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It hasn’t been a terribly exciting event so far, it is fair to say. If there is one player who has gone out of his way to stir the pot it has been Ding Liren. In round one he drew Yu Yangyi sacrificing his knight in an endgame to keep the game going, though his compatriot held fast and they drew.
Ding Liren has been the main spectator attraction so far
In round three, he managed to emerge into an endgame with a rook and pair of bishops against Peter Svidler’s rook and pair of knights, with large open spaces for his artillery to fire. It should not have been enough, but it was clear that this was a game with only two results possible, a draw or a win for him, and after nearly forty moves, the Russian snapped and it was all over.
In round three he wielded his bishop pair against Peter Svidler with deadly force
Ding Liren vs Peter Svidler
Michael Adams and Yu Yangyi drew their game
Pentala Harikrishna faced a mirror of himself in the ultra-solid Anish Giri, but the Dutch player had other things in mind, and began to slowly outplay the Indian. His performance was immaculate, and at the end of the day, he stood on equal footing with Ding Liren with 2.0/3. Round four saw three uneventful draws, changing nothing in the standings.
Standings after round four
LinksThe 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 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |