Grand Chess Tour Leuven Day two: Wesley So continues to lead
Wesley So has shown great domination in the Leuven leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2017. He defeated Jobava and Anand on day two to maintain his two point lead over Magnus Carlsen and MVL. Vishy Anand didn't particularly have a great day. His win over Ivanchuk was compensated by losses against Aronian and Wesley So. Being a rapid event, the games are filled with interesting moments, mistakes and even blunders. Here's all the action from the day two of the rapid event.
Photos by Lennart Ootes and Grand Chess Tour
The line up of players for the Your Next Move Leg of the Grand Chess Tour in Leuven
The format of play. 9 rounds of rapid chess followed by 18 rounds of blitz chess over five days
After day two of the rapid, Wesley So increased his lead by a point. He is being closely chased by Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave who are one move away from catching the leader. It is interesting to note that all three players recently completed the Paris leg of the Grand Chess Tour so it will be interesting to see if fatigue will play a role in their performance. Tomorrow is the final day of the rapid part of the tournament which will determine who will be in the lead going into the blitz portion.
Round 4
Wesley So started the day off right by delivering yet another loss to Baadur Jobava. The Georgian, who lost all his games yesterday, must be getting impatient wanting to score any points. He had the perfect opportunity to do so in this game, as he could have made a draw but instead lost the thread of the position.
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Jobava, Ba"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E70"]
[WhiteElo "2812"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. Be2 c6 6. Be3 d5 7. e5 Ne8 8. h4
dxc4 9. h5 c5 10. hxg6 hxg6 11. dxc5 Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 Bxe5 13. Nf3 Bxc3+ 14. bxc3
Nc6 15. Bxc4 Bg4 16. Rh6 e6 17. Rd7 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Ne5 19. Bd4 Nxf3+ 20. Ke2
Nxd4+ 21. cxd4 Ng7 22. Bd3 Rab8 23. Rh1 Rfd8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Rb1 Rd7 26. Ke3
Kf8 27. a4 e5 28. dxe5 Ne6 $15 {Black should not lose this position at any
cost.} 29. c6 bxc6 30. Bc4 Ke7 31. Rb8 Nd4 32. f4 Nf5+ 33. Kf3 Nd4+ 34. Ke4 Nf5
35. Kf3 c5 {Jobava doesn't want a draw.} 36. Rc8 Nd4+ 37. Ke3 Nc2+ 38. Kf3 Ne1+
39. Kg4 Ng2 40. Bb5 Rd8 41. Rc7+ Kf8 42. Kg5 Rd4 43. Kh6 Rd8 44. Bc4 Rd4 45.
Bb5 Rd8 46. Bc4 Rd4 47. Bxf7 Nxf4 48. Rxa7 {Now White is better.} c4 49. Kg5
Nd5 50. Bxd5 Rxd5 51. Kf6 Kg8 52. Kxg6 Kf8 53. Kf6 Kg8 54. e6 Rc5 55. Ra8+ Kh7
56. e7 Rc6+ 57. Kf5 {A painful loss for Baadur.} 1-0
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Jobava, Ba"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E70"]
[WhiteElo "2812"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O 5. Be2 c6 6. Be3 d5 7. e5 Ne8 8. h4
dxc4 9. h5 c5 10. hxg6 hxg6 11. dxc5 Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 Bxe5 13. Nf3 Bxc3+ 14. bxc3
Nc6 15. Bxc4 Bg4 16. Rh6 e6 17. Rd7 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Ne5 19. Bd4 Nxf3+ 20. Ke2
Nxd4+ 21. cxd4 Ng7 22. Bd3 Rab8 23. Rh1 Rfd8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Rb1 Rd7 26. Ke3
Kf8 27. a4 e5 28. dxe5 Ne6 $15 {Black should not lose this position at any
cost.} 29. c6 bxc6 30. Bc4 Ke7 31. Rb8 Nd4 32. f4 Nf5+ 33. Kf3 Nd4+ 34. Ke4 Nf5
35. Kf3 c5 {Jobava doesn't want a draw.} 36. Rc8 Nd4+ 37. Ke3 Nc2+ 38. Kf3 Ne1+
39. Kg4 Ng2 40. Bb5 Rd8 41. Rc7+ Kf8 42. Kg5 Rd4 43. Kh6 Rd8 44. Bc4 Rd4 45.
Bb5 Rd8 46. Bc4 Rd4 47. Bxf7 Nxf4 48. Rxa7 {Now White is better.} c4 49. Kg5
Nd5 50. Bxd5 Rxd5 51. Kf6 Kg8 52. Kxg6 Kf8 53. Kf6 Kg8 54. e6 Rc5 55. Ra8+ Kh7
56. e7 Rc6+ 57. Kf5 {A painful loss for Baadur.} 1-0
0.0/6, now that's something Jobava would have never experienced in his life!
Just as in his game against Jobava yesterday, Levon Aronian met his opponent’s fork with a bishop sacrifice. This time his victim was Viswanathan Anand, who found himself in a mating net in the endgame.
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2786"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Bc5 4. b4 Bd4 5. Rb1 c6 6. e3 Bb6 7. Nxb6 axb6 8.
Nf3 e4 9. Nd4 Nf6 10. d3 d5 11. cxd5 Qxd5 12. a3 O-O 13. dxe4 Qxe4 14. Bb2 Nbd7
15. Nf3 Qe7 16. Qd4 Re8 17. Bd3 Nf8 18. Qc3 Bg4 19. Ne5 Bh5 20. O-O Rad8 21.
Qb3 N8d7 22. Nc4 b5 23. Na5 Ne5 24. Bxe5 Qxe5 25. Nxb7 Ng4 26. g3 Nxh2 $5 27.
Nxd8 Nf3+ $2 (27... Rxd8 $5 28. Kxh2 Bf3 $19) 28. Kg2 Nd2 29. Bxh7+ $1 Kf8 (
29... Kxh7 30. Qd3+ $16) 30. f4 $1 Qf6 31. Qb2 $6 (31. Qc2 $1 Nxf1 32. Rxf1
Rxd8 33. Qc5+ $1 {A difficult move to see.} Ke8 34. Qxh5 $18) 31... Nxf1 $6 (
31... Qxd8 $1 $15) 32. Qxf6 Nxe3+ 33. Kg1 gxf6 34. Nxc6 Nc4 35. Nd4 Nxa3 36.
Rb3 Nc4 37. Bd3 Bd1 38. Rc3 Ba4 39. Bxc4 bxc4 40. Rxc4 $16 Re4 41. Kf2 f5 42.
Rc8+ Ke7 43. Nxf5+ Ke6 44. Ng7+ Kf6 45. Nh5+ Kg6 46. g4 Rxb4 47. Rg8+ Kh6 48.
Kg3 f5 49. Nf6 (49. Nf6 fxg4 50. f5 {There's no way to prevent Rg6#}) 1-0
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Aronian, L."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A21"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2786"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Nd5 Bc5 4. b4 Bd4 5. Rb1 c6 6. e3 Bb6 7. Nxb6 axb6 8.
Nf3 e4 9. Nd4 Nf6 10. d3 d5 11. cxd5 Qxd5 12. a3 O-O 13. dxe4 Qxe4 14. Bb2 Nbd7
15. Nf3 Qe7 16. Qd4 Re8 17. Bd3 Nf8 18. Qc3 Bg4 19. Ne5 Bh5 20. O-O Rad8 21.
Qb3 N8d7 22. Nc4 b5 23. Na5 Ne5 24. Bxe5 Qxe5 25. Nxb7 Ng4 26. g3 Nxh2 $5 27.
Nxd8 Nf3+ $2 (27... Rxd8 $5 28. Kxh2 Bf3 $19) 28. Kg2 Nd2 29. Bxh7+ $1 Kf8 (
29... Kxh7 30. Qd3+ $16) 30. f4 $1 Qf6 31. Qb2 $6 (31. Qc2 $1 Nxf1 32. Rxf1
Rxd8 33. Qc5+ $1 {A difficult move to see.} Ke8 34. Qxh5 $18) 31... Nxf1 $6 (
31... Qxd8 $1 $15) 32. Qxf6 Nxe3+ 33. Kg1 gxf6 34. Nxc6 Nc4 35. Nd4 Nxa3 36.
Rb3 Nc4 37. Bd3 Bd1 38. Rc3 Ba4 39. Bxc4 bxc4 40. Rxc4 $16 Re4 41. Kf2 f5 42.
Rc8+ Ke7 43. Nxf5+ Ke6 44. Ng7+ Kf6 45. Nh5+ Kg6 46. g4 Rxb4 47. Rg8+ Kh6 48.
Kg3 f5 49. Nf6 (49. Nf6 fxg4 50. f5 {There's no way to prevent Rg6#}) 1-0
Anish Giri’s birthday celebration continued as he received a nice gift from Ivanchuk who went astray with his queen and resigned a move later. As Giri himself described, sometimes ambitious players start inventing things that the position simply doesn’t offer.
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ivanchuk, V."]
[Black "Giri, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2738"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Bxc3 5. dxc3 d6 6. Bg2 h6 7. O-O Nc6 8.
Qc2 Be6 9. b3 Qd7 10. e4 Bh3 11. Ne1 O-O 12. f3 Nh7 13. Be3 b6 14. Rd1 Bxg2 15.
Nxg2 f5 16. exf5 Rxf5 17. f4 exf4 18. Nxf4 Ne7 19. Qe4 Re8 20. Qb7 $2 Nc6 $1 {
The bishop on e3 is attacked. And now Rb8 followed by Ra5 is threatened.} 21.
Nd5 Rxd5 (21... Rxd5 $1 22. cxd5 (22. Rxd5 Rxe3 $19) 22... Nd8 23. Qxa7 Rxe3
$19) 0-1
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ivanchuk, V."]
[Black "Giri, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A22"]
[WhiteElo "2738"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Bxc3 5. dxc3 d6 6. Bg2 h6 7. O-O Nc6 8.
Qc2 Be6 9. b3 Qd7 10. e4 Bh3 11. Ne1 O-O 12. f3 Nh7 13. Be3 b6 14. Rd1 Bxg2 15.
Nxg2 f5 16. exf5 Rxf5 17. f4 exf4 18. Nxf4 Ne7 19. Qe4 Re8 20. Qb7 $2 Nc6 $1 {
The bishop on e3 is attacked. And now Rb8 followed by Ra5 is threatened.} 21.
Nd5 Rxd5 (21... Rxd5 $1 22. cxd5 (22. Rxd5 Rxe3 $19) 22... Nd8 23. Qxa7 Rxe3
$19) 0-1
Vladimir Kramnik won a pawn against his country man, but Ian Nepomniachtchi played actively and found enough counter play to draw the game. Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave met once against since their playoff in Paris, but the game ended in a draw after the Frenchman failed to utilize his opening advantage.
Round 5
Magnus Carlsen played a very instructive strategic game against former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik by first outplaying him in the middle game, then trading into a winning endgame. Carlsen was quite pleased about the quality of his game and was feeling optimistic about the rest of the event.
Carlsen played a model game and beat Vladimir Kramnik from the white side of 1.f4
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "2832"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O b5 6. d3 Bb7 7. Qe1 c5 8. c3 O-O
9. a4 b4 10. cxb4 cxb4 11. Kh1 Nc6 12. Be3 Nd7 13. Nbd2 Bf6 14. Rb1 Re8 15. Nb3
a5 16. g4 g6 17. Qf2 Bg7 18. Nbd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Rc8 20. Rbc1 Bxd4 21. Nxd4 Rxc1
22. Rxc1 Qb6 23. Rf1 $1 {The queenside is under control, it's time to launch a
kingside attack.} f6 24. h4 Rf8 25. Kg1 e5 26. Nb3 Qxf2+ 27. Kxf2 exf4 28. Nxa5
Ba8 29. Rc1 Ne5 30. Bf3 d4 31. Nc4 Bxf3 32. Nxe5 Bxe2 33. Nd7 Rf7 34. Nxf6+
Rxf6 35. Kxe2 Re6+ 36. Kf2 Kf7 37. a5 g5 38. hxg5 Kg6 39. Rc5 f3 40. Kxf3 Re3+
41. Kf4 Rxd3 42. a6 Rd1 43. Ra5 d3 44. Ke3 {A great game by Magnus.} 1-0
9. a4 b4 10. cxb4 cxb4 11. Kh1 Nc6 12. Be3 Nd7 13. Nbd2 Bf6 14. Rb1 Re8 15. Nb3
a5 16. g4 g6 17. Qf2 Bg7 18. Nbd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Rc8 20. Rbc1 Bxd4 21. Nxd4 Rxc1
22. Rxc1 Qb6 23. Rf1 $1 {The queenside is under control, it's time to launch a
kingside attack.} f6 24. h4 Rf8 25. Kg1 e5 26. Nb3 Qxf2+ 27. Kxf2 exf4 28. Nxa5
Ba8 29. Rc1 Ne5 30. Bf3 d4 31. Nc4 Bxf3 32. Nxe5 Bxe2 33. Nd7 Rf7 34. Nxf6+
Rxf6 35. Kxe2 Re6+ 36. Kf2 Kf7 37. a5 g5 38. hxg5 Kg6 39. Rc5 f3 40. Kxf3 Re3+
41. Kf4 Rxd3 42. a6 Rd1 43. Ra5 d3 44. Ke3 {A great game by Magnus.} 1-0
Viswanathan Anand bounced back from his loss in his true fashion by finishing off Vassily Ivanchuk in a mating attack.
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Ivanchuk, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2738"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Na6 7. O-O c5 8. d5
Rb8 9. Kh1 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Rxf3 Nc7 12. a4 b6 13. Nb5 Rb7 14. Qe2 Nfe8 15.
c3 a6 16. Na3 $1 {Getting the knight to the strong square on c4.} Nf6 17. Nc4
Qd7 18. f5 b5 19. Na5 Rb6 20. Bg5 bxa4 21. Nc4 $1 Rbb8 22. Bc2 a3 23. Rxa3 {
On the queenside White is clearly better now.} Qd8 24. Qf2 Nd7 25. Qh4 Bf6 26.
Ra1 e5 27. Bxf6 Nxf6 (27... Qxf6 28. Qxf6 Nxf6 29. Nxd6 $16) 28. Raf1 Nh5 29.
f6 $1 {f6 pawn is wedged into Black position and it stops Black army from
coming to the} Kh8 30. Bd1 Ne8 31. g3 {Stopping Nf4.} Rg8 32. R3f2 Qd7 33. Bxh5
gxh5 34. Rf5 {A great game by Vishy} 1-0
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Ivanchuk, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2738"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Na6 7. O-O c5 8. d5
Rb8 9. Kh1 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Rxf3 Nc7 12. a4 b6 13. Nb5 Rb7 14. Qe2 Nfe8 15.
c3 a6 16. Na3 $1 {Getting the knight to the strong square on c4.} Nf6 17. Nc4
Qd7 18. f5 b5 19. Na5 Rb6 20. Bg5 bxa4 21. Nc4 $1 Rbb8 22. Bc2 a3 23. Rxa3 {
On the queenside White is clearly better now.} Qd8 24. Qf2 Nd7 25. Qh4 Bf6 26.
