s)} 14. Bxc4 {(6s)} bxc3 {(340s)} 15. bxc3 {(5s)} c6 {(4s)} 16. g4 {(363s)} Bg6 {(117s)} 17. Bg5 {(6s)} d5 {(136s)} 18. Ba2 {(268s)} dxe4 {(456s)} 19. Nxe5 {(8s)} exd3 {(20s)} 20. Nxg6 {(95s)} hxg6 {(6s)} 21. Qf3 {(221s)} Qc7 {(372s)} 22. Rad1 {(348s)} Qe5 {(337s)} 23. Bxf6 {(18s)} Qxf6 {(285s)} 24. Rxd3 {(214s)} Rfd8 {(240s)} 25. Qxf6 {(37s)} gxf6 {(4s)} 26. Rfd1 {(15s)} Be7 {(100s)} 27. Rxd8+ {(455s)} Rxd8 {(5s)} 28. Rxd8+ {(4s)} Bxd8 {(3s)} 29. Kf1 {(13 s)} a5 {(7s)} 30. Ke2 {(91s)} g5 {(42s)} 31. Bb1 {(9s)} Bc7 {(5s)} 32. Be4 {(5s)} Be5 {(8s)} 33. Kd3 {( 6s)} c5 {(5s)} 34. Kc4 {(22s)} Kg7 {(13s)} 35. f3 {(8s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "7th London Classic 2015"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "9"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2803"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. e4 {(3s)} e5 {(8s)} 2. Nf3 {(22s)} Nc6 {(5s)} 3. Bb5 {(12s)} Nf6 {(6s)} 4. O-O {(34s)} Nxe4 {(8s)} 5. d4 {(4s)} Nd6 {(8s)} 6. Bxc6 {(8s)} dxc6 {(5s)} 7. dxe5 {(13s)} Nf5 {(4s)} 8. Qxd8+ {(8s)} Kxd8 {( 4s)} 9. Rd1+ {(10s)} Ke8 {(9s)} 10. b3 {(4s)} Ne7 {(308s)} 11. Nbd2 {(14s)} h6 {(549s)} 12. Nd4 {( 157s)} Ng6 {(821s)} 13. Bb2 {(560s)} Be7 {(671s)} 14. Nc4 {(87s)} Nf4 {(208s)} 15. Ne3 {(539s)} g6 {(572s)} 16. g3 {(564s)} Ne6 {(7s)} 17. Ne2 {(109s)} h5 {(54s)} 18. a4 {(429s)} a5 {(132s)} 19. Ba3 {(28s)} Bxa3 {(727s)} 20. Rxa3 {(14s)} Ke7 {(15s)} 21. Raa1 {(33s)} Nc5 {(325s)} 22. Kg2 {(394s)} Re8 {(339s)} 23. Nd4 {(214s)} Kf8 {(481s)} 24. f4 {(27s)} Bd7 {(247s)} 25. h3 {(65s)} Rad8 {(89s)} 26. Nf3 {(7s)} Be6 {(252s)} 27. g4 {(1304s)} hxg4 {(8s)} 28. hxg4 {(1s)} Bd5 {(113s)} 29. Rh1 {(96 s)} Ke7 {(51s)} 30. Nxd5+ {(115s)} cxd5 {(50s)} 31. Rh7 {(68s)} Ne6 {(285s)} 32. Kg3 {(43s)} Rg8 {( 86s)} 33. Rf1 {(79s)} Nf8 {(15s)} 34. Rh2 {(235s)} Ne6 {(5s)} 35. Rh7 {(229s)} Nf8 {(30s)} 36. Rh2 {(478s)} Ne6 {(6s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "7th London Classic 2015"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "9"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2788"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. Nf3 {(3s)} c5 {(3s)} 2. c4 {(6s)} Nc6 {(2s)} 3. Nc3 {(9s)} e5 {(2s)} 4. e3 {(7s)} Nf6 {(3s)} 5. d4 {( 8s)} e4 {(3s)} 6. d5 {(7s)} exf3 {(2s)} 7. dxc6 {(6s)} dxc6 {(3s)} 8. Qxd8+ {(11s)} Kxd8 {(3s)} 9. gxf3 {(9s)} Kc7 {(12s)} 10. b3 {(32s)} Be7 {(31s)} 11. Bb2 {(35s)} Rd8 {(36s)} 12. h4 {(373s)} g6 {( 263s)} 13. Bh3 {(338s)} Bxh3 {(866s)} 14. Rxh3 {(107s)} Kd7 {(848s)} 15. Rd1+ {(717s)} Ke6 {(40s)} 16. Rxd8 {(206s)} Bxd8 {(561s)} 17. Ke2 {(42s)} Rb8 {(196s)} 18. Nb1 {(740s)} b5 {(816s)} 19. Nd2 {(6s)} Ba5 {(8s)} 20. Bxf6 {(341s)} Bxd2 {(8s)} 21. Kxd2 {(84s)} Kxf6 {(7s)} 