Sinquefield 02: Topalov new leader

by Alejandro Ramirez
8/25/2015 – It started relatively dull, but boy did today's round pick up quickly! Two draws between MVL vs. Aronian and Giri vs. So were rather boring, but it was more than offset by the other three games! Grischuk beat Anand in tough struggle, while the Caruana and Carlsen game went literally down to the last seconds. Finally, in a long and beautiful positional game, Topalov became the new leader.

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2015 Sinquefield Cup

This super-GM single Round Robin brings together some of the best players in the world. This is the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour.

The players – Magnus Carlsen (Norway), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Alexander Grischuk (Russia), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Viswanathan Anand (India), Wesley So (USA).

The venue is the Chess Club and Scholastic Center at 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108. Tickets can be purchased at the Saint Louis Chess Club.

Round Two

Round Two
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Topalov, Veselin 2816
1-0
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
0-1
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853

Daniel King shows the highlights of round 2

Today’s round did not start with the fireworks and spectacular sacrifices of yesterday, but it ended up having an incredible amount of excitement.

MVL was unable to put pressure on Aronian

The first game that finished today was a relatively dull draw between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian. The Frenchman tried to repeat a Ragozin that Topalov used against the Armenian player in Norway, but Levon was not one to be surprised. He came into round two with a good improvement by solidifying his position and making it very difficult for MVL to make any real threats. The resulting endgame was equal; White’s control of the a-file didn’t give him any advantage as Black was sufficiently active with his king. The game ended in a draw soon afterwards after only an hour and a half of play.

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2731"] [BlackElo "2765"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. d4 {3} Nf6 {5} 2. c4 {3} e6 {4} 3. Nf3 {4} d5 {5} 4. Nc3 {3} Bb4 {5} 5. Bg5 {5} h6 {4} 6. Bxf6 {3} Qxf6 {4} 7. Qa4+ {18} Nc6 {6} 8. e3 {3} O-O {6} 9. Be2 { 10} dxc4 {14} 10. O-O {19} Bd7 {3} 11. Bxc4 {19} Bxc3 {5 After 11...Bd6 stopped giving Black optimal positions, people have been looking at this capture on c3 to even things out. Aronian used it against Topalov in Norway this year.} 12. bxc3 {6} Rfd8 {4} 13. Be2 {95} Be8 {8} 14. Qa3 {143} Qe7 {9} 15. Qb2 {7} b6 {5 Played instantly. Aronian's improvement over 15...Na5, which he played against Topalov.} (15... Na5 16. Qb4 Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Rab1 $14 { Topalov-Aronoian, Norway 2015.}) 16. Nd2 {233 Perhaps this is not the most challenging, but I'm not sure what to suggest instead.} Na5 {204} 17. Nb3 {125} (17. Qb4 c5 {doesn't look anywhere near as appealing as it did in the mentioned game.}) 17... Nxb3 {47} 18. axb3 {9} a5 {244} 19. b4 {720} (19. Bf3 Rab8 20. c4 {is given as slightly better by the computers, but after} c5 {the position looks pretty equal to me.}) 19... axb4 {329} (19... Bc6 20. bxa5 bxa5 $11) 20. Qxb4 {198} (20. cxb4 {was perhaps a bit better, but still Black should be ok.}) 20... Kf8 {132} 21. Bf3 {645} Qxb4 {11} 22. cxb4 {8} Rxa1 {2} 23. Rxa1 {10} Ke7 {8} 24. Kf1 {189} Kd6 {6} 25. Ke2 {286 There is no reason to believe either side is better. Even making a miniscule amount of progress looks impossible.} Bb5+ {53} 26. Kd2 {105} e5 {31} 27. dxe5+ {54} Kxe5+ {4} 28. Kc3 {10} Rd3+ {161} 29. Kc2 {9} Rd8 {6} 30. Kc3 {78} Rd3+ {6} 31. Kc2 {5} Rd8 { 5} 32. Kc3 {4} 1/2-1/2

Giri vs. So was also a solid draw

The next game to finish was also a draw: a very blocked position arose from the English opening in Anish Giri vs. Wesley So. Perhaps the Dutch player had a very small advantage from the opening with the superior pawn structure, but it wasn’t much. Eventually So was able to position his pieces well and advance the queenside pawns, while Giri did not create any real threats. The game was drawn in an opposite colored bishop endgame.

