Sinquefield 09: Aronian wins tournament

by Alejandro Ramirez
9/2/2015 – Aronian had no trouble holding a draw today against Topalov, all he needed to crown himself as the winner of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup, and the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour. If anything, Aronian was the one playing for an advantage for a large part of the game. Caruana had a winning position against So, but was unable to convert. Nakamura pushed hard against Grischuk and won a long game...
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2015 Sinquefield Cup

This super-GM single Round Robin brings together some of the best players in the world. This is the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

The players – Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Viswanathan Anand (India), Wesley So (USA).

The venue is the Chess Club and Scholastic Center at 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108. Tickets can be purchased at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

Round Nine

Round Nine
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Topalov, Veselin 2816
½-½
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793

Daniel King shows the highlights of round 9

All eyes were on only one game today, as if Aronian didn't lose this game the tournament would simply be over; no matter what happened in the other games, the tournament would be claimed by the Armenian superstar. That being said, the players themselves were fighting for those valuable Grand Chess Tour points and higher position in the standings. Don't forget, after all, there is a big pay difference between second and fifth!

The first result of round nine was, for many, rather predictable. Levon Aronian is known to be a magnificent defender and one that is sure to prepare his black sides to a dead equal position. He didn’t quite do that today, but he was very well-versed in the dubious variation of the Ragozin that Topalov employed, trying to catch him off-guard. Aronian even enjoyed a slightly better position but allowed his opponent to execute a perpetual check to end the game.

Topalov and Aronian played a game, but it was the Armenian calling the shots

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1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.Qa4+ Nc6 7.a3 A variation that scores rather badly for White, Topalov must have had some kind of special idea. Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Qd5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd2 White will have some compensation for his pawn thanks to the central majority and a slightly weakened kingside, but it should not be enough. If anything Black has real chances to play for an advantage, as the score of this line proves. b5 11.Qc2 a6 12.e4 Qd7 13.g3 Bb7 14.Bg2 Ne7 Aronian mentioned after the game that he was very happy with the opening... "I didn't have to think! just put the knight on e7, a rook on d8 and go c5, what else can I do?". 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rfd1 Rad8 17.a4 c5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Nf3 Qc7 20.Rab1 f5 Black really has no problems, and this advance forces White to start thinking about not falling into a clearly worse position. 21.exf5 Nxf5 22.Rxb5 Bxf3 23.Bxf3 cxd4 24.Qc1 dxc3 forcing the draw 24...Qe7 was worth considering, but Aronian thought he shouldn't get too clever... 25.Be4!= 25.Rb4 Rc8 24...Kh8 was what Topalov was afraid of, but there is a clear draw here... 25.cxd4 Nxd4 26.Rxd4 Rxd4 27.Qh6! Qe7 28.Rb7= Qd8 25.Rxf5 Rxd1+ 26.Bxd1 exf5 27.Qg5+ Kh8 28.Qf6+ Kg8 29.Qg5+ And with that Aronian becomes the 2015 Sinquefield Champion. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Topalov,V2816Aronian,L2765½–½2015D393rd Sinquefield Cup 20159

2015 Sinquefield Cup winner Levon Aronian with Maurice Ashley

In the game between Anand and Carlsen, and much like their World Championship matches, the Norwegian decided to stick to his Berlin defense. Both players played rather slowly, perhaps unfamiliar with the variation. Anand mentioned looking at this variation in the past but could not recall the specifics. Carlsen was able to trade into an opposite-colored bishop position and draw the game.

Carlsen could have pressured Aronian had he not
lost to Grischuk, or blown his game against Nakamura!