22. Kc3 {(4s)} bxc4 {( 296s)} 23. Rh1 {(576s)} cxb3 {(615s)} 24. axb3 {(9s)} h5 {(503s)} 25. Ra1 {(172s)} g5 {(19s)} 26. hxg5+ {(4s)} Kxg5 {(7s)} 27. Rxa7 {(10s)} Kg6 {(31s)} 28. Ra1 {(531s)} h4 {(47s)} 29. Kc4 {(155s)} Rb4+ {(159s)} 30. Kxc5 {(9s)} Rxb3 {(5s)} 31. Kxc6 {(4s)} Rb2 {(18s)} 32. Rh1 {(9s)} Rxf2 {(15s)} 33. Rxh4 {(6s)} Rxf3 {(7s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "7th London Classic 2015"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "9"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2796"] [BlackElo "2784"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. e4 {(5s)} e5 {(4s)} 2. Nf3 {(6s)} Nc6 {(3s)} 3. Bb5 {(9s)} Nf6 {(11s)} 4. O-O {(8s)} Nxe4 {(7s)} 5. d4 {(8s)} Nd6 {(3s)} 6. Bxc6 {(10s)} dxc6 {(2s)} 7. dxe5 {(10s)} Nf5 {(2s)} 8. Qxd8+ {(12s)} Kxd8 {( 10s)} 9. Nc3 {(13s)} Ke8 {(6s)} 10. h3 {(8s)} h5 {(3s)} 11. Bf4 {(57s)} Be7 {(12s)} 12. Rad1 {(12s)} Be6 {(6s)} 13. Ng5 {(23s)} Rh6 {(6s)} 14. g3 {(12s)} Bxg5 {(15s)} 15. Bxg5 {(10s)} Rg6 {(3s)} 16. h4 {(25s)} f6 {(92s)} 17. exf6 {(129s)} gxf6 {(8s)} 18. Bf4 {(12s)} Nxh4 {(125s)} 19. f3 {(27s)} Rd8 {(7 s)} 20. Kf2 {(429s)} Rxd1 {(10s)} 21. Nxd1 {(26s)} Nf5 {(4s)} 22. Rh1 {(87s)} Bxa2 {(13s)} 23. Rxh5 {(90s)} Be6 {(8s)} 24. g4 {(74s)} Nd6 {(18s)} 25. Rh7 {(112s)} Nf7 {(28s)} 26. Ne3 {(53s)} b6 {(20s)} 27. Ng2 {(986s)} Rg8 {(168s)} 28. Bxc7 {(550s)} Rh8 {(874s)} 29. Rxh8+ {(598s)} Nxh8 {(8s)} 30. Ne3 {(47s)} Nf7 {(400s)} 31. Bg3 {(284s)} Nh6 {(208s)} 32. Bf4 {(63s)} Nf7 {(7s)} 33. Bg3 {(10s)} Nh6 {(6s)} 1/2-1/2 [Event "7th London Classic 2015 TB"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "10.1"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2784"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "1500+5"] 1. e4 {(0s)} e5 {(0s)} 2. Nf3 {(0s)} Nc6 {(0s)} 3. Bb5 {(0s)} Nf6 {(2s)} 4. O-O {(2s)} Nxe4 {(1s)} 5. d4 {(1s)} Nd6 {(2s)} 6. Bxc6 {(1s)} dxc6 {(1s)} 7. dxe5 {(1s)} Nf5 {(2s)} 8. Qxd8+ {(2s)} Kxd8 {(1s)} 9. h3 {(1s)} Ke8 {(30s)} 10. Nc3 {(1s)} h5 {(1s)} 11. Ne2 {(205s)} b6 {(5s)} 12. Rd1 {(2s)} Be7 {(2s)} 13. Bg5 {(65s)} Bb7 {(29s)} 14. Bxe7 {(78s)} Kxe7 {(2s)} 15. Ned4 {(4s)} Nxd4 {(99s)} 16. Nxd4 {( 35s)} c5 {(4s)} 17. Nb5 {(2s)} Rhc8 {(115s)} 18. f4 {(41s)} Bc6 {(41s)} 19. Nc3 {(67s)} Ke6 {(13s)} 20. Kf2 {(8s)} h4 {(119s)} 21. a4 {(563s)} Kf5 {(246s)} 22. Ke3 {(58s)} Re8 {(339s)} 23. Nd5 {(84s)} Rac8 {(15s)} 24. Rd2 {(35s)} f6 {(37s)} 25. Rf1 {(8s)} fxe5 {(15s)} 26. fxe5+ {(1s)} Kg5 {(18s)} 27. Nc3 {(48s)} Rxe5+ {(21s)} 28. Kf2 {(0s)} Rf8+ {(79s)} 29. Kg1 {(1s)} Rxf1+ {(5s)} 30. Kxf1 {(1s)} Rf5+ {(5s)} 31. Kg1 {(7s)} Rf4 {(32s)} 32. Re2 {(64s)} Kf6 {(23s)} 33. b3 {(14s)} a6 {(33s)} 34. Nd1 {(33s)} Bd5 {(49s)} 35. c4 {(87s)} Be6 {(16s)} 36. a5 {(1s)} Rd4 {(28s)} 37. Nf2 {(2s)} Bf5 {(9s)} 38. Ra2 {(16s)} Rd6 {(1s)} 39. Kf1 {(24s)} Ke5 {(7s)} 40. Re2+ {(8s)} Kf4 {(18s)} 41. Ra2 {(52s)} g5 {(3s)} 42. Ke1 {(8s)} Re6+ {(32s)} 43. Kf1 {(1s)} Re3 {(4s)} 0-1 [Event "7th London Classic 2015 TB"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "10.2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D76"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "118"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "1500+5"] 1. d4 {(0s)} Nf6 {(0s)} 2. c4 {(0s)} g6 {(0s)} 3. Nc3 {(1s)} d5 {(0s)} 4. cxd5 {(4s)} Nxd5 {(0s)} 5. g3 {(1s)} Bg7 {(6s)} 6. Bg2 {(2s)} Nb6 {(3s)} 7. Nf3 {(3s)} Nc6 {(3s)} 8. e3 {(7s)} O-O {(2s)} 9. O-O {(2s)} Re8 {(18s)} 10. b3 {(3s)} e5 {(37s)} 11. Nxe5 {(7s)} Nxe5 {(8s)} 12. dxe5 {(1s)} Bxe5 {(2s)} 13. Bb2 {(3s)} Qe7 {(112s)} 14. Qc2 {(43s)} c6 {(9s)} 15. Rad1 {(32s)} Bg4 {(2s)} 16. f3 {(56s)} Be6 {(25s)} 17. f4 {(81s)} Bg7 {(3s)} 18. e4 {(8s)} Rad8 {(61s)} 19. e5 {(14s)} Bg4 {(146s)} 20. Bf3 {(103s)} Rxd1 {(139s)} 21. Qxd1 {(9s)} Rd8 {(1s)} 22. Qe2 {(20s)} Bxf3 {(77s)} 23. Rxf3 {(61s)} f6 {(108s)} 24. exf6 {(288s)} Qxe2 {(115s)} 25. Nxe2 {(2s)} Bf8 {(1s)} 26. Bd4 {(171s)} Kf7 {(10s)} 27. Rc3 {( 19s)} Nd5 {(17s)} 28. Rc4 {(65s)} Nxf6 {(2s)} 29. Kg2 {(30s)} Nd5 {(132s)} 30. Kf3 {(19s)} a5 {(21s)} 31. Bc5 {(46s)} Bg7 {(173s)} 32. Bd4 {(46s)} Bf8 {(1s)} 33. Bc5 {(1s)} Bh6 {(107s)} 34. Rd4 {(5s)} Bg7 {(16s)} 35. Rd2 {(19s)} a4 {(11s)} 36. Bd4 {(118s)} Bxd4 {(105s)} 37. Rxd4 {(26s)} axb3 {(1s)} 38. axb3 {(1s)} Ra8 {(1s)} 39. Rd3 {(12s)} Ra2 {(13s)} 40. h3 {(34s)} Rb2 {(2s)} 41. Nd4 {(5s)} h5 {( 31s)} 42. f5 {(72s)} g5 {(14s)} 43. Ne6 {(12s)} Kf6 {(51s)} 44. Nd8 {(4s)} Rh2 {(45s)} 45. Nxb7 {(53 s)} Rxh3 {(1s)} 46. Nd6 {(127s)} Rh2 {(21s)} 47. Ke4 {(11s)} Re2+ {(12s)} 48. Kd4 {(6s)} Ne7 {(4s)} 49. Kc5 {(36s)} g4 {(17s)} 50. Kb6 {(12s)} Re5 {(8s)} 51. Kc7 {(8s)} c5 {(10s)} 52. Nc4 {(27s)} Rxf5 {(7s)} 53. Rd6+ {(12s)} Kg5 {(2s)} 54. Re6 {(2s)} Nd5+ {(18s)} 55. Kd6 {(7s)} h4 {(11s)} 56. gxh4+ {( 5s)} Kxh4 {(1s)} 57. Ne5 {(4s)} Nf4 {(14s)} 58. Rh6+ {(6s)} Kg5 {(1s)} 59. Rh8 {(1s)} Rxe5 {(3s)} 0-1 [Event "7th London Classic 2015 TB"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "10.3"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A30"] [WhiteElo "2784"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 c5 8. e3 d6 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. Rd1 e6 11. Nc3 Qe7 12. d4 Rad8 13. Qc2 d5 14. Ne5 cxd4 15. exd4 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Ng4 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Bxd5 Nxe5 19. Qe4 Bc8 20. Re1 Bf5 21. Qe3 Qc5 22. Rad1 Bg4 23. Rb1 Bf5 24. Be4 Nd3 25. Qxc5 bxc5 26. Bxd3 Rxd3 27. Na4 Rd2 28. Bxg7 Kxg7 29. Rb2 