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.
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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
No.
|
Player |
Rating
|
W-Rnk
|
Age
|
Country |
1
|
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
2
|
25
|
France |
2
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
4
|
24
|
USA |
3
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
5
|
31
|
Armenia |
4
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
6
|
28
|
USA |
5
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
7
|
22
|
USA |
6
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
8
|
47
|
India |
7
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
9
|
22
|
Holland |
8
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
12
|
41
|
Bulgaria |
9
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
13
|
23
|
China |
10
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
18
|
40
|
Russia |

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 Eight - Saturday, August, 13, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
1-0
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
½-½
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
0-1
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
Round eight
Photos by Lennart Ootes from official site

Sounding the opening bell
There really wasn’t a lot to say about the first draws. The games were innocuous at best, and never seemed like any serious effort was made to change this destiny. Of course, one could argue that Wesley So, playing against Fabiano Caruana, was content to nurse his plus two tournament score into the last round, he is also setting himself up for a potential headache as well. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave trails by a full point but will play him with white.

Fabiano Caruana versus Wesley So was uneventful, and So keeps his lead going into the last round
Should he beat him, there is a very serious possibility the tournament might end in a vast tie for first, and an equally large tiebreak to decide the title. When asked about this by GM Maurice Ashley in the post-game interview, So explained that it was a long tournament, and that after seven rounds the players were feeling very tired. Perhaps time to start hitting the gym?
Ding Liren’s game with MVL went nowhere very quickly, and it was quite literally symmetrical down to the pawns and pieces after 16 moves. The result was never in doubt.
Ding Liren - MVL

This was the position after 16 moves. 'Mirror, mirror, on the board...'
The same cannot be said of Anand’s fascinating fight with Topalov. Commentators and fans might have groaned when the dreaded Berlin appeared on the board, but with players such as these, and notably their longstanding rivalry, the chance of a coordinated peace effort seemed unlikely. There was more to it than that of course: after 27 moves, when a draw seemed probable, the leader Wesley So had already signed his score sheet, leaving him wide open to a decisive result in round eight, and another in round nine.

Vishy Anand: draws are only acceptable as a last resort

Needless to say, Veselin Topalov barely knows the meaning of the word
Anand made his move, putting himself in potential jeopardy, re-igniting the fires of war on the board. In the end, though certainly fascinating to accompany, they did draw, but it was a good fight to watch.
Vishy Anand - Veselin Topalov
1.e4 | 1,185,008 | 54% | 2421 | --- |
1.d4 | 959,510 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
1.Nf3 | 286,503 | 56% | 2441 | --- |
1.c4 | 184,834 | 56% | 2442 | --- |
1.g3 | 19,892 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
1.b3 | 14,600 | 54% | 2428 | --- |
1.f4 | 5,954 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
1.Nc3 | 3,911 | 50% | 2384 | --- |
1.b4 | 1,791 | 48% | 2379 | --- |
1.a3 | 1,250 | 54% | 2406 | --- |
1.e3 | 1,081 | 49% | 2409 | --- |
1.d3 | 969 | 50% | 2378 | --- |
1.g4 | 670 | 46% | 2361 | --- |
1.h4 | 466 | 54% | 2382 | --- |
1.c3 | 439 | 51% | 2425 | --- |
1.h3 | 289 | 56% | 2420 | --- |
1.a4 | 118 | 60% | 2461 | --- |
1.f3 | 100 | 47% | 2427 | --- |
1.Nh3 | 93 | 66% | 2506 | --- |
1.Na3 | 47 | 62% | 2476 | --- |
Please, wait...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 b6 10.Nc3 Ke8 11.Rd1 Bb4 12.Ne2 Bb7 13.Ned4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Bc5 15.Nf5 Rg8 16.g4 h5 17.Be3 g6 18.Nh6 Rh8 19.Bxc5 bxc5 20.g5 Bc8 21.h4 Ke7 22.f4 Be6 23.Rf1 Rad8 24.c3 Bh3 25.Rf2 Ke6 26.Re1 Rd3 27.Re4 Rhd8 28.Ra4 28...Rd1+ 28...Re3! 29.Rxa7 Rd1+ 30.Kh2 Bf1 31.Rxc7 Rh3+ 32.Kg1 Bc4+ 33.Kg2 Rdh1 34.f5+ gxf5 35.Rxc6+ Kd5 35...Kxe5 36.Rxf5+ Ke4 37.Rcxc5= 36.Rf6 Bd3 37.Rd6+ Ke4 37...Kc4 38.b3+ Kxc3 39.Rf3 38.Nxf5 38.Rxd3 Kxd3 39.Nxf5 R1h2+ 40.Kg1 Rxf2 41.Kxf2 Ke4 38...R1h2+ 39.Kg1 Rxf2 40.Kxf2 Kxf5 29.Kh2 R8d3 30.f5+ gxf5 31.Raf4 Bg4 32.Kg2 Bh3+ 33.Kh2 Bg4 34.Nxg4 hxg4 35.Kg2 g3 36.Re2 Rb1 37.h5 Rdd1 38.Kxg3 Rh1 39.Rc4 Kd5 40.Rf4 Rbg1+ 41.Rg2 Rxg2+ 42.Kxg2 Rxh5 43.Rxf5 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
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Anand,V | 2770 | Topalov,V | 2761 | ½–½ | 2016 | C67 | 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016 | 8 |
Please, wait...
The game that seemed most likely to end in a decisive result, from early on, was Levon Aronian against Hikaru Nakamura. The opening got an interesting treatment from both players, and is analyzed in depth by QGD expert, GM Elshan Moradiabadi, who shares his insights.
Levon Aronian - Hikaru Nakamura (annotated by GM Elshan Moradiabadi)

Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 6...Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 h6 11.Bd3 Ba6 12.0-0 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Qc8 14.Rfc1 Qb7 15.Rab1 axb4 16.axb4 Rfc8 17.Nd2 Bd8 18.Nb3 Bc7 19.Bxc7 Qxc7 20.Ra1 Qb7 21.b5 Rxa1 22.Rxa1 bxc5 23.Na5 Qa8 24.Nb3 Qb7 25.Na5 Qa8 26.Nb3 Qb8 27.dxc5 cxb5 28.Qd4 b4 29.Na4 Qb5 30.Qb2 Ne4 31.f3 Nexc5 32.Naxc5 Nxc5 33.Rc1 Rc7 34.Qe5 Qb6 35.f4 Na6 36.Ra1 Rc3 37.Nd4 Nc7 38.Rb1 f6 39.Qh5 Rxe3 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Bd3!? dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.Bd3 Nc6 10...Nbd7 11.0-0 b5 12.Ne4 Bb7!? 13.Nxc5 Nxc5 14.Be2 Rc8 15.Be5 Nfe4 16.Bd4 f6 11.0-0 Nb4 12.Bb1 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Nbd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Be4! 15...Nf6 15...Nxf4 16.exf4 Ra7 16.Nd2! Re8 16...Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Be7 18.Bd6! 17.Bf3 e5 18.Bg3 Ra7 18...Bg4 19.Bxb7 Rab8 20.Bf3 Rxb2 21.Nc4 Rc2 22.Rdc1 Rxc1+ 23.Rxc1 e4 24.Bxg4 Nxg4 25.h3 Nf6 26.Bd6 19.Rac1 b6 20.a3 Bd7 21.Nc4 e4 22.Be2 a5 23.Nd6 Re7 24.Nb5 Bxb5 25.Bxb5± Ra8 26.Kf1 Re6 27.Ke2 g5 28.Bc4 Ree8 29.h4 h6 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Bd6 Kg7 32.Bb5 Bxd6 33.Rxd6 Re5 34.Rxb6 Rh8 35.Rb7 Rf5 36.Rf1! Rh2 37.Bc4 Ne8 37...Ng4 38.Be6 38.Rb5 Rxb5 39.Bxb5 Nd6 40.Bd7! Kf6 40...Rxg2 41.Rh1 41.Rc1 Rh8 42.b3 Ke7 43.Rc7 Rh1 44.Ra7 Ra1 45.g4?! 45.Bg4+ Kf6 46.Ra6 Ke7 47.Rxa5 45...Rxa3 46.Ba4+ Kf8 47.Rxa5 Ra2+ 48.Kf1 f6 49.Ra8+ Ke7 50.Bc6 Rb2 51.Ra7+ Ke6 52.Bd7+ Ke7 53.Bf5+ Ke8 54.Be6 Rb1+ 55.Kg2 Rb2 56.Bd5 Rb1? 56...Rc2 57.Bc6+ Kf8 58.Rd7 Nf7 59.Bxe4 Rb2 60.Rb7 Nd6 61.Rb8+ Kg7 62.Bd5 Rd2 63.e4 f5 64.gxf5 Nxf5 65.Rb7+ Kh6 66.Rb6+ Kh7 67.Rb7+ Kh6 68.exf5 Rxd5 69.f6 Rd4 70.Kg3 Kg6 71.f7 Kg7 72.b4 Kf8 73.b5 Rb4 74.b6 Kg7 75.f3 Kf8 76.Kf2 Rb3 77.Ke2 Kg7 78.Kd2 Kf8 79.Kc2 Rb5 80.Kc3 Kg7 81.Kc4 Rb1 82.Kc5 Rc1+ 83.Kd6 Rb1 84.Ke7 Re1+ 85.Kd8 Re6 86.Kc7 Re3 87.Ra7 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Aronian,L | 2792 | Nakamura,H | 2791 | 1–0 | 2016 | D37 | 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016 | 8 |
Please, wait...

Levon Aronian was inspired and played a superb positional game to punish...

... Hikaru Nakamura for his unorthodox handling of the QGD.
If Anish Giri has certainly not been having a good event, it had been a dream compared to Peter Svidler’s thus far. When the two clashed, it was not ridiculous to expect them to quietly take their lumps and move on to the next event with a clean slate, but that was not in the cards. Anish played an interesting pawn sacrifice to generate play and an initiative, but never really seemed to get any momentum going from it, and in the end the pawn was the deciding factor.

