Qatar 2015 round 7: Two rounds to go, three leaders!

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Qatar Masters 2015: Two rounds to go, three leaders!

Report from Doha by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal

Just two rounds remain at the Qatar Masters Open 2015 and the tournament is heading towards an exciting finish. At the start of the seventh round Magnus Carlsen was in the sole lead with 5.0/6, but after it ended he was joined by two more.

Magnus Carlsen leads along with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (left) and Sanan Sjugirov (right) with 5.5/7

After facing relatively unknown players until round four it looks as if Magnus is now playing in a super tournament. His round five, six and seven opponents have been Li Chao (2750), Wesley So (2775), and Anish Giri (2784). Games between the World Champion and Anish Giri have always been interesting. As Daniel King said in an interview at the London Chess Classic, “They are not rivals, they just like to tease each other!” Anish, who had the black pieces, played the Sicilian Najdorf. The opening choice clearly reflected his ambitions before the game. Magnus went for a sedate setup. As the Dutch grandmaster rightly pointed out in the post-game conference: “The thing about Najdorf is that there is no easy way for White to play for a small solid edge. Either you have to go all out or you have to be satisfied with equality.” Both players tried their best to complicate the game. Anish even sacrificed an exchange to get a solid central pawn majority. But before things got out of hand Magnus sacrificed the exchange back and steered the game into calmer waters.

“My entire strategy of drawing with Ganguly yesterday was to avoid Magnus today!
Yet I am paired with him!” Anish Giri talks to Pentala Harikrishna before the start of the game.

Some mandatory loosening up before the game

“Please start your clocks!”

“But where is Magnus?”

There comes the World Champion with his famous black bag

Some preparatory actions by Magnus before making the first move of the game

And we are off! Carlsen and Giri fought hard but eventually drew their game in 52 moves

Are they playing chess 960? A puzzled Ponomariov looks at the crazy position
in the game between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Surya Shekhar Ganguly

If past games of Mamedyarov are anything to go by, then you can be relatively sure that the Azeri player has come to Doha in a creative mood. Creativity is not an unknown commodity when it comes to Shakhriyar but his games at the Qatar Masters Open 2015 have just surpassed all borders and lie somewhere on the edge of insanity. Although in his defense it must be said that in the seventh round it wasn’t him but Ganguly who started the madness with 7…Qd3!? This was a dream scenario for Mamedyarov who revels in unusual positions. The Indian grandmaster also showcased quite a lot of ingenious ideas, and the advantage fluctuated many times before it settled down into an opposite coloured bishop endgame where Shakhriyar was two pawns up. There were some technical difficulties, but he converted the position, nonetheless.

Sanan Sjugirov played what was in my opinion one of the most flawless
games of the tournament to beat Dmitry Jakovenko and join the leaders

Wesley So against Ruslan Ponomariov was once again a demonstration of how good the Berlin Endgame really is. Wesley had some chances to even snatch the initiative, but in the end they had to split the point.

Wesley is currently in the chasers’ pack with 5.0/7, but has a good chance to move to six points as he faces the relatively unknown Lin Chen (2532) in the eighth round. It would not, however, be such a great idea to underestimate his Chinese opponent who scored a win against Hou Yifan in the seventh round.

Sergey Karjakin (right) employed the London System against Ni Hua in order to get
an original game of chess, but the Chinese was too solid and the game ended in a draw

After a dismal start which saw Nikita Vitiugov lose his first round to an untitled Chinese player,
the Russian is back in form and scored a fantastic win over Krishnan Sasikiran to move to 5.0/7.
And what a nice combination he employed to win the game:

Nguyen Ngoc Truongson scored a fine victory over the Ukrainian Anton Korobov

The game between Daniel Naroditsky and Li Chao sparked quite a lot of interest amongst the spectators.
The American was pressing throughout the game but in the end could not convert his material advantage.
In the picture you see the famous trainer Adrain Mikhalchishin, Wang Yiye and Mateusz Bartel engrossed in the game.

This is what you need to have a 2826 performance. 2470 rated and untitled player Xu Yinglun beat Ildar Khairullin and is currently on 5.0/7. He has already crossed 2500 thanks to the 32 points
he has gained in the event. In the eighth round he plays David Howell.

Vassily Ivanchuk handed N.R. Vignesh his first loss of the tournament. The 17-year-old from Tamil Nadu, India, was quite close to drawing his game against the Ukrainian genius. In spite of this loss he has a rating performance of 2721 and will most probably achieve his GM norm with a draw in the next two rounds.

It was a day when a lot of female players were paired against each other.

Alexandra Kosteniuk (right) was able to beat Zhansaya Abdumalik

Dronavalli Harika (right) got the better of Sarasadat Khademalsharieh

Short curls against long curls! Padmini Rout (left) had a much better position,
but in the end lost to Dora Derakhshani from Iran

The huge tent outside the playing hall where the players analyze after the game and the spectators can sit comfortably on the sofa and enjoy the live commentary of Peter Svidler and Alejandro Ramirez

With a size of 100,000 square metres Villagio Mall is right next to the playing hall
and is a perfect place for the players to unwind after the rounds.

It has an architectural style that is Italian and you can do just about anything here...

… from shopping, having dinner, exchanging money, to buying groceries,
which is quite essential for a chess player during a tournament.

And just in case you are in the mood, you could also try the Gondola ride inside the mall!

The style quotient is quite high in the tournament! From the top left clockwise: Hou Yifan’s hairstyle and next to it her locket, Bela Khotenashvili’s ring, Sarasadat Khademalsharieh’s lucky bracelet, Marta Bartel’s chequred pendant, Hou Yifan’s king shaped earrings, Aexandra Kosteniuk’s bracelet filled with many interesting things and Alina Bivol’s ring.

Who said guys can’t keep up! Clockwise from top left: Truongson Nguyen Ngoc’s chain, Viktor Bologan’s key chain and watch, Salem Saleh’s watch, Daniele Vocaturo’s earrings, Li Chao’s bracelet, Vassily Ivanchuk’s cap and Daniil Yuffa’s watch.

Photos by Amruta Mokal of ChessBase India

Round seven video impressions by Vijay Kumar

Replay games of round seven (with times per move)

Top results of round seven

Top standings after round seven

Click for complete standings

Schedule for Playchess Commentary

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