Sinquefield Cup 2014
Italian Grandmaster (but born in the USA) Fabiano Caruana took 1st place in the strongest chess tournament ever held, the Sinquefield Cup, played in Saint Louis from August 27 through September 7. Caruana won his first 7 games in a row, before being held to a draw by world champion Magnus Carlsen. Caruana finally won the event with 8/5 out of 10, 3 points ahead of the next person, Magnus Carlsen. His first place prize was $100,000. Carlsen same in second, winning $75,000. Hikary Nakamura, Americas top player, ended the tournament in last place.
The final standings were: Caruana 8.5, Carlsen 5.5, Topalov 5, Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave 4, and Nakamura 3. Caruana had a performance rating of 3097, the highest ever for a tournament. The tournament rating average was 2801.7, making this the first ever Category XXIII tournament.
The time control was 40 moves in 90 minutes with a 30-second increment for every additional move, followed by an additional 30 minutes plus the per-move-increment for the rest of the game.
The tournament was sponsored by millionaire Rex Sinquefield and the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. It featured six of the top nine players in the world, for a 10-round, double round robin. The total prize fund was $315,000. 1st was $100,000, 2nd was $75,000, 3rd was $50,000, 4th was $40,000, 5th was $30,000, and 6th was $20,000.
The players included the following:
Magnus Carlsen (age 23), from Norway, world chess champion and ranked no. 1 in the world, with a rating of 2877.
Levon Aronian (age 31), from Armenia, ranked no. 2 in the world, with a 2805 rating.
Fabiano Caruana (age 22), from Italy, ranked no. 3 in the world, with a 2801 rating (that number will be going up).
Hikaru Nakamura (age 26), from the USA, ranked no. 5 in the world, with a 2787 rating.
Veselin Topalov (age 39), from Bulgaria, former world chess champion, ranked no. 8 in the world with a 2772 rating.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (age 23), from France, ranked no 9 in the world with a 2768 rating.
Originally, Sergey Karjakin (rated 2777) was invited. However, he chose not to accept his invitation, so Topalov was invited instead.
Last year, Magnus Carlsen won the 2013 Sinquefield Cup. There were 4 players in the 2013 edition. Nakamura took 2nd with 3.5, followed by Aronia with 2.5 and Kamsky with 1.5.
Vachier-Lagrave Carlsen, Rd 1
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6
7.Qe2 a5 8.e5 O-O 9.exf6 a4 10.Nd5 Re8 11.Be3 axb3 12.Qg4 g6
13.Bc4 Nb4 14.Nxb4 d5 15.Qf4 dxc4
16.O-O bxc2 17.Nd5 Re6
18.Qxc4 Bxe3 19.fxe3 b5 20.Qc5 Bb7
21.Ne7+ Kh8 22.Qxc2 Raa6
23.Rac1 Rxf6 24.Rxf6 Rxf6 25.Qxc7 Qd2
26.Qb8+ Kg7 27.Qg8+ Kh6
28.Qf8+ Kh5 29.Rc5+ g5 30.Rxg5+ Kxg5
31.Qg7+ Rg6 32.Qe5+ f5
33.h4+ Kh5 34.Qxf5+ Kh6 35.Qf8+ Kh5
36.Qf5+ Kh6 37.Qf8+ Kh5
38.Qf5+ 1/2-1/2
Aronian Nakamura, Rd 1
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3.
Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6
7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5
12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5
cxd5 14. Qe3 Re8 15. Bd2 Qa5
16. Qe1 Bxd2
17. Qxd2 Qd8 18. Ng5 Bg6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. f4 Rc8 21. Rac1 Qb6
22. a5 Qa6 23. Qb4 h6
24. Nf3 b6 25. Qd6 Nf8 26.
axb6 axb6
27. Qb4 Qd3 28. Qd2 Qb3 29. Rfe1 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Ra8 31. h4 Ra2
32. Rc2 Ra1+ 33. Kh2 Rb1 34. Kg3 Kh7 35. Rc8 Rxb2 36. Qc1 Qa2
37. Qh1 Qa3 38. Qc1 Qa2 39. Qh1 Qa3 40. Qc1 1/2-1/2
Topalov Caruna, Rd 1
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2
Nc7 7. O-O e5 8. a3
Rb8 9. d3 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11.
Rc1 Bd7
12. Nd2 Nd4 13. Nc4 f6 14. f4 exf4 15. Bxf4 Nde6 16. Bd2 b6
17. g4 Be8 18. Be1 b5
19. Ne3 Bd6 20. Ncd5 Nxd5 21.
Bxd5 Bf7
22. Nf5 Be5 23. Qd2 Nd4 24. Bxf7+? (24.e3) Rxf7 25. Rd1 Nxf5 26. gxf5
Qd4+ 27. Bf2 Qg4+ 28. Kh1 c4
29. Qc2 Re8 30. dxc4
Qh5 31. h4
Qg4 32. Qd3 bxc4 33. Qe3
Rfe7 34. b3 Bb2 (35.Qf3 Qxf3 36.exf3 c3) 0-1
Caruna Vachier-Lagrave, Rd 2
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3.
e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6
7. Nc3 Nc6 8. O-O Qxb2 9. Qe1 cxd4 10. Bxd4 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Bb4
12. Ndb5 Ba5 13. Rb1 Qxc2 14. Rc1 Qb2 15. g4 Bg6 16. f4 Be4
17. Rf2 Nh6 18. Bd3 Qb4 19. Rb1 Qc5 20. Nxe4 dxe4? (20
Bxe1) 21. Qxa5 O-O 22. Be2 e3
23. Rff1 Rfc8 24. Qe1 Qd5 25.
Rb2 f6 26. Qg3 fxe5
27. fxe5 Rf8 28. Rxf8+
Rxf8 29. Qxe3 Nf7 30. Nc3 (30
Qd7 31.Qxa7) 1-0
Nakamura Carlsen, Rd 2
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5.
c3 a6 6. Ba4 d6
7. d4 Bd7 8. d5
Nce7 9. Bxd7+ Qxd7 10. c4 h6 11.
Nc3 f5
12. Nd2 Nf6 13. f3 O-O 14. b4 c6 15. dxc6 Nxc6 16. a3 Nd4
17. Bb2 Rac8 18. Ne2 Nh5 19. Nxd4 exd4 20. exf5 Nf4 21. f6
Bxf6 22. g3 Nh3+ 23. Kg2 Ng5
24. Qb1 Kh7 25. Qd3 Be5 26.
Rae1
Bxg3 27. hxg3 Qh3+ 28. Kg1
Qxg3+ 29. Kh1 Qh4+ 30. Kg2 Qh3+
31. Kg1 Qg3+ 32. Kh1 Qh3+ 1/2-1/2
Aronian Topalov, Rd 2
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3.
Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 b5 6. c5 g6
7. Bd2 Bg7 8. b4 a5 9. bxa5 Ne4 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Ng5 Qd5
12. f4 h6 13. Nh3
Bxh3 14. gxh3 Bxd4 15. exd4
e3 16. Bxe3 Qxh1
17. Qd2 Na6 18. O-O-O Qd5 19. Bg2 Qc4+ 20. Kb1 Qe6 21. d5 Qf5+
22. Kb2 O-O-O 23. d6 exd6? (23
Qd7) 24. cxd6 Qf6+ 25. Kb1 Qf5+ 26.
Kc1
Qf6? (26
c5) 27. d7+ Kb7 28. Bd4 Qe6 29. Bxh8 1-0
Carlsen Caruana, Rd 3
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bb4+ 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bg5
dxe4 8.dxe4 h6 9.Bh4 Qe7 10.Nbd2 Nbd7 11.Bg3 Bc7 12.O-O Nh5
13.h3 Nxg3 14.fxg3 Nc5 15.Bxf7+ Kxf7
16.Nxe5+ Kg8 17.Ng6 Qg5
18.Rf8+ Kh7 19.Nxh8 Bg4 20.Qf1 Nd3
21.Qxd3 Rxf8 22.hxg4 Qxg4
23.Nf3 Qxg3 24.e5+? (24.Nf7) Kxh8 25.e6
Bb6+ 26.Kh1 Qg4 27.Qd6 Rd8
28.Qe5 Rd5 29.Qb8+ Kh7 30.e7 Qh5+
31.Nh2? Rd1+ 32.Rxd1 Qxd1+
33.Nf1 Qxf1+ 34.Kh2 Qg1+ (35.Kh3 Qe3+
36.Qg3 Qxe7) 0-1
Vachier-Lagrave Aronian, Rd 3
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 c6 5. O-O Nf6 6. Nbd2 O-O
7. c4 Be6 8. b3
Ne4 9. Bb2 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 dxc4 11.
