Sinquefield Rd3: The Return of the Draw

2016 Sinquefield Cup The 2016 Sinquefield Cup is an elite international event, featuring 10 of the strongest chess players in the world. Over the course of nine rounds, these competitors will battle for $300,000 in prize money (first: $75,000, second: $50,000, third: $40,000, last: $15,000) plus points toward the Grand Chess Tour and the coveted title of 2016 Sinquefield Cup Champion. The venue is the Chess Club and Scholastic Center at 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108. Tickets cost $10 per round or $80 for all ten rounds. Full information available at the official web site.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators worldwide are expected to enjoy the all-star commentary team of GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade as they provide keen insights and analysis, in depth player interviews and witty discussions. Commentary is also available on the CCSCSL YouTube Channel, Livestream and Twitch.

Round three

All photos by Lennart Ootes from official site

It had to happen eventually, and round three was it. The games all started with some interesting ideas and clear attempts to decide the game any way but peacefully, but things just never seemed to really work out. Take Wesley So versus Levon Aronian: the Armenian prepared a piece sacrifice for the opening, one that So was unsure about after the game, and despite willful play from both, a perpetual on move 28 was the end result.

It wasn't for lack of trying, but Levon Aronian was not able to strike a fatal blow to Welsey So

Is there anything more unpleasant than seeing a home-prepared piece sacrifice?

Wesley So reacted well, fought back, but could not do more than keep the balance

Veselin Topalov’s game with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was certainly the most unusual. The reason is two-fold: on the one hand Topalov seemed to have blundered on move 28 after a theoretical scrimmage in the … (drum roll) Najdorf! Topalov played a move that allowed a tactic for MVL to win a pawn. It was so surprising and easy to see that the quick assessment was that this was a fatal turn. Even Fabiano Caruana went to the confession box on video, but instead of talking about his own game, the common thing to do, he discussed the Topalov-MVL position before the tactic.

Caruana was so caught up in the Topalov-MVL game that he chose to talk about it instead

Fabiano Caruana: "My game is fun, but I'm not sure if Topalov blundered Rxc2. It looks like it wins on the spot. It's bizarre because it's such a simple tactic, but I'm not sure what White can do after that.... It would be strange to lose the game within the first half hour with white. (shakes head) I just can't see a single response for White after that."

Veselin Topalov - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

MVL hard at thought trying to understand if Rxc2 is not what it seems: a free pawn

However, this was much less simple than initially thought, and Topalov not only forced the endgame as soon as possible, but showed how hard it was to win this with black. There was potential debate over this move or that after, but nothing that screamed error. In the end, they drew after 54 moves.

Anish Giri and Ding Liren were two others who really pushed the ticket. Ding Liren was the first to make a bid for more when he sacrificed his exchange on move 23, but on move 32 it was Giri’;s turn to sacrifice his exchange in order to open up Black’s king and gain counterplay sufficient for the draw.

Anish Giri and Ding Liren analyzing at the board, but then decide ...

... they really want to see what the engine says about some of their moves.

Vishy Anand, who has shown himself to be in form, played Hikaru Nakamura, and it too was a long and fascinating struggle.

A thrilling game drew many fans to watch up close

Vishy Anand - Hikaru Nakamura (annotated by GM Elshan Moradiabadi)

After the game, in the post-game press conference, Yasser Seirawan asked Anand about the evolution of chess over the years.

Yasser Seirawan: In your career, because you bridge generations, you've seen this classical play and this modern play. Talk to our audience a bit about that. Do you think the players of today, because of this dynamic play, are forced to see a lot more, and evaluate a lot more different plans? Because in the old days you'd just say "Oh, I have an isolated queen pawn; I know what to do."

Vishy Anand: Yes, understanding many things has to keep evolving. I mean, nowadays everything is so... tactical. Something works or it doesn't, and this is maybe the biggest change to get used to. So I've had to learn that a lot of moves that I thought were ugly are very strong, and I had to learn that a lot of moves that I think are strong are not. I wouldn't say we have discarded all classical priniciples, but there are so many nuances in chess, and that's probably the hardest thing to slowly learn. I wonder what kind of conversation I would have with Polugaevsky, for example.

YS: Exactly!

VA: If we ever sat down somewhere for a chat, it would be slightly disorienting.

YS: (Laughs)

Maurice Ashley: For him that is.

VA: For him, yes. I mean, we always used to wonder what would happen if Morphy came back in the 60s, and would he recognize chess, but I think that question is much stronger now.

In the end, one cannot get around the reality of five draws in five games, but looking closer at them, it is clear there was no shortage of fighting spirit displayed by the players, just a shortage of blunders that might capsize their boats.

About GM Elshan Moradiabadi Elshan Moradiabadi is a GM born and raised in Tehran, Iran. He moved to the US in 2012. Ever since, he has been active in US college chess scenes and in US chess. Elshan co-authored "Chess and the Art of War: Ancient Wisdom to Make You a Better Player" with Al Lawrence. He has also published written articles for ChessBase, and edited opening materials for fellow authors. Elshan Moradiabadi is a veteran instructor and teaches chess to every level, with students ranging from beginners to IM. He can be contacted for projects or teaching at his email. You can contact him at his email or follow him on Twitter.

Replay games of round three

Select games from the games list below the board

Standings after three rounds

The games are being broadcast live on Playchess, with expert analysis.

Schedule

Pairings

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the 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 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.