Ra1 e5 27. Bxf6 Nxf6 (27... Qxf6 28. Qxf6 Nxf6 29. Nxd6 $16) 28. Raf1 Nh5 29.
f6 $1 {f6 pawn is wedged into Black position and it stops Black army from
coming to the} Kh8 30. Bd1 Ne8 31. g3 {Stopping Nf4.} Rg8 32. R3f2 Qd7 33. Bxh5
gxh5 34. Rf5 {A great game by Vishy} 1-0
Ian Nepomniachtchi continued his impressive performance by defeating Levon Aronian who failed to find defensive resources with little time on his clock. Baadur Jobava wasn’t able to improve his score as his slightly worse position kept getting worse and worse until it became indefensible. His opponent, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, isn’t satisfied with his form in this event but he is compensating for it with improved concentration. Anish Giri and Wesley So drew after the Dutchman decided not to test the waters and allowed a perpetual.
Round 6
Wesley So maintained his position in the standings by converting his extra pawn in a rook endgame against Viswanathan Anand.
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2812"]
[BlackElo "2786"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "So, W."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2812"]
[BlackElo "2786"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d5 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. exd5 Qxd5 8.
Bc4 Qd8 9. b4 Bd6 10. O-O h6 11. Re1 Re8 12. a4 a6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. dxe4 Qf6
15. Be3 Bg4 16. Be2 Red8 17. Nd2 Be6 18. Bg4 a5 19. b5 Nb8 20. Bxe6 Qxe6 21.
Qb3 Qxb3 22. Nxb3 Nd7 23. Red1 Kf8 24. Rd3 Ke7 25. Kf1 Nb6 26. Nd2 Ke6 27. Bxb6
cxb6 28. Nc4 Bc5 29. Rad1 Rxd3 30. Rxd3 Rc8 31. f3 Bg1 $6 (31... Bd4 $1 32.
Nxa5 bxa5 33. cxd4 Rc4 $11) 32. Rd6+ Ke7 33. Nxb6 Bxb6 34. Rxb6 Rc7 35. Ke2 Kd8
36. Rd6+ Ke7 37. Rb6 Kd8 38. Rd6+ Ke7 39. Rd5 Rxc3 40. Rxe5+ Kf6 41. Rf5+ Ke6
42. b6 Rc2+ 43. Kf1 Rb2 44. Rxa5 Rxb6 45. Kf2 Rb2+ 46. Kg3 Ra2 47. h4 b6 48.
Ra6 Ke7 49. h5 Rb2 50. Ra7+ Ke6 51. f4 Ra2 52. Kf3 Ra3+ 53. Kg4 Ra2 54. g3 Ra1
55. Ra6 f5+ 56. exf5+ Kf7 57. Ra7+ Kf6 58. Ra6 Kf7 59. f6 g6 60. Rxb6 1-0
Bc4 Qd8 9. b4 Bd6 10. O-O h6 11. Re1 Re8 12. a4 a6 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. dxe4 Qf6
15. Be3 Bg4 16. Be2 Red8 17. Nd2 Be6 18. Bg4 a5 19. b5 Nb8 20. Bxe6 Qxe6 21.
Qb3 Qxb3 22. Nxb3 Nd7 23. Red1 Kf8 24. Rd3 Ke7 25. Kf1 Nb6 26. Nd2 Ke6 27. Bxb6
cxb6 28. Nc4 Bc5 29. Rad1 Rxd3 30. Rxd3 Rc8 31. f3 Bg1 $6 (31... Bd4 $1 32.
Nxa5 bxa5 33. cxd4 Rc4 $11) 32. Rd6+ Ke7 33. Nxb6 Bxb6 34. Rxb6 Rc7 35. Ke2 Kd8
36. Rd6+ Ke7 37. Rb6 Kd8 38. Rd6+ Ke7 39. Rd5 Rxc3 40. Rxe5+ Kf6 41. Rf5+ Ke6
42. b6 Rc2+ 43. Kf1 Rb2 44. Rxa5 Rxb6 45. Kf2 Rb2+ 46. Kg3 Ra2 47. h4 b6 48.
Ra6 Ke7 49. h5 Rb2 50. Ra7+ Ke6 51. f4 Ra2 52. Kf3 Ra3+ 53. Kg4 Ra2 54. g3 Ra1
55. Ra6 f5+ 56. exf5+ Kf7 57. Ra7+ Kf6 58. Ra6 Kf7 59. f6 g6 60. Rxb6 1-0
The World Champion won an easy game against Baadur Jobava who keeps suffering in this event
Vachier-Lagrave drew Anish Giri. MVL along with Magnus are in joint second position
Fan favorite Levon Aronian found a brilliant tactic with seconds left on his clock, leading to a beautiful position where he was down a pawn but one of his pawns would queen.
[Event "GCT Rapid YourNextMove"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
[Site "Leuven BEL"]
[Date "2017.06.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Kramnik, V."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2017.06.28"]
[EventType "rapid"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. c3 a6 7. h3 Ba7 8. Re1
d6 9. Bb3 Kh8 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 Nd7 12. d4 Qf6 13. Na3 Nb6 14. Nc2 Na5 15.
Nb4 Nxb3 16. axb3 exd4 17. cxd4 Bd7 18. Rc1 Rac8 19. Rec3 c6 20. Qd2 Rfe8 21.
Re3 c5 22. Nc2 Qg6 23. Qe1 h6 24. Rd1 Nd5 25. Nh4 Qh7 26. exd5 Qxc2 27. Rc1
Qxb2 28. dxc5 dxc5 29. Nf5 Rxe3 30. Nxe3 b5 31. Qd1 a5 32. Ra1 Ra8 33. Rb1 Qf6
34. Qc1 Qd6 35. Qb2 a4 36. bxa4 Rxa4 37. Rc1 f5 38. Rd1 Ra8 39. Nf1 f4 40. Nh2
b4 41. Nf3 c4 42. Qd4 c3 43. Ne5 Qf6 44. Re1 Re8 45. g3 fxg3 46. f4 Rxe5 47.
fxe5 Qf3 48. e6 Bb5 49. e7 c2 50. d6 b3 51. e8=Q+ Bxe8 52. Rxe8+ Kh7 53. Re1 b2
54. Qd2 Qf2+ 55. Qxf2 gxf2+ 56. Kxf2 c1=Q 0-1
d6 9. Bb3 Kh8 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. Rxe3 Nd7 12. d4 Qf6 13. Na3 Nb6 14. Nc2 Na5 15.
Nb4 Nxb3 16. axb3 exd4 17. cxd4 Bd7 18. Rc1 Rac8 19. Rec3 c6 20. Qd2 Rfe8 21.
Re3 c5 22. Nc2 Qg6 23. Qe1 h6 24. Rd1 Nd5 25. Nh4 Qh7 26. exd5 Qxc2 27. Rc1
Qxb2 28. dxc5 dxc5 29. Nf5 Rxe3 30. Nxe3 b5 31. Qd1 a5 32. Ra1 Ra8 33. Rb1 Qf6
34. Qc1 Qd6 35. Qb2 a4 36. bxa4 Rxa4 37. Rc1 f5 38. Rd1 Ra8 39. Nf1 f4 40. Nh2
b4 41. Nf3 c4 42. Qd4 c3 43. Ne5 Qf6 44. Re1 Re8 45. g3 fxg3 46. f4 Rxe5 47.
fxe5 Qf3 48. e6 Bb5 49. e7 c2 50. d6 b3 51. e8=Q+ Bxe8 52. Rxe8+ Kh7 53. Re1 b2
54. Qd2 Qf2+ 55. Qxf2 gxf2+ 56. Kxf2 c1=Q 0-1
Ian Nepomniachtchi stumbled and fell behind the leaders after he played a little too ambitiously against Rapid World Champion Vassily Ivanchuk and ended up losing the match.
Standings after six rounds of rapid play. (each win is 2 points)
Replay all the games:
Write up by Tatev Abrahamyan for GCT