Mamedyarov is well on his way to win Superbet Chess Classic 2021 as he made a short draw with Giri to keep his full point lead 5.5/8. Aronian scored the sole victory of the round against Deac with a picturesque finish in the endgame. Grischuk battled for almost 5.5 hours against Caruana but the American did not budge and the game was drawn eventually. Mamedyarov just needs a draw in the final round to win the event as Aronian, So and Grischuk are at full point behind 4.5/8 each respectively. Round 9 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Aronian, So and Grischuk are at shared second place
Mamedyarov made a short draw with Giri to maintain his sole lead. Aronian scored the sole win of the round against Deac. Grischuk played the longest game of the round against Caruana. So drew with Vachier-Lagrave. Currently Aronian, So and Grischuk are tied at the second place with 4.5/8, one full point behind Mamedyarov.
Mamedyarov is all smiles after making a draw with Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
So - Vachier-Lagrave: 0.5-0.5
So and Vachier-Lagrave had an uneventful draw.
Interview with So | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club
So is in a shared second place 4.5/8 | Photo: Bryan Adams/Grand Chess Tour
Mamedyarov made a short draw with Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Interview with Mamedyarov | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club
Grischuk - Caruana: 0.5-0.5
Grischuk made an incorrect retreat of his bishop which cost him a pawn in the middlegame.
Position after 19.Bc2
19.Bc2 drops the b2-pawn because of 19...Nc4 20.Re1 Nxb2 21.Qd4 Nc4. However, the computer says, 21...Na4 would have been better for black. Grischuk kept pushing for a win, but Caruana provided strong resistance. After almost 5.5 hour long grueling battle, moves were repeated in a seemingly equal rook endgame to make a draw.
Grischuk-Caruana had an interesting encounter | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Deac - Aronian: 0-1
Aronian had a picturesque finish in the endgame against Deac.
Position after 60.Nd7
Black is completely winning in the above diagram, but what is the most beautiful way to win here?
Interview with Levon Aronian | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club
It is always great to see Aronian playing some beautiful creative chess | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Saint Louis Chess Club
Radjabov - Lupulescu: 0.5-0.5
One must applaud Lupulescu for declining a repetition draw in under 25 moves. He continued the game, took his chances and when there was nothing better to continue the game, only then he accepted move repetition to make a draw with Radjabov.
Interview with Lupulescu | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club
Lupulescu made a solid draw against Radjabov | Photo: Bryan Adams/Saint Louis Chess Club
Photo Gallery
Mamedyarov is very likely to win the trophy | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Deac put up a good fight against Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
First move 1.e4 is being made on Mamedyarov-Giri's board | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern makes first move 1.Nf3 on Deac-Aronian's board | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Kids waiting for their heroes | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Children have taken their seat to see some fantastic games | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Spotted Tari next to Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Alexander Grischuk - The Grizzled Young Veteran | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Radjabov and Giri having a light conversation before the round | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Radjabov signs autographs for the fans | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour
Replay Round 8 games
Round 8 results
Aronian scored the sole win in Round 8 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
Standings after Round 8
Aronian, So and Grischuk are full point behind Mamedyarov 4.5/8 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour
2021 Superbet Chess Classic: Round 8 | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club