Ng5 cxb3
12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Qe3 bxa2 14. Qxe6+ Kh8 15. Qxa2 Rf5 16. Rfb1
Qb6? (16
Na6) 17. e4 Rf8 18. Bc3 Qc7 19. Qb2 b6 20. d5 Bxc3 21. Qxc3+
Kg8 22. e5 a5 23. dxc6
Na6 24. Qb3+ Kh8 25. Qxb6 Qxb6 26. Rxb6
Nc7 27. Rb7 Rfc8 28. Ra4 Ra6
29. h4 Kg8 30. Rd4 a4 31.
Rd7 a3
32. Rbxc7 Rxc7 33. Bd5+ Kf8 34. Rxc7 a2 35. Rc8+ Kg7 36. Rg8+
1-0
Topalov Nakamura, Rd 3
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5.
O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5
7. c3 d6 8. a4
Rb8 9. h3 O-O 10. d4 Bb6 11. Re1 Bb7 12. axb5
axb5 13. Na3 exd4 14. cxd4
Na5 15. Bc2 b4 16. Nb1 Re8 17.
Nbd2
b3 18. Bb1 Qd7 19. e5 dxe5
20. dxe5 Nh5 21. Ng5 g6 22.
e6 fxe6
23. Qg4 Nf6 24. Qh4 Rf8 25. Ndf3 Bd5 26. Ne5 Qg7 27. Bd2 Nc6
28. Nxc6 Bxc6 29. Bc3 e5? (29
Rbe8) 30. Rxe5 Nd5 31. Qc4 Bxf2+ 32. Kh1
Rb4 33. Bxb4 Qxe5 34. Be4
Rf6 35. Rd1 Kg7 36. Bxd5 Bxd5
37. Qxd5 (37
Qxd5 38.Rxd5 c5 39.Bc3) 1-0
Caruana Aronian, Rd 4
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3
O-O 8.Nc3 d6 9.a3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.b4 Nc6 13.Bd2
d5 14.Re1 Qd6 15.Na2 Nd7 16.Qe2 d4 17.Reb1 Nb6 18.Nc1 Na4
19.Nb3 Rf7 20.Rc1 Rd8 21.Ng5 Rf6 22.Qh5
h6 23.Nf3 Rdf8 24.Rf1
R8f7 25.Rae1 Bf8 26.h3 g6 27.Qh4 Qe7 28.Qg3 Bg7 29.Na5 Nxa5
30.Nxe5 Nb7 31.Nxg6 Qd8 32.e5 Rf5 33.f4
c5 34.Nh4 Rh5 35.Nf3
Kh7? (35
Rf8) 36.Qg4 Rhf5 37.Nh4 Kh8 38.Nxf5 Rxf5 39.Qg6 Qe7
40.g4 Rf8
41.f5 Qe8 42.Qxe8 Rxe8 43.f6 Bf8 44.f7
Re7 45.Rf6 Nb6 46.Bxh6
Nd7 47.Ref1 cxb4 48.axb4 Bxh6 49.Rxh6+ Kg7 50.Rh5 1-0
Vachier-Lagrave Nakamura, Rd 4
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5.
O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5
7. c3 d6 8. d4
Bb6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Nbd2 h6 11.
h3 Bb7 12. Re1
exd4 13. cxd4 Na5 14. Bc2 Re8
15. Qb1 Nc4 16. Nxc4 bxc4
17. Nd2 Rb8 18. Nxc4 Bxe4 19. Bxe4 Rxe4 20. Qd3 Qe8 21. f3 Re6
22. Bf2 Nd5 23. Rxe6 Qxe6 24. Re1 Nf4 25. Qc2 Qd5 26. Re4 Ne6
27. Qc3 c5 28. Nxb6 Rxb6 29. dxc5 dxc5 30. b3
Rd6 1/2-1/2
Carlsen Topalov, Rd 4
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3.
Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. Bd2 Bb7 6. g3 c5
7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Bg2
O-O 9. O-O Be7 10. Bf4 Na6
11. Nb5 d5
12. Ne5 Nc5 13. Rc1 a6 14. Nc3 dxc4 15. Bxb7 Nxb7 16. Qxd8
Raxd8 17. Nc6 Rde8 18. Rfd1 h6 19. e4 Bc5 20. e5 Nd5 21. Nxd5
exd5 22. Rxd5 b5 23. Be3 Bxe3
24. fxe3 Re6 25. Nd4 Rb6 26.
b3
Rc8 27. Kg2 Rc5 28. Rxc5
Nxc5 29. bxc4 bxc4 30.