Rfd8 30. Re2 Rd1+ 31. Kg2 c4 32. bxc4 Bd3 33. Re7 Bxc4 34. Re3 R8d6 35. a3 Bf1+ 36. Kf3 Rf6+ 37. Ke4 Re6+ 38. Kf3 Rf6+ 39. Ke4 Re6+ 40. Kf3 Rf6+ 41. Kg4 Rd4+ 0-1 [Event "7th London Classic 2015 TB"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.13"] [Round "11.1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B52"] [WhiteElo "2834"] [BlackElo "2773"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bg7 9. f3 O-O 10. Be3 Nc6 11. Rc1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Rfc8 13. b3 Nh5 14. O-O Bxd4+ 15. Qxd4 Nf6 16. Rfe1 Rc7 17. Rcd1 Qc6 18. Nb5 Rd7 19. Nxa7 Qc5 20. Qxc5 dxc5 21. Nb5 Rxa2 22. e5 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Nh5 24. g3 Rb2 25. Rd8+ Kg7 26. Re8 Rb1+ 27. Kg2 Rb2+ 28. Kg1 Rb1+ 29. Kg2 Rb2+ 30. Kh3 e6 31. Re7 Rxb3 32. Kg4 Kf8 33. Rxb7 h6 34. Rc7 f5+ 35. exf6 Nxf6+ 36. Kf4 g5+ 37. Ke5 Ne8 38. Rxc5 Re3+ 39. Kd4 Rxf3 40. Re5 Rf2 41. Rxe6 Rxh2 42. c5 h5 43. Nd6 Nxd6 44. cxd6 Kf7 45. Re3 h4 46. g4 h3 47. Ke5 Rh1 48. d7 Ke7 49. Kf5+ Kxd7 50. Kxg5 Kd6 51. Kh5 Rf1 52. Rxh3 Ke7 53. Kg6 Rf6+ 54. Kg7 Rf7+ 55. Kg6 Rf6+ 56. Kg5 Ra6 57. Rf3 1-0 [Event "7th London Classic 2015 TB"] [Site "London"] [Date "2015.12.14"] [Round "11.2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2834"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [TimeControl "1500+5"] 1. c4 {(0s)} Nf6 {(4s)} 2. Nc3 {(0s)} c5 {(2s)} 3. Nf3 {(11s)} e6 {(4s)} 4. e4 {(17s)} Nc6 {(11s)} 5. Be2 {(1s)} e5 {(47s)} 6. d3 {(13s)} d6 {(2s)} 7. a3 {(2s)} Be7 {(26s)} 8. b4 {(3s)} b6 {(87s)} 9. O-O {( 28s)} O-O {(4s)} 10. Rb1 {(172s)} Nd4 {(129s)} 11. bxc5 {(1s)} bxc5 {(11s)} 12. Bg5 {(40s)} Be6 {(76 s)} 13. Rb7 {(23s)} Nd7 {(77s)} 14. Bxe7 {(32s)} Qxe7 {(3s)} 15. Qa4 {(141s)} Nb6 {(443s)} 16. Qa6 {(2s)} Bc8 {(7s)} 17. Rxe7 {(2s)} Bxa6 {(1s)} 18. Rb1 {(22s)} Rfb8 {(71s)} 19. Kf1 {(56s)} Kf8 {(194s)} 20. Rc7 {(2s)} Ne6 {(49s)} 21. Rc6 {(2s)} Rd8 {(11s)} 22. a4 {(149s)} Bb7 {(10s)} 23. Rcxb6 {(2s)} axb6 {(2s)} 24. Rxb6 {(1s)} Bc8 {(10s)} 25. Bd1 {(20s)} Ra6 {(2s)} 26. Rb2 {(8s)} Bd7 {(1s)} 27. g3 {(52s)} Bc6 {(8s)} 28. Ke1 {(5s)} Rda8 {(16s)} 29. Ra2 {(10s)} Rb6 {(21s)} 30. Kd2 {(2s)} g6 {(5s)} 31. Kc1 {(22s)} Nd4 {(20s)} 32. Nd2 {(19s)} Rb4 {(11s)} 33. Rb2 {(7s)} Rab8 {(45s)} 34. Nb5 {(5s)} Rxb2 {(11s)} 35. Kxb2 {(2s)} Ke7 {(2s)} 36. Kc3 {(15s)} Bd7 {(9s)} 37. f4 {(11s)} f6 {(44s)} 38. Nf1 {(32s)} exf4 {(40s)} 39. gxf4 {(1s)} Ne6 {(25s)} 40. f5 {(1s)} gxf5 {(1s)} 41. Ne3 {(36s)} Nf4 {(4s)} 42. exf5 {(112s)} Bc6 {(2s)} 43. d4 {(21s)} Be4 {(45s)} 44. d5 {(29s)} Ng2 {(10s)} 45. Nxg2 {(58s)} Bxg2 {(2s)} 46. Bc2 {(23s)} Bf3 {(42s)} 47. Kb3 {(6s)} Ra8 {(7s)} 48. Nc7 {(9s)} Ra7 {(11s)} 49. Nb5 {(1s)} Ra8 {(1s)} 50. Nc7 {(1s)} Ra7 {(1s)} 51. Nb5 1/2-1/2

