4/26/2015 – Wesley So started crushing the field with 3.5/4. Viswanathan Anand had a wonderful performance, a fantastic near 2900 TPR that will put him on second place in the in the next rating list. However, at the end of the day, it is still all about Magnus Carlsen. A near 3000 performance, a full point ahead of second place, the best player in the World won again.
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Unlock the secrets of one of the most resilient and strategic openings in chess with our comprehensive video course, “The Caro-Kann Defence.”
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The Vugar Gashimov Memorial, is being held in Shamkir, Azerbaijan, from the 17th to the 26th of April, in memory of the great Vugar Gashimov, who passed away on the 10th of January 2014. The tournament consists of some of the strongest players in the World: reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, former World Champions Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, as well as, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Michael Adams, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Rauf Mamedov will compete in this prominent event.
Final Round
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
2754
½-½
Adams Michael
2746
Caruana Fabiano
2802
½-½
Anand Viswanathan
2791
Carlsen Magnus
2863
1-0
Mamedov Rauf
2651
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime
2762
½-½
So Wesley
2788
Giri Anish
2790
½-½
Kramnik Vladimir
2783
Play of the day
Everyone ready for the final round
Video by Vijay Kumar
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ Adams, Michael Adams had no problems getting equality. White's advantage was reduced to nothing when the opposite colored bishops appeared on the board and neither Black's nor White's king was remotely weak.
A solid final game for both players
Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ Anand, Viswanathan The double Fianchetto set-up in this Queen's Indian style Reti gave White very little. Due to his central pawns White's position was a little better, but it was not sufficient to put Anand in any real danger. The resulting endgame was easily held by the Indian player. Anand finishes with a great performance, a clear second place and his re-entry into the 2800 club.
Vishy Anand: 2804 in the next rating list
Carlsen, Magnus 1-0 Mamedov, Rauf Mamedov was doing a good job of holding on to his position after his opening left him a little bit worse. White's pressure on the open b-file and the bishop against the knight gave him good chances to press, but the Azerbaijani was doing an excellent job defending. That is, until a blunder:
No questions asked: the clear winner, Magnus Carlsen, just shy of a 3000 performance
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34.Rd6Qe5??inexplicably weakening the seventh rank.34...Re535.Qc2Re4and White is still doing a little better, but proving it would require Carlsen-like technique... and a lot of patience and mistakes by the opponent.35.Qf7Now Black is getting mated, for example:35.Qxb7Rc436.Rd1Rxc537.Qxa6Qc3should be holdable, and what Mamedov expected.35.Qf7Qxc535...Qe8is relatively the best move, but after36.Qxf5+is hopeless. Black's king is too weak and he is down a pawn for no reason.36.Qg6+Kg837.Rd8++-1–0
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ So, Wesley So's position was a little uncomfortable from this Caro-Kann. In the endgame the passed a-pawn caused Black some serious issues, and he had to deactivate his rook to stop it. However, his bishop came into the defense in time, and after swapping off the defender of the a-pawn (the light square bishop) So hold the endgame with accurate defense.
So's spectacular start allowed him to tie for third despite not winning a game in the last five rounds
Giri, Anish ½-½ Kramnik, Vladimir What a marathon. A game that took several time controls, in which Giri was pushing the entire game. He actually missed a win:
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76.Ke8Kg677.Ra4?77.Rd7!Ra377...Rxd778.exd7Nc679.Ne7+ loses instantly.78.e7Kg7otherwise Kf8 and e8=Q.78...Nc679.Rd6+Kg780.Rxc6!Kxg881.Kd7wins.79.Rd4!Hitting the knight and threatening Rg4+.Ra8+79...Kxg880.Rg4+Kh781.Rxb4+-80.Kd7Kxg881.e8Q+!81.Rxb4Ra7+=is a draw due to checking on the "long side" - Lucena position theory.81...Rxe882.Kxe8Nc683.Re4and the knight is cut off from the king. The win is not too difficult.77...Nd578.Rg4+Kf579.Nxh6+Kxe680.Re4+Kf6There is not enough material to win.½–½
The games are being 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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Alejandro RamirezGrandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.
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