Round 6 - Duda vs Giri
For the best game of round 6 I chose this game for a few special reasons. First, Anish Giri recorded his third straight win with the Black pieces in this tournament. Second, it was a rare case of a 2700+ grandmaster being on the ropes within 15 moves, and third, it shot Giri into shared first after the halfway mark.
Conclusion: A powerful game by Giri. He's looking real good at this event to win his first supertournament! Surprisingly the very natural 14.Nd5 was the decisive mistake! These first six rounds have so far proved that "Black is OK!" referring to the famous book by Andras Adorjan. With 10 wins for Black to 4 wins for White, this tournament is going into the history books! After the halfway mark, 4 people share the lead (Nepo, Ding, Magnus, Giri) and it is getting really intense. I am quite interested to watch the next rounds!
Round 7 - Radjabov vs Vidit
This was a roller-coaster ride for the players. Tactics, sacrifices flew everywhere.. the very proof of this is that the players analysed this for 35 (!) mins after the game! It is a very enthralling analysis which you can watch. After 6 draws, it was probably the game of the tournament by Radjabov!
Conclusion: What a game by Radjabov! Going into the combinational books for sure! This was Vidit's first loss in the event. It needed something special to beat him, and that is exactly what Radjabov produced!
Round 8 - Vishy Anand vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
This power-packed performance by Vishy Anand was no doubt the highlight of round 8.
Conclusion: How, just how can this man be leading a tournament where the best players participate, when he is already 50 years old? Just how? It is his insatiable hunger for victories even at this 'veteran' age that takes him so far. And Vishy is Vishy. He just can't get enough of silencing his critics. He will keep going, and never stop--
'cause when start the retirement talks,
he leaves behind people and boldly walks.