Standings after nine rounds

Schedule of the London Chess Classic 2015

Round 1 Friday 4 Dec, 16.00-23.00
Veselin Topalov
0-1
Anish Giri
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura
M Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
Fabiano Caruana
½-½
Levon Aronian
Viswanathan Anand
½-½
Michael Adams
 
Round 2 Sat. 5 Dec, 14.00-21.00
Anish Giri
½-½
Michael Adams
Levon Aronian
½-½
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
M Vachier-Lagrave
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Alexander Grischuk
Round 3 Sunday 6 Dec, 14.00-21.00
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
Anish Giri
M Vachier-Lagrave 
1-0
Veselin Topalov
Fabiano Caruana
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura
Viswanathan Anand
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
Michael Adams
½-½
Levon Aronian
 
Round 4 Monday 7 Dec, 16.00-23.00
Anish Giri
½-½
Levon Aronian
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Michael Adams
Hikaru Nakamura
1-0
Viswanathan Anand
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
M Vachier-Lagrave
Round 5 Tuesday 8 Dec, 16.00-23.00
M Vachier-Lagrave 
½-½
Anish Giri
Fabiano Caruana
½-½
Alexander Grischuk
Viswanathan Anand
1-0
Veselin Topalov
Michael Adams
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura
Levon Aronian
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
 
Wednesday 9 Dec – Free day
Round 6 Thursday 10 Dec, 16.00-23.00
Anish Giri
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Levon Aronian
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Michael Adams
Alexander Grischuk
1-0
Viswanathan Anand
M Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
 
Round 7 Friday 11 Dec, 16.00-23.00
Fabiano Caruana
½-½
Anish Giri
Viswanathan Anand
0-1
M Vachier-Lagrave
Michael Adams
½-½
Alexander Grischuk
Levon Aronian
1-0
Veselin Topalov
Magnus Carlsen
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura
Round 8 Saturday 12 Dec, 14.00-21.00
Anish Giri
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
Levon Aronian
M Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
Michael Adams
Fabiano Caruana
½-½
Viswanathan Anand
 
Round 9 Sunday 13 Dec, 14.00-21.00
Viswanathan Anand
½-½
Anish Giri
Michael Adams
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Levon Aronian
½-½
M Vachier-Lagrave
Magnus Carlsen
1-0
Alexander Grischuk
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Veselin Topalov

Live commentary on Playchess

Day and round English German
13.12 Sunday Round 9 Yannick Pelletier Oliver Reeh/Martin Breutigam

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