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 h5 10.Nc3 Be7 11.Rd1+ Ke8 12.Ne2 Nh4 13.Nxh4 Bxh4 Both players took a long time to get to this position, but it had all been played before. 14.f3 Bf5 15.Nd4 15.c3 Bc2 16.Rd2 Bf5 17.g4 Be6 was fine for Black in Leko-Radjabov, 2014. The Azeri won that game in the long run. 15...Bg6 16.Bf4 Be7 17.g4 Anand mentioned that he had looked at this idea with f3 and g4, but must have botched it up at some point. Rd8 18.Kg2 hxg4 19.hxg4 Bc5 20.c3 Bxd4 21.Rxd4 Rxd4 22.cxd4 Ke7 White retains some chances of creating an advantage if he can push f4-f5, but it looks difficult to achieve... and when it does, still the advantage is not that clear. 23.Rc1 Ke6 24.Be3 f6 Now the draw is obvious. The structural advantage is meaningless with the opposite colored bishops on the board. 25.exf6 gxf6 26.Bd2 Rd8 27.Bc3 Kf7 28.Kg3 Re8 29.Rh1 Bd3 30.Re1 Rxe1 31.Bxe1 Bc4 32.a3 b6 33.Kf4 a5 34.Ke3 a4 35.Bg3 b5 36.Bxc7 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2816Carlsen,M2853½–½2015C673rd Sinquefield Cup 20159

Anand started slow and could not really recover

Vachier-Lagrave had perhaps a slight advantage against Giri after sacrificing a pawn, or at least that is what most grandmasters thought. The Dutch player himself thought that it was Black playing for the advantage! After a couple of careless moves from MVL, it was indeed Giri who was slightly better; unfortunately it was never anything special. The game dissolved into a drawn rook endgame.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.d4 Bb6 9.Be3 0-0 10.Nbd2 h6 11.h3 Re8 12.Re1 Rb8 12...exd4 was seen by MVL recently in his game against Svidler back in March. That game was drawn. 13.a3 Na5 14.Ba2 exd4 14...c5 was Areschenko-Fedorchuk in 2012. 15.Bxd4 15.cxd4 Nxe4 16.Bxh6 is complicated, but not necessarily better for White. 15...Nc6 16.Bxb6 Rxb6 17.c4 Black's position looks good, but perhaps his next move was not the best b4 17...Be6= 18.c5! A nice move. At the cost of a pawn White's pieces gain activity and Black's structure really suffers dxc5 19.e5 Nh7 19...Nh5 is more active 20.Ne4 Qe7 20...Qxd1 21.Raxd1 b3 22.Bb1 c4 23.Nc3 Nf4 24.Re4 21.Nf6+ Nxf6 22.exf6 Qd8 20.Ne4 Qxd1 21.Raxd1 b3 21...bxa3 22.bxa3 Rb2 23.Bc4 Nf8 24.Nxc5 Rc2 25.Rc1 Nxe5 26.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Bb1 c4 23.Nc3 Slightly better for White, despite the missing pawn. Black's structure is weak and it will take some time to remaneuver all the pieces. However, White doesn't have anything that is clear yet. Nf8 24.Be4 Ne7 25.Na4?! This idea simply improves Black's position. Rb5 26.Nd4 Ra5 awkward but good enough, otherwise Black is just too active. 27.Nc3 g5 27...Nfg6! 28.Nc6 Nxc6 29.Bxc6 Rf8 28.Bf3 28.g3 Nfg6! 28...Ne6 28...Kg7 29.Be2 Rc5= 29.Nc6 Nxc6 29...Rc5 30.Nxe7+ Rxe7 31.Nd5 Kf8! Was an idea to retain equality. 30.Bxc6 Rf8 31.Bd5 Nf4 32.Bxc4 Be6 33.Bxe6 Nxe6 34.Re3 Kg7 35.Ne2 Rb8 36.Nd4 Nxd4 37.Rxd4 Re8 The rook endgame is now very drawish. Both sides have real weaknesses. 38.f4 gxf4 39.Rxf4 Rexe5 40.Rxb3 Rab5 41.Rbf3 f5 42.b4 a5 43.Rc3 c5 44.bxc5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier-Lagrave,M2731Giri,A2793½–½2015C783rd Sinquefield Cup 20159

Giri is just a bit too solid: eight draws!

Caruana had a crushing position against So basically from the opening. The engines were screaming that Black was basically lost, but Caruana kept giving So opportunities to get back into the game. At the end of the day, enough mistakes allowed So to solidify his position and hold onto a draw. 

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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 g6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Qxd4 Bg7 8.Nc3 d6 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.Rac1 Rc8 11.b3 a6 12.Rfd1 0-0 13.Qh4 Re8 This position is without a doubt Karjakin's specialty. He has proven that it is very solid and difficult for White to do anything. 13...Rc7 is another possibility. 14.Bh3 Rc7 14...Ba8 is what Karjakin has been playing lately, aiming for a quick b5. 15.g4 Qa8 These players also took a long, long time to get to this position, despite being played in several high profile games. Topalov mentioned that he thought this idea of Qa8 was "basically losing". 16.Bd4 h6 17.g5 hxg5 18.Nxg5 e6 19.Be3 Clearly something is wrong for Black. For starters, d6 is very hard to defend, and h7 being weak is annoying. Qb8 20.Bf4 Bf8 20...e5 offered more resistance if Caruana found the right way, but it looks positionally disastrous. 21.Rxd6? 21.Bxd6! was already almost decisive. For example: Bxd6 22.Rxd6 White's up a pawn, but the tactics don't work for Black Rxc4 23.bxc4 Qxd6 24.Qh8+! The point. Kxh8 25.Nxf7+ Kg7 26.Nxd6+- 21...e5 Now the game is rather complicated 22.Rxd7 exf4 23.Rcd1 Bg7?! 24.R7d3 24.R7d6!± 24...Rce7 25.Bg2 Bxg2 26.Kxg2 Nh5 27.Nd5 Rx Rxe2 28.Qg4 Qd6 The position nis completely unclear. Black has some activity, but his knight on h5 isn't great and White has a powerful one on d5. 29.Qf3 Qc5 30.R3d2 R2e5 31.h4 b5 32.Rc2 b4 I don't know what So gained from closing down the queenside like this. 33.Rcd2 a5 34.Qg4 Bh6 35.Kf1 Rf5 N 36.Nf3 Bg7 By this point the players were in serious time pressure. 37.Qg2 a4 38.Rd3 Qa5 39.Ng5 axb3 40.axb3 Bf8 The last move of time pressure, but it lands Black in a little bit of trouble 41.Qf3 Bc5 42.Ne4 Kg7 43.Nxc5 Qxc5 44.Rd4 Kh6 45.Qd3 Kh7 46.Qf3 Re6 47.Kg1 The computers prefer White, but neither side saw a good way of improving their position. Qa5 48.Kg2 Kh6 49.R1d3 Qd8 50.Qg4 ½–½
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Caruana,F2808So,W2779½–½2015A303rd Sinquefield Cup 20159

The final game of the tournament was the duel between Nakamura and Grischuk. The American won more out of sheer willpower than anything else. Grischuk’s mistakes in the second time trouble gave Nakamura a winning attack. Even though he did not play the most precise moves, Nakamura was still able to take the point home.

Nakamura ground down Grischuk in a long game. He regains #2 in the World in the live ratings!

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1.e4 9 Robot c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.0-0 a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 Bb7 8.Re1 Rc8 A position that Grischuk has seen many times, including thrice last year in top level play. 9.a4 b4 10.a5 Nakamura's improvement, binding the queenside. 10.d4 cxd4 11.cxd4 Qc7 Karjakin-Grischuk, 2014. 10...Qc7 A very natural move - d4 is not possible to play (at least if White wants to keep his dual pawn center). 11.d3 bxc3 12.bxc3 e6 13.h3 Be7 14.Bf4 0-0 15.Nbd2 Bc6 16.Nc4 Bb5 17.Nfd2 17.e5 dxe5?! 17...Nxe5! 18.Nfxe5 Nd5 18.Nfxe5! Nd5 19.Ng6! and White wins an exchange in all variations, Black doesn't have enough compensation Qd8 19...Nxf4 20.Nxe7+ Kh8 21.Nxc8± 20.Nxf8 Nxf4 21.Nxd7± 17...Rfd8 18.Bg3 Ne8 19.Kh2 Rb8 20.Ne3 Ne5 21.Qe2 Nc6 22.Nb3 Ne5 23.Nd2 Nc6 24.Ndc4 Fightinf for a win, very much in Nakamura style. Black should be ok though. Nf6 25.Kh1 Ne5 26.f4?! 26.Nxe5 dxe5 gives Black too much pressure down the d-file. 26.Na3 seemed more sensible. 26...Nxc4 27.dxc4 Bc6 28.Nd1 g6 Black's better pawn structure should be enough for a slight edge. 29.Bh2 Nh5 30.Qe3 Bh4 31.g3 Be7 32.Kg1 Re8 33.e5 Ng7 33...Ba8 preparing Qc6, is worthy of attention. 34.g4 f5‼ 35.gxh5 Qc6 with crazy variations. 34.g4 f5 35.exf6 Bxf6 36.Nf2 Bh4?! strange to exchange the pair of bishops. 37.Re2 Bxf2+? 37...Rb2∞ 38.Rxf2 Rf8 39.Bg3 Rbe8 40.Kh2 Rf7 41.Rd1 Rd7 42.Rfd2 White's pair of bishops should give him a preferable position, but Black remains solid. Qd8 43.h4!? Starting a kingside attack! Rf8 44.Rf2 Kh8 45.Rb1! A very strong move, forcing the queen away from the kingside. Textbook distraction! Qxa5 46.h5 Marching forward is the only way of making progress for White. With the pair of bishops backing the threats, it's hard to defend for Grischuk. gxh5 47.f5 exf5 48.gxf5 Qd8 48...Ne8 49.Rb8 h4! 50.Bxh4 Rdf7 gives Black a bad position, but it's the best he could hope for. 49.f6! Ne8 49...Rxf6 50.Rxf6 Qxf6 51.Rb8+ Rd8 52.Qd3! with a huge attack on the kingside. 50.Bh4 Rdf7 51.Qh6 Rg8 52.Re1? 52.Rg1 was the most precise Rxg1 52...Qc7 53.Rxg8+ Kxg8 54.Bf5+- 53.Kxg1+- The threat is Bxh7, crushing. Nc7 54.Qg7+!+- 52...d5 53.Qxh5 53.Re6! Qc7+ 54.Qf4 54.Rf4! 54...Rg4 55.Qxc7 Rxh4+ 56.Kg3 Rg4+ 57.Kh3 Nxc7! 58.Rxc6 Rxc4 59.Bd1± 53...Qd6+ 54.Re5 d4 55.cxd4?! 55.Bg3! Nxf6 56.Qxf7 Ng4+ 57.Kg1 Qh6 58.Qxh7+ Qxh7 59.Bxh7 Kxh7 is not for humans. 55...Qxd4 56.Re7 Rxe7 57.fxe7 Qd6+ 57...Qg7! 58.Kh3 Bd7+? 58...Qe6+! 59.Bf5 Qe3+ controlling f3 is important in this position 59.Bf5 Qd3+ 60.Rf3! Bxf5+ 61.Qxf5 now the pawn on e7 is worth its weight in gold. or it will when it promotes! Qxf5+ 62.Rxf5 Kg7 Black is up a pawn, but he can't coordinate his pieces... as we will see this costs him every other pawn he has! 63.Bg3 h6 64.Be5+ Kh7 65.Rf7+ Kg6 66.Rf8 Kh7 67.Bf4! A beautiful move a5 68.Bxh6 a4 69.Be3 a3 70.Bxc5 a2 71.Bd4 Nc7 72.Ba1 Ne8 73.c5 Nc7 74.c6 Ne8 75.Kh4 Nc7 76.Kh5 Ne8 77.c7 Black can't take the pawn because of Rf7. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2814Grischuk,A27711–02015B513rd Sinquefield Cup 20159

The festivities are not over yet in Saint Louis. Tomorrow is the closing ceremony, and in the final day we will have Ultimate Moves with Team Randy and Team Rex!

The two captains drafting their teams

Standings

Round nine games

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1.e41,166,62354%2421---
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1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 Robot 9 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.0-0 a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.c3 b5 7.Bc2 Bb7 8.Re1 Rc8 A position that Grischuk has seen many times, including thrice last year in top level play. 9.a4 b4 10.a5 Nakamura's improvement, binding the queenside. 10.d4 cxd4 11.cxd4 Qc7 Karjakin-Grischuk, 2014. 10...Qc7 A very natural move - d4 is not possible to play (at least if White wants to keep his dual pawn center). 11.d3 bxc3 12.bxc3 e6 13.h3 Be7 14.Bf4 0-0 15.Nbd2 Bc6 16.Nc4 Bb5 17.Nfd2 17.e5 dxe5?! 17...Nxe5! 18.Nfxe5 Nd5 18.Nfxe5! Nd5 19.Ng6! and White wins an exchange in all variations, Black doesn't have enough compensation Qd8 19...Nxf4 20.Nxe7+ Kh8 21.Nxc8± 20.Nxf8 Nxf4 21.Nxd7± 17...Rfd8 18.Bg3 Ne8 19.Kh2 Rb8 20.Ne3 Ne5 21.Qe2 Nc6 22.Nb3 Ne5 23.Nd2 Nc6 24.Ndc4 Fightinf for a win, very much in Nakamura style. Black should be ok though. Nf6 25.Kh1 Ne5 26.f4?! 26.Nxe5 dxe5 gives Black too much pressure down the d-file. 26.Na3 seemed more sensible. 26...Nxc4 27.dxc4 Bc6 28.Nd1 g6 Black's better pawn structure should be enough for a slight edge. 29.Bh2 Nh5 30.Qe3 Bh4 31.g3 Be7 32.Kg1 Re8 33.e5 Ng7 33...Ba8 preparing Qc6, is worthy of attention. 34.g4 f5‼ 35.gxh5 Qc6 with crazy variations. 34.g4 f5 35.exf6 Bxf6 36.Nf2 Bh4?! strange to exchange the pair of bishops. 37.Re2 Bxf2+? 37...Rb2∞ 38.Rxf2 Rf8 39.Bg3 Rbe8 40.Kh2 Rf7 41.Rd1 Rd7 42.Rfd2 White's pair of bishops should give him a preferable position, but Black remains solid. Qd8 43.h4!? Starting a kingside attack! Rf8 44.Rf2 Kh8 45.Rb1! A very strong move, forcing the queen away from the kingside. Textbook distraction! Qxa5 46.h5 Marching forward is the only way of making progress for White. With the pair of bishops backing the threats, it's hard to defend for Grischuk. gxh5 47.f5 exf5 48.gxf5 Qd8 48...Ne8 49.Rb8 h4! 50.Bxh4 Rdf7 gives Black a bad position, but it's the best he could hope for. 49.f6! Ne8 49...Rxf6 50.Rxf6 Qxf6 51.Rb8+ Rd8 52.Qd3! with a huge attack on the kingside. 50.Bh4 Rdf7 51.Qh6 Rg8 52.Re1? 52.Rg1 was the most precise Rxg1 52...Qc7 53.Rxg8+ Kxg8 54.Bf5+- 53.Kxg1+- The threat is Bxh7, crushing. Nc7 54.Qg7+!+- 52...d5 53.Qxh5 53.Re6! Qc7+ 54.Qf4 54.Rf4! 54...Rg4 55.Qxc7 Rxh4+ 56.Kg3 Rg4+ 57.Kh3 Nxc7! 58.Rxc6 Rxc4 59.Bd1± 53...Qd6+ 54.Re5 d4 55.cxd4?! 55.Bg3! Nxf6 56.Qxf7 Ng4+ 57.Kg1 Qh6 58.Qxh7+ Qxh7 59.Bxh7 Kxh7 is not for humans. 55...Qxd4 56.Re7 Rxe7 57.fxe7 Qd6+ 57...Qg7! 58.Kh3 Bd7+? 58...Qe6+! 59.Bf5 Qe3+ controlling f3 is important in this position 59.Bf5 Qd3+ 60.Rf3! Bxf5+ 61.Qxf5 now the pawn on e7 is worth its weight in gold. or it will when it promotes! Qxf5+ 62.Rxf5 Kg7 Black is up a pawn, but he can't coordinate his pieces... as we will see this costs him every other pawn he has! 63.Bg3 h6 64.Be5+ Kh7 65.Rf7+ Kg6 66.Rf8 Kh7 67.Bf4! A beautiful move a5 68.Bxh6 a4 69.Be3 a3 70.Bxc5 a2 71.Bd4 Nc7 72.Ba1 Ne8 73.c5 Nc7 74.c6 Ne8 75.Kh4 Nc7 76.Kh5 Ne8 77.c7 Black can't take the pawn because of Rf7. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2814Grischuk,A27711–02015B513rd Sinquefield Cup 20159
Anand,V2816Carlsen,M2853½–½2015C673rd Sinquefield Cup 20159
Topalov,V2816Aronian,L2765½–½2015D393rd Sinquefield Cup 20159
Vachier-Lagrave,M2731Giri,A2793½–½2015C783rd Sinquefield Cup 20159
Caruana,F2808So,W2779½–½2015A303rd Sinquefield Cup 20159

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Photos by Lennart Ootes

Pairings

Round One
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Giri, Anish 2793
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Aronian, Levon 2765
1-0
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
0-1
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Round Two
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Topalov, Veselin 2816
1-0
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
0-1
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Round Three
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
So, Wesley 2779
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
1-0
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
½-½
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Round Four
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
½-½
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
½-½
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Round Five
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
1-0
 So, Wesley 2779
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Topalov, Veselin 2816
0-1
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Round Six
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
1-0
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
1-0
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Round Seven
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
½-½
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
0-1
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Topalov, Veselin 2816
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
0-1
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Round Eight
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
½-½
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
So, Wesley 2779
½-½
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Aronian, Levon 2765
½-½
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
½-½
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Round Nine
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Anand, Viswanathan 2816
½-½
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Topalov, Veselin 2816
½-½
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Giri, Anish 2793

Games start at 1 p.m. local time (20:00h CEST, 22:00h Moscow, Thursday 12:30 New Delhi, 03:00h Tokyo, 04:00 Canberra – check your location here).

Playoffs, if necessary, will be on the 2nd at 1pm.

The games will be broadcast live on Playchess, with expert analysis (see schedule below).

Broadcast Schedule

Day Date Time Event German
English
Sunday Aug. 23 1 PM Round 1 Thomas Luther   
Mihail Marin
Monday Aug. 24 1 PM Round 2 Calrstedt/Pähtz
Mihail Marin
Tuesday Aug. 25 1 PM Round 3 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Wednesday Aug. 26 1 PM Round 4 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Thursday Aug. 27 1 PM Round 5 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Friday Aug. 28 Rest Day
Saturday Aug. 29 1 PM Round 6 Reeh/Breutigam
Y. Pelletier
Sunday Aug. 30 1 PM Round 7 Reeh/Breutigam
Y. Pelletier
Monday Aug. 31 1 PM Round 8 S. Siebrecht  
Daniel King
Tuesday Sept. 1 1 PM Round 9 Y. Pelletier
Daniel King
Wednesday Sept. 2 1 PM Playoffs  
 

Links

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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
 
Grandmaster 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.

Discuss

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QWlnaGVhcmFjaA%3D%3D QWlnaGVhcmFjaA%3D%3D 9/4/2015 06:22
Hey @Rfield, sorry you had to go all racist over Nakamura's name. But dude. He's from New York.

My name isn't Native American, either. I guess you wouldn't know I'm an American.

Also, immigrants in America are known as "Americans." There is no need to talk about their country of origin unless you're doing a bio piece on them. You weren't.

You might be shocked that some members of the Russian teams have been born in other countries, and don't even have full local rights because Russia doesn't grant that.

Carauna is certainly an American. He isn't an Italian-American, either. He's just an American. Who also has dual citizenship in Italy. But he never lived there. He doesn't even speak Italian! He has a history of living in Hungary, when not Florida. His parents, however, would be correctly described as Italian-Americans. Unless your name is Native American, it is from somewhere else, but we don't all run around being described as Irish-Scottish-English-Dutch-French-Americans. If you don't speak the language, you have no chance at all to earn a foreign national prefix.
guest1227491 guest1227491 9/3/2015 01:16
How on earth did Aronian ever go down to 2765?
Rfield Rfield 9/3/2015 12:58
GM So a Philippine emigrant to the US was unable to make a decent standing on his debut in category 22 event. He was the chess world favorite to be the strongest challenger to the reign of world champ MC. The behind the field result at 2015 S. Cup had not fully developed that expectations on him. GM Caruana a Italian-American born to its credit the champ of 2014 S. Cup was slightly in worst form than GM So. GM Naka a Jap-American born tops the three highly regarded American entry, but short on winning the 2015 S. Cup. Congratulations and no losses to: GMs Aronian & Geri.
Aighearach Aighearach 9/2/2015 09:02
I also would have pressured Aronian, if I had lost less games and won more also.

Indeed, not only Carlsen but every player; a glance at the crosstable tells me that if Wesley So had had a few different results, he would have been "pressuring" the leaders too.

I think we can say that in tournament where player X didn't come in first... if his or her games had different results, they would have had a different outcome... or at least, "pressured" those with better outcomes. It seems as if these "horse race" type ideas might have no meaning at all in chess, where the actual outcomes on the field are the actual and official results.

I don't know if Aronian is the nicest Super-GM. But he has the best smile. And a world class "boyish grin" with just the right amounts of pride and embarrassment. He makes it almost surprising that Carlsen is the professional model of the bunch.

I doubt Anand would care about not winning a game. He came in near the bottom, didn't make much money in the event, and lost 13 rating points. He has worse things to worry about than just not having achieved a checklist item. Giri only won 1 game and tied for second place. Grischuk won 3 games, and tied for 6th place. I doubt Giri is wishing he'd just won some more games like Grischuk.
Rational Rational 9/2/2015 05:01
Credit to Nakamura for a win like that in the last round. Such a controlled finish.
CentrKentr CentrKentr 9/2/2015 04:56
Sometimes nice guys do finish first: Lev Aronian is the nicest super GM of all - fan friendly, good sense of humor. I've chatted with him at all three Sinquefield Cup events - just a great person.
stephen brady stephen brady 9/2/2015 04:25
Here's one line my Stockfish gives after 24. Nxf7! ... Rxd7 25. Bxd7 Kxf7 26. Bxe8+ Kxe8 27. Qg5 Kf7 28. Rd4 f3 29. exf3 Bxf3 30. Rd3 Bg4 31. Ne4 Nxe4 32. Qxg4
stephen brady stephen brady 9/2/2015 04:18
In Caurana So, move 24 for white, how about Nxf7! Can someone check this for me?
Bojan KG Bojan KG 9/2/2015 11:58
High quality play by Levon, particularly with black pieces. MC was below par again but not as bad as he was in his homeland. Naka proved his status of chess fighter who never gives up - game with Magnus was typical example when he was on the ropes but managed to survive somehow. Grischuk too many ups and downs and again his time management is just catastrophic. Giri rock solid but nothing more - too many draws. MVL on recovery path. Topalov limited damage in the end to keep the lead in Grand Tour standings. Fabi, Vishy and So are not worth mentioning - poor performance from them. Fabi shadow of last year winner, Anand winless the whole tournament, So awful.
shatranjian shatranjian 9/2/2015 09:12
Congraduation LOVELY LEO.
VishyMagnus VishyMagnus 9/2/2015 08:21
Anand is the only player who didnt manage to win a single game in Sinquefield cup. Very dismal performance by Anand. He should have pulled atleast one victory.
amarpan amarpan 9/2/2015 04:28
It great to see Aronian back in business.
DJones DJones 9/2/2015 04:01
Stop making excuses for Vishy. The logistics dictate that in a SRR event with an even number of participants some players will get a rough draw. Norway used a blitz event to distribute the color draw and Sinquefiled Cup used a drawing of lots. London will probably use a color reversal of S.Cup. Anand will get his extra whites.
ulyssesganesh ulyssesganesh 9/2/2015 03:45
yes vishy couldn't recover......let him think over his premature resigning against naka and his gentleman draw against the french champ..... also let the organizers do some soul searching over the kind of colour allocation (three blacks (two in a row) in the first four rounds] they gave for vishy...... when there is two continuous blacks ....there is no chance of striking back after a loss.... .. on the other hand, two consecutive defeats would make you psychologically drained and defensive..... that is exactly what happened to vishy!
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