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "So, Wesley"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2793"] [BlackElo "2779"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. c4 {3} c5 {7} 2. Nf3 {51} Nc6 {4} 3. Nc3 {34} e5 {4} 4. e3 {28} f5 {30} 5. d4 {63} e4 {5} 6. d5 {11} exf3 {6} 7. dxc6 {4} dxc6 {6} 8. Qxd8+ {85} Kxd8 {6} 9. gxf3 {22} Nf6 {9} 10. b3 {223} Bd6 {8} 11. Bb2 {62} Ke7 {12} 12. O-O-O {329} (12. Bd3 {was Timman-Edouard, 2011.}) 12... Be6 {6} 13. Bd3 {36} Rhd8 {462} 14. Kc2 {222} Rd7 {425 Technically the novelty of the game. 14...g6 was played in Zvjaginsev-Bukavshin back in 2011, a game that White won.} 15. Ne2 {278} (15. e4 $5) 15... g6 {588} 16. h3 {947} (16. Nf4 Bxf4 17. exf4 {looks drawish, as pointed out by Giri.}) 16... Rad8 {756} 17. f4 {76} Bc7 {492} 18. Ba3 {117} b6 {36} 19. Ng3 {99} Kf7 {62} 20. Bb2 {91 It doesn't seem that White has made any progress. None of his last few moves created any real threats and now that Black has completed his development he is very close to being simply equal, perhaps by moving his pawns on the queenside.} a6 {377} 21. Be5 {269} b5 {400} 22. Bxf5 {680 The tactics work out, but this doesn't give White any advantage.} gxf5 {267} (22... Bxf5+ 23. Nxf5 Bxe5 24. fxe5 gxf5 25. exf6 Kxf6 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 {is slightly better for White, but very close to a draw.}) 23. Bxc7 {5} Rxd1 {5 } 24. Rxd1 {3} Rxd1 {4} 25. Kxd1 {4} bxc4 {4 The game at this point is extremely drawish.} 26. bxc4 {292} Ne4 {5} 27. Nxe4 {337} fxe4 {4} 28. h4 {39} Bxc4 {4} 29. a3 {4} Ke6 {58} 30. f5+ {57} Kxf5 {With opposite colored bishops the game is basically dead.} 1/2-1/2

Anand starts with 0.0/2, but he isn't the only one

Grischuk mentioned this is his first win against a top-10 player this year, but more importantly:
in 15 years of encounters, this was his first win ever in classical time controls against the Indian.

The first decisive game of the day was the match between Alexander Grischuk and Vishy Anand. The Russian played the “correct bishop opening”, as he calls it, and obtained a slight edge after Anand’s inaccurate and somewhat strange development. Grischuk was in severe time trouble, but with the positional pressure. Anand tried to complicate the game, but he ended up making mistakes while playing quickly. Grischuk punished the mistakes accurately and won the game.

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "2771"] [BlackElo "2816"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. d4 {12} Nf6 {6} 2. Bf4 $5 {12 Some kind of London system, completing bypassing theory. This is usually done after Nf3, but Grischuk skips this move for quite a while. Grischuk called it the "correct bishop opening".} d5 {83} 3. e3 {35} c5 $5 {38 Played quickly} 4. dxc5 {125} Nc6 {30} 5. Bb5 {8} Qa5+ {331} 6. Nc3 {15} a6 {13} 7. Bxc6+ {17} bxc6 {7} 8. Nf3 {24} (8. Qd4 {can get crazy and might be the critical move. For example:} e6 9. b4 Qa3 10. Nge2 a5 11. b5 $13) 8... e6 {291} 9. O-O {905} Bd7 $6 {273 This move was very strange. The development of the bishop to this square doesn't make much sense.} 10. a3 {1185 } (10. e4 $5 {was another attempt at creating complications, but Grischuk's approach is also good.} dxe4 $6 11. Ne5 $16) 10... Qxc5 {48 forced} 11. Na4 {37 } Qa7 {169} 12. c4 {108 A typical break in this structure. Black is behind in development. He definitely would wish that his bishop on f8 was on e7 rather than the one on c8 going to d7.} Be7 {121} 13. Rc1 {466} (13. b4 $5) 13... Rc8 {185} (13... O-O 14. cxd5 Nxd5 $14 {is worse for Black, but perhaps had to be played.}) 14. cxd5 {1296} (14. b4 $16) 14... cxd5 {307} 15. Rxc8+ {28} Bxc8 {9} 16. Qd4 $1 {3} Qxd4 {66} 17. exd4 {27} Bd7 {421} 18. Nb6 {1185 The endgame is unpleasant for Black. His activity is limited and White will rule the c-file.} Bd8 {1009} (18... Bb5 19. Rc1 Nd7 20. Rc8+ Bd8 {is not human, but perhaps it was the best chance to equalize.}) 19. Nxd7 {62} Nxd7 {44} 20. Rc1 {14} f6 $2 { 37 This move is hard to understand. Black will simply lose a pawn here.} (20... a5 21. Rc6 O-O 22. b4 axb4 23. axb4 Re8 {prepares an e5 break. Uncomfortable, but not lost.}) 21. Rc6 {228} Kf7 {84} 22. Rxa6 {229} Bb6 {31} 23. Bd2 {148} g5 {262} 24. h3 {333} Rb8 {31} 25. Bb4 {165 Grischuk was already down on time, and Anand tried to take advantage of it by playing quickly, however this backfired.} Rb7 {30} 26. Ra8 {57} Nb8 {18} 27. Kf1 {39} Nc6 {388} 28. Bc3 {1} e5 $5 {17 Going for complications, but this doesn't work.} (28... h5 29. g4 hxg4 30. hxg4 e5 {was a slightly better version, but still bad for Black.}) 29. dxe5 {31} d4 {10} 30. Bb4 $1 {66} Nxe5 {65} 31. Nxe5+ $1 {117 A relatively long think that was very accurate.} fxe5 {7} 32. Ke2 {12 Despite the low amount of time that Grischuk had, he played very precisely.} e4 {201} 33. f3 {1 } d3+ {106} (33... e3 34. Kd3 {doesn't look promising for Black: his two passed pawns are blockaded and his pieces are happy. However this was a better try.}) 34. Kd2 {7} exf3 {33} 35. Rf8+ $1 {19 White will pick up the f3 pawn and then the d3 pawn. It's done.} 1-0

The clock was extremely important today in this match

Fabiano Caruana against Magnus Carlsen was a heartstopper. In a position that was very interesting, both players simply let their clock run out way too low. An unbelievable time scramble occurred, with both players falling to mere seconds to make their final moves. The engine evaluations kept changing wildly as the game became a bullet battle. On move 40, Caruana made a horrific blunder with only seconds left on his clock. He resigned as soon as he made time control.

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "2808"] [BlackElo "2853"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. e4 {4} e5 {7} 2. Nf3 {5} Nc6 {5} 3. Bb5 {3} a6 {6 No Berlin this time, Carlsen goes back to the more traditional Spanish channels.} 4. Ba4 {4} Nf6 {6} 5. O-O {6} b5 {18} 6. Bb3 {6} Bb7 {6} 7. d3 {75} Be7 {9 An Archangel with Be7} 8. Nc3 {142} O-O {61} 9. a3 {61} d6 {981} 10. Re1 {579} Qd7 {35} 11. Ne2 {312} Nd8 {375} 12. Ng3 {66} Ne6 {32} 13. Ba2 {1784 Strangely played after a 30 minute think, and a novelty. The position has been reached a few times, and most grandmasters preferred 13.c3.} Rfe8 {483} 14. Ng5 {390} d5 $5 {964 The d5 break always has some drawbacks in the Spanish. Usually, it is the e5 pawn that suffers. It lacks protection and the e1-rook is now attacking it. On the other hand, Carlsen gets more space and the bishop on a2 loses some of its influence on f7.} 15. Nxe6 {539} Qxe6 {15} 16. Bg5 {466} h6 {257} 17. Bxf6 {83} Bxf6 {82} 18. Qf3 {351 taking advantage of the pin on the d5 pawn. However Black is solid.} c6 {188 keeping the tension} (18... dxe4 19. dxe4 {simply activates the bishop on a2.} Qb6 20. Nf5 $14) 19. c4 {396} Rad8 {210} 20. cxd5 {65} cxd5 {2} 21. Nf5 {30 White's knight is annoying on f5, but Black's position is holding together.} Bg5 $1 {1347} 22. h4 {60} Bd2 {234} (22... Bf4 { is also possible.} 23. g3 dxe4 24. Qg4 (24. dxe4 $2 Qxf5 $17) 24... Qf6 25. gxf4 exd3 {gets crazy, but computers like Black a bit.} 26. fxe5 $2 d2 $19 { was something Carlsen missed.}) 23. Re2 {266} dxe4 {868} 24. dxe4 {318} Qf6 {11 } 25. g3 {581} Kf8 {105 Magnus was critical of this move, but maybe it was not so bad.} 26. h5 {310} Bg5 {260} 27. a4 {74 Played with under 5 minutes on the clock.} b4 {73} (27... bxa4 $1) 28. a5 {122 After this Caruana was down to only seconds.} Kg8 {263} 29. Bc4 {9} Rd7 $6 {51} (29... Kh8 $1) 30. Ra4 $1 {28} Kh8 {135} 31. Rxb4 {8} g6 {7 What a crazy position! Specially since they were on bullet mode now: both players under three minutes.} 32. hxg6 {1} fxg6 {5} 33. Qb3 {41 Forced, but Caruana took way too long on making this move... 41 seconds!} Bc6 {6} 34. Ne3 {3} Bxe4 {11} 35. Bd5 {1} Bxd5 {63} (35... Qf3 36. Rxe4 $1 (36. Bxe4 Qxe2 37. Rb8 {Carlsen thought this was "at least a draw" but actually Black is winning after} Rxb8 38. Qxb8+ Kh7 $1 39. Bd5 Rg7 $1 $18) 36... Qxe2 37. Nc4 Qh5 38. g4 $1 Qh4 39. Nxe5 $1 {with a strong initiative.}) 36. Nxd5 {1} Qc6 {1} 37. Nc3 {2} Qf3 {6} 38. Qc2 {3} Red8 {4} 39. Rbe4 {1} (39. Qe4 $1 $16 Rd1+ $2 40. Nxd1 Rxd1+ 41. Re1 {doesn't work.}) 39... Rd2 {4} (39... Bf4 $1 {but who would see this with seconds left?}) 40. Rxd2 $4 {0 Horrible! But Caruana only had a couple of seconds to play.} (40. Qb3 Rd1+ $1 41. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 42. Nxd1 h5 {gives Black enough compensation.}) 40... Rxd2 {0 Now it is clear that Black is winning. f2 is hanging as well as the queen.} 0-1

Magnus chilling with yours truly

Finally, Veselin Topalov became the sole leader of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup. He played an excellent pawn sacrifice against Hikaru Nakamura, taking a commanding control of the dark squares in return for the lost material. Nakamura could not hold his position together and was forced to return his material, but his position was not good: Topalov’s bishops were dominant. After much maneuvering, Topalov reached a winning endgame thanks to a cute zugzwang and converted his win.

The leader of Sinquefield 2015 and the Grand Chess tour: Veselin Topalov

[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"] [Site "Saint Louis"] [Date "2015.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Topalov, Veselin"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2816"] [BlackElo "2814"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"] 1. e4 {5} e5 {7} 2. Nf3 {7} Nc6 {4} 3. Bb5 {7} Nf6 {6} 4. d3 {14} Bc5 5. Nbd2 d6 {208} 6. O-O {211} O-O {71} 7. c3 {6} Ne7 {92} 8. d4 {242} exd4 {21} 9. cxd4 {4} Bb6 {5} 10. Re1 {92} Ng6 {283} 11. h3 {180} c6 {211} 12. Bd3 {696 Already not a theoretical position. However the ideas heavily resemble the Italian game.} Nh5 {959} (12... d5 13. e5 Nf4 14. Bc2 N6h5 {looks good for White because after} 15. Nf1 {it's hard to prevent Ng3 with problems:} f6 16. Ng3 fxe5 17. Nxh5 $1 $16) 13. Nc4 {271} Bc7 {12} 14. d5 $5 {200} Nhf4 {204} 15. Bf1 {161} f5 $5 {253 Uncompromising play. Black hits the center strong, but Topalov comes up with an excellent decision.} 16. e5 $1 {259 An excellent pawn sacrifice. He receives the pair of bishops and specially an unopposed dark squared monster.} Nxd5 {86} 17. exd6 {563} Bxd6 {19} 18. Nxd6 {8} Qxd6 {3} 19. b3 {23 The bishop on b2 will be targetting the g7 pawn and the king feels very uncomfortable.} Bd7 $6 {999} (19... Be6 {directly was much, much better.} 20. Bb2 Rfe8 21. Qd4 Qc7 22. Ng5 Ngf4 $5 {trying to consolidate, but White retains real initiative.}) 20. Bb2 {33} Rfe8 {48} 21. Qd4 {67} Qf6 {22} 22. Qd2 {14} Qd6 {7} 23. Bc4 {316} h6 {380} 24. Qd4 {296 Already Black's position is very bad. Nakamura returns his material, but then the pair of bishops is very strong.} Qf6 {76} 25. Qxf6 {271} gxf6 {4} 26. Bxf6 {38} Rxe1+ {475} 27. Rxe1 { 32} Re8 {4} 28. Rd1 {337} Be6 {339} 29. Nd4 {41} Kf7 {326} 30. Nxe6 {8} Rxe6 { 129} 31. Bd4 {100 The pair of bishops is very strong.} a6 {5} 32. Kf1 $6 {447} (32. g3 $1 {preventing Ngf4 was better.}) 32... Ngf4 {221} 33. b4 {30} Re4 {181 } 34. f3 {228} Re8 {3} 35. g3 {601} Ne6 {32} (35... Nxh3 36. f4 {traps the knight, this doesn't look playable.}) 36. Bf2 {39} Rd8 {230} 37. Re1 {133} f4 $2 {70 A strange move. This allows White easier play thanks to the possibility of moving forward on the kingside with the pawns.} (37... Kf6 $14) 38. g4 {121} Ng5 {58} 39. Kg2 {76} Re8 {118} 40. Rd1 {0} Re5 {0} 41. Bd4 {540} Re8 {87} 42. h4 {242} Ne6 {30} 43. Bf2 {20} Nec7 {9} 44. h5 {394} Kf6 {435} 45. Kh3 {54} b5 {495} 46. Bd4+ {668} Kg5 {267 counterintuitive! The king is almost mated in this position, but Nakamura's position was already bad.} 47. Bxd5 $6 {446} (47. Bb3 $1 {Was even cleaner. Here Black basically gets mated:} Nxb4 48. Bf2 $18) 47... Nxd5 {50} 48. Rc1 {6} Re6 {4} 49. Rc5 {6} Rd6 {1} 50. Bg7 {82} Re6 {118} 51. Bd4 {223} Rd6 {37} 52. a3 $1 {298} Re6 {5} 53. Rc1 {119 Black is in zugzwang.} Ne7 {283} ({Analysis:} 53... Rd6 54. Re1 {gets mated.} Ne3 55. Rxe3 $1 fxe3 56. Be5 Rf6 57. Kg3 $18) 54. Bf2 {300} Kf6 {44} 55. Bh4+ {5} Kf7 {12} 56. g5 {41} hxg5 {405} 57. Bxg5 {13 White's passed pawn on the kingside gives him a decisive advantage. Topalov converts in Capablanca style.} Nd5 {15} 58. Kg4 {60} Kg7 {26} 59. Bxf4 {79} Nxf4 {261} 60. Kxf4 {8 interestingly this endgame without all the pawns on the queenside is probably drawn or close to drawn, but because of potential queen trades I don't think Black has any hope here.} Rd6 {26} 61. Rc3 $1 {29} Kf6 {264} 62. Kg4 {68} a5 {174 desperation.} 63. bxa5 {24} Rd4+ {1} 64. f4 {14} Ra4 {1} 65. Rxc6+ {139} Kg7 {9} 66. a6 {112} Rxa3 {3} 67. f5 {55} b4 {84} 68. f6+ {21} Kf7 {24} 69. h6 {162 Too many passed pawns.} Kg6 {26} 70. Rc8 {11} b3 {281} 71. Rg8+ {90} Kf7 {42} 72. h7 {21} Ra4+ {18} 73. Kf3 {36} 1-0

Standings

Round Two Games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Photos by Lennart Ootes

Pairings

Round One
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Giri, Anish 2793
1-0
 Grischuk, Alexander 2771
So, Wesley 2779
0-1
 Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Aronian, Levon 2765
1-0
 Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Carlsen, Magnus 2853
0-1
 Topalov, Veselin 2816
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Round Two
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771
1-0
 Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Topalov, Veselin 2816
1-0
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
½-½
 Aronian, Levon 2765
Giri, Anish 2793
½-½
 So, Wesley 2779
Caruana, Fabiano 2808
0-1
 Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Round Three
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
So, Wesley 2779   Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Aronian, Levon 2765   Giri, Anish 2793
Carlsen, Magnus 2853   Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814   Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Anand, Viswanathan 2816   Topalov, Veselin 2816
Round Four
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771   Topalov, Veselin 2816
Caruana, Fabiano 2808   Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731   Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Giri, Anish 2793   Carlsen, Magnus 2853
So, Wesley 2779   Aronian, Levon 2765
Round Five
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Aronian, Levon 2765   Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Carlsen, Magnus 2853   So, Wesley 2779
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814   Giri, Anish 2793
Anand, Viswanathan 2816   Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Topalov, Veselin 2816   Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Round Six
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771   Caruana, Fabiano 2808
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731   Topalov, Veselin 2816
Giri, Anish 2793   Anand, Viswanathan 2816
So, Wesley 2779   Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Aronian, Levon 2765   Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Round Seven
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Carlsen, Magnus 2853   Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814   Aronian, Levon 2765
Anand, Viswanathan 2816   So, Wesley 2779
Topalov, Veselin 2816   Giri, Anish 2793
Caruana, Fabiano 2808   Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Round Eight
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Grischuk, Alexander 2771   Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731
Giri, Anish 2793   Caruana, Fabiano 2808
So, Wesley 2779   Topalov, Veselin 2816
Aronian, Levon 2765   Anand, Viswanathan 2816
Carlsen, Magnus 2853   Nakamura, Hikaru 2814
Round Nine
Name
Rtg
Res.
Name
Rtg
Nakamura, Hikaru 2814   Grischuk, Alexander 2771
Anand, Viswanathan 2816   Carlsen, Magnus 2853
Topalov, Veselin 2816   Aronian, Levon 2765
Caruana, Fabiano 2808   So, Wesley 2779
Vachier-Lagr, Maxime 2731   Giri, Anish 2793

Games start at 1 p.m. local time (20:00h CEST, 22:00h Moscow, Thursday 12:30 New Delhi, 03:00h Tokyo, 04:00 Canberra – check your location here).

Playoffs, if necessary, will be on the 2nd at 1pm.

The games will be broadcast live on Playchess, with expert analysis (see schedule below).

Broadcast Schedule

Day Date Time Event German
English
Sunday Aug. 23 1 PM Round 1 Thomas Luther   
Mihail Marin
Monday Aug. 24 1 PM Round 2 Calrstedt/Pähtz
Mihail Marin
Tuesday Aug. 25 1 PM Round 3 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Wednesday Aug. 26 1 PM Round 4 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Thursday Aug. 27 1 PM Round 5 S. Siebrecht  
Simon Williams
Friday Aug. 28 Rest Day
Saturday Aug. 29 1 PM Round 6 Reeh/Breutigam
Y. Pelletier
Sunday Aug. 30 1 PM Round 7 Reeh/Breutigam
Y. Pelletier
Monday Aug. 31 1 PM Round 8 S. Siebrecht  
Daniel King
Tuesday Sept. 1 1 PM Round 9 Y. Pelletier
Daniel King
Wednesday Sept. 2 1 PM Playoffs  
 

Links

The 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.