Sinquefield Rd7: Nothing rotten in the state of Denmark

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.

Participants

Rounds start at 1 p.m. local time (CDT), which is UTC-5, 20:00h Europe, 23:30 India.
Check the start time at your location here.

Round seven

Photos by Lennart Ootes from official site

Perhaps a crystal ball would have helped the players?

Although it is not wrong to say there was nothing suspicious in the many draws, and by that we mean players were not just pushing wood, but fighting on the boards, nor was it a very inspired day at the Sinquefield Cup.

Not a lot happened in their game, and the draw between Anish Giri and Veselin Topalov came as no surprise

Vishy came prepared with an interesting novelty in an Italian game, but somehow the position turned into a situation where it instead looked like a wasted tempo. This was enough for Levon Aronian to keep the balance and a draw ensued. (photo by Spectrum Studios)

Vishy Anand - Levon Aronian (analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi)

One game many looked forward to was the bout between MVL and Nakamura

Even Anish Giri came to see if it might inspire his own game

Unfortunately, even with uncompromising players such as Nakamura, no sparks flew and it drew uneventfully

Although Fabiano Caruana certainly tried his best to squeeze blood from a stone, he was unable to get his opponent...

... Ding Liren to crack. After 95 moves, they shook hands.

Fabiano Caruana - Ding Liren (annotated by GM Elshan Moradiabadi)

Peter Svidler drew a quiet game against leader Wesley So

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 seven

Select games from the games list below the board

Standings after seven 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.