Gibraltar 10: Naka clinches the title amid Protests and Playoffs

Photos by John Saunders and Sophie Triay

Gibraltar 10: Naka clinches the title amid Protests and Playoffs

The final round of the Gibraltar Masters 2017 witnessed some hair-raising drama. Going into the final round, the 21-year-old Spaniard, David Anton Guijarro was leading a star-studded field and was paired to play against Mickey Adams with the white pieces on board one. Half a point behind was not only his English opponent but also a strong league of Grandmasters that included the likes of, Nakamura, Yu Yangyi, Boris Gelfand and so forth. Battles were bound to be bloody.

But before the contenders could cut and thrust their way to glory, an appeal was lodged by Hikaru’s father, Sunil Weeramantry who stated that the tournament leader, David Anton, had got six whites in the ten-round event. The arbiters soon explained that if David wasn’t given white in the last round, it would have messed up the average of whites and blacks for the 8 player group which was tied for the second place. The issue was quickly resolved and rounds were underway.

But as the rounds began, it was noticed that the Women’s World Champion, Hou Yifan, who had arrived roughly 25 minutes late, was playing a weird opening against the Indian GM R Lalith Babu. Merely 5 moves later, shocking everybody, the Women’s World Champion resigned! It was also speculated that she was seen walking around with a smile while her game was on. Everyone wanted to know what had happened, and for quite a while, there was no official news. 

You can read our detailed report on the incident here with video interviews and the officials' statements.

While Yifan protested in the most novel manner, players on the top boards fought vigorously for the top spots. David Anton, the surprise leader of the event, had an equal game all the way through against Mickey Adams and agreed to a draw in 32 moves of a Queen’s Gambit Declined. 

Anton’s draw sent a wave of motivation among players trailing within a striking distance. Hikaru Nakamura and Yu Yangyi made the most of this opportunity and won their spots in the playoffs for a fat £23000 worth purse. 

The Playoffs

Having tied with David Anton with their wins in the final round, Nakamura and Yu Yangyi earned their right into the speed play-offs. Since it was a three-way tie, the player with the highest performance rating – David Anton – was given a direct ticket into the finals while Nakamura and  Yu Yangyi roughed out. 

Unable to break through Yu Yangyi’s heroic defence in the rapid games, Nakamura had to fight his way through a blitz play-off with his Chinese opponent.

In blitz, Naka, as is characteristic of him, left his opponent no chance. And although Yu Yangyi did his best to maintain equality, Hikaru was able to provoke mistakes in time trouble and swept his opponent off with a 2-0 victory. 

Thus after 10 rounds of nerve-wracking chess and 6 tenacious play-offs, Hikaru Nakamura, without conceding a single loss, emerged victorious at the Gibraltar Masters for the fourth time!

In our final report, we will have an in-depth look at the Indian performance in the tournament.

Final Ranking after 10 Rounds

 Watch LIVE with commentary!

Previous Reports

• Gibraltar Flash: Hou Yifan resigns in 5 moves!
• Gibraltar 09: Hopes Wither for Team India
• Gibraltar 06+07: Indians struggle
• Gibraltar Rd05: Peace and War
• Gibraltar 04: Wenjun and Sutovsky lead

Full Standings

Games in PGN