Magnus still on top, Caruana saves sixth Shamkir Chess' round
By Amina Nazarli
The world grandmasters left behind the sixth round of the Shamkir Chess 2015 International Tournament, dedicated to Azerbaijan's late grandmaster Vugar Gashimov.
The first game of the sixth day of the competition was held on April 23 in between current world champion Magnus Carlsen and Dutch Giri Anish. Even though both players tried to outmatch and outmaneuver each other, it became rather evident that a draw would have to be declared.
Eventually the players agreed to a draw.
“I think Anish really likes his plus score against me. He’s entitled to that,” Magnus said following the game.
Another match saw Rauf Mammadov play White against Vishy Anand. The first move of the game caused the audience to hold its breath. However, the game ended with a draw.
Commenting on his game Rauf said “Although I played with White it is always difficult to play with Anand. I think a draw is not a bad result.”
The Indian GM said the game was not spectacular, and turned out to be “gray”. “Mammadov defended well. In general the game was ordinary. There was little chance to really move ahead.”
After Magnus Carlsen’s quick draw, the game in between Wesley So and Azerbaijani Shahriyar Mammadyarov developed into a chance for So to join Norwegian GM in the Shamkir Chess lead.
Talking about his strategy moving forward Wesley said, “My last two games were not my best results, but I just have to deal with it. There are three games left against very good opponents and I have Black in two of those games, so I’ll have to defend well."
Azerbaijani GM called So a “headache” of his rivals, adding that playing with such a strong player is not an easy thing to do.
The game in between English Adams Michael and French Vachier-Lagrave Maxime lasted to move 59th. B
Answering on question on whether or not he ever felt he could win Adams said, “At some stages I was making a bit of progress but around the time control we seemed to come to a bit of an impasse. It seems to be impossible to keep the major pieces on in any sensible way.”
He associated a reason for the draw with the rest day “It was quite a busy free day, actually!”
When everyone expected to see the sixth round’s fifth draw - the game in between Fabiano and Kramnik -, Fabiano managed to outplay Kramnik and claim victory.
Carlsen now leads by half a point, with 4.5 going into the final three rounds, following by Wesley with 4.0 points. Anand is on the third place on the table with 3.5 points, leaving behind Mammadyarov and Caruana with 3.0 points each. Kramnik, Giri, Mammadov, Maxime have 2.5 points respectively, while Adams closes the table with 2 points.
The seventh round of the tournament will be held on April 24.
Anand Viswanathan (2791)- Adams Michael(2746)
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar (2754) - Mamedov Rauf (2651)
Caruana Fabiano (2802) - So Wesley (2788)
Carlsen Magnus (2863) - Kramnik Vladimir (2783)
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (2762) - Giri Anish (2790)
The fund price of the tournament which will last until April 26 stands at €100,000. A day of rest is set for April 22.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz