Champions Chess Tour Final: Carlsen at the finish line

by ChessBase
10/2/2021 – In the 6th round of the "Meltwater Champions Chess Tour" played on Friday Wesley So has suffered a significant setback, which may prove to be decisive: In his 1:3 against Teimour Radjabov, Wesley So, 2nd in the standings, failed to score, while Carlsen, still occupying the top spot, extended his lead by two more points in the overall ranking thanks to his victory (in a tiebreak) against Anish Giri. The world champion's lead over So is now 7 points - almost insurmountable given that there is only a maximum of 9 points still to be earned. The tournament organizers might therefore soon proclaim Magnus Carlsen as the "world's top online chess player" as the potential winner of the tournament. | Fotos: Play Magnus Group
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Meltwater Champions Chess Tour - Round 6

The four regular games between Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri had all ended in draws. To break the tie, two blitz games had to be played. The World Champion won the first game and drew the second, which put the match 2-1 in his favor in the overall standings.

The blitz game Carlsen won, was a tough one, because the World Champion decided to fight Giri's queen with three minor pieces. Although it was only a blitz game, there were some nice moves, such as the world championly 23. ... Lc8! and the consolidation of the black position following Giri's 24.g5, which would lead to a perfect interplay of the minor pieces:

 

 

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After losing the first two games against Teimour Radjabov, Wesley So managed to bounce back with a win in game 3, but he still had the fourth game ahead of him, which he had to win, if he wanted to score this round.

Such a must-win-situation is usually not very helpful, which proved itself here once more, as So lost quickly:

 

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 Wesley So now has to be careful not to be overtaken by Teimour Radjabov in the standings

Round 6 Results

Standings after Round 6

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