Candidates 2018 Round 9: The Minister of Defence prevails
The top spots in the Candidates remained unaffected as Caruana and Mamedyarov drew their respective games against Ding Liren and Aronian. Caruana was pressing throughout the game but could not convert it into a full point. Kramnik continued with his policy of uncompromising chess which backfired once again against Sergey Karjakin. Vladimir sacrificed a rook and it looked quite dangerous, but we mustn't forget that he was playing against the Minister of Defence, who found some only defensive ideas in the position and brought home the full point. Analysis of this critical game.
Vladimir Kramnik doesn't mind losing his games. He just wants to play uncompromising chess! How else would you explain his game against Sergey Karjakin from the ninth round of the Candidates. The big Vlad has been providing plenty of excitement for chess fans all over the world, but it isn't helping his own scoring as he languishes on the last spot after nine rounds with four losses.