The playing area with fans enjoying an up-close view
Anish Giri - Peter Svidler (annotated by GM Elshan Moradiabadi)

Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Qb3 0-0 7.0-0 dxc4 8.Qxc4 Bf5 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Nh4 Nb6 11.Qb3 Bg4 12.Nc3 Nfd5 13.Nf3 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Qd5 15.Ba3 Rfe8 16.Ne5!? Qxb3 17.axb3 Bxe2 18.Rd2 Bxe5 19.dxe5 Bg4 20.c4 a5 21.Bc5 Nd7 22.Bd4 Ra6 23.Rda2 Rea8 24.f4 Be6 25.Bf1 b6 26.Be3 Kf8 27.Ra4 c5! 28.Bg2 Re8 29.Bc6 Ra7 30.Bb5 Rc8 31.Rd1 Rac7 32.Ra2 Kg7 33.Rad2 Nb8 34.Rd8 Nc6 35.Rxc8 Rxc8 36.Rd2 h5 37.Kg2 Bf5 38.h3 f6 39.exf6+ Kxf6 40.Ba4 Nd8 41.Bd7 Bxd7 42.Rxd7 Ke6 43.Rd1 Nf7 44.g4 hxg4 45.hxg4 Ra8 45...a4 46.bxa4 Nd6 46.Bf2 Nd6 47.Re1+ Kf7 48.Rh1 a4 49.bxa4 Rxa4 50.Rh7+ Kf8 51.Rh8+ Kg7 52.Rb8 Nxc4 53.Kf3 Kf7 54.Bh4 e5 55.f5 gxf5 56.gxf5 Nd6 57.Rxb6 Rf4+ 58.Ke2 Nxf5 59.Bg5 Ng3+ 60.Ke3 Rg4 61.Bd8 Nf5+ 62.Kf3 Rf4+ 63.Ke2 Nd4+ 64.Ke3 Ne6 65.Rb7+ Kg6 66.Ba5 Ra4 67.Bc3 Kf6 68.Kd3 Nf4+ 69.Kc2 Nd5 70.Bb2 c4 71.Rd7 Ke6 72.Rh7 c3 73.Rh6+ Kf5 74.Rh5+ Kf6 75.Bxc3 Rc4 76.Kd3 Rxc3+ 77.Ke4 Rc4+! 78.Kxd5 Rd4+ 79.Kc5 Rd1 80.Kc4 e4 81.Kc3 e3 82.Rh2 Kf5 83.Kc2 Rd8 84.Rh7 Kf4 0–1
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
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- Drag the split bars between window panes.
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Giri,A | 2769 | Svidler,P | 2751 | 0–1 | 2016 | D78 | 4th Sinquefield Cup 2016 | 8 |
Please, wait...

Peter Svidler cannot believe his eyes: the torment is over and he scored a win
The tournament will now enter the final round, and anything goes. Wesley So is the leader with a very modest (at this point) +2 score with 5.0/8, followed by Anand and Aronian on 4.5/8, and more a half point behind them. So will face MVL with black, and a loss might leave a considerable number tied for first. Even a draw could mean a tiebreak with Anand or Aronian, or both, so round nine promises to be exciting and tense, and is not to be missed!
In Playchess, Swiss GM Yannick Pelletier will be providing the live commentary, and it bears remembering that this commentary is interactive and open to comments, group chat and of course questions on the positions or more to the GM.
Standings after eight rounds

Schedule
Day |
Date |
Time |
Event |
Playchess commentary
|
German |
Sunday |
Aug. 14
|
1 p.m.
|
Round 9
|
Yannick Pelletier
|
Klaus Bischoff
|
Monday |
Aug. 15
|
1 p.m.
|
Playoffs
|
|
|

Pairings
Round One - Friday, August 5, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
½-½
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
1-0
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
½-½
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
1-0
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
Round Two - Saturday, August 6, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
1-0
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
1-0
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
½-½
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
0-1
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
Round Three - Sunday, August 7, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
½-½
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
½-½
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
½-½
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
½-½
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
Round Four - Monday, August 8, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
½-½
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
½-½
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
½-½
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
Round Five - Tuesday, August 9, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
½-½
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
½-½
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
1-0
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
½-½
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
½-½
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
Round Six - Thursday, August 11, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Levon Aronian |
2771 |
0-1
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2731 |
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
Ding Liren |
2793 |
1-0
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
Wesley So |
2779 |
1-0
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
Anish Giri |
2765 |
½-½
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
Round Seven - Friday, August 12, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
½-½
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
½-½
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
½-½
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
½-½
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
½-½
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
Round Eight - Saturday, August, 13, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
1-0
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
½-½
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
0-1
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
Round Nine - Sunday, August 14, 1pm
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Res.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Veselin Topalov |
2761
|
|
Levon Aronian |
2784
|
Peter Svidler |
2751
|
|
Viswanathan Anand |
2770
|
Fabiano Caruana |
2807
|
|
Anish Giri |
2769
|
M. Vachier-Lagrave |
2819
|
|
Wesley So |
2771
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
2791
|
|
Ding Liren |
2755
|
Links
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. |
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