Rxc4 Nd3
31. Rc8+ Kh7 32. e6 fxe6 33. Kf3 Kg6 34. a4 e5 35. Nc6 Kf5
36. g4+ Ke6 37. a5 Rb5 38. Rd8 Nc5 39. h4 Rb1 40. Rg8 Kd6
41. Nb8 e4+ 42. Kg2 Rb2+ 43. Kf1 Rb5 44. Kf2 Ne6 45. Rc8 Rxa5
46. Rc6+ Kd5 47. Rxa6 Rxa6
48. Nxa6 Kc6 49. Nb4+ Kc5 50.
Nc2
Kc4 51. Ke2 g5 52. hxg5 hxg5 53. Kd2 Nc5 54. Na3+ Kb4 55. Nc2+
Kc4 56. Na3+ Kd5 57. Nb5 Nd7
58. Nc3+ Ke5 59. Nd1 Nf6 60.
Nf2
Kd5 61. Nh3 Nxg4 62. Nxg5
Nxe3 63. Nxe4 1/2-1/2
Nakamura Caruana, Rd 5
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nbd2 Bf5 5.Nh4 Be4 6.f3 Bg6 7.e3
e6 8.g3 Be7 9.a3 Nbd7 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Bd3 e5
13.O-O O-O 14.Qb3 Qc8 15.Nb1 exd4
16.exd4 Nb8 17.Nc3 Nc6
18.Be3 Qd7 19.Rad1 Rfd8 20.Rfe1 Ne8
21.Bf2 Nc7 22.Bf1 Bf6
23.Qa2 g5 24.b4 g6 25.Qd2 Kg7 26.b5 Ne7
27.Be3 Ne6 28.Bh3 Nf5
29.Bxf5 gxf5 30.f4 g4 31.Qd3 Rac8
32.Rc1 Rc4 33.Ne2 Nc7 34.Nc3
Rc8 35.h3? (35.Rb1) gxh3 36.Kh2 Nxb5 37.Nxb5 Qxb5
38.Kxh3 Qd7 39.Kg2 b5 40.Rb1 a6 41.Rbc1 Qe6 42.Bf2 Rxc1 43.Rxe6 fxe6 44.g4 fxg4
45.Qe2 Kf7 46.Qd3 R1c2 47.Qh7+ Ke8
48.f5 Bxd4 49.Qg6+ Kd8
50.Qxe6 Rxf2+ 51.Kg3 Rc3+ 52.Kxg4 Rg2+
53.Kf4 Rf2+ 54.Kg4 Kc7
55.Qe7+ Kb6 56.Qd8+ Rc7 57.Qxd5 Bc5
58.Qd8 Kb7 59.f6 Bxa3
60.Qd5+ Kb6 61.Qd8 Bc5 62.Qb8+ Rb7
63.Qd8+ Ka7 64.Qd5 Bb6
65.Kg5 Rc7 66.Kg6 b4 67.Qe6 Bd4
(threatening
Rxf6+) 0-1
Topalov Vachier-Lagrave, Rd 5
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5
7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O a5 11. a4 Na6
12. g4 Nb4 13. Kb1
Qc7 14. g5 Nh5 15. Bb5 Rac8
16. Rhg1 f5
17. gxf6 Nxf6 18. Qg2
Nh5 19. Nc1 Bf6 20. Nd3 Nxd3
21. Rxd3
Nf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Nd5
Bxd5 24. Rxd5 Be5 25. c3
Rf6 26. Qf2
b6 27. Ba6 Rb8 28. Bd3 Kh8
29. Rb5 Rf7 30. h4 Qa7
31. Qc2 Rc7
32. Qb3 Rc5 33. Qe6 Rxb5 34. Bxb5 Rf8 35. h5 Qc7 36. Ka2 Qd8
37. Qg4 Qc7 38. Kb3 Rc8 39. Qe6 Qc5? (39
Qd8) 40. Rg5 Rb8 41. Rf5 (41
Qc8 42.Qxc8+ Rxc8 43.Rf7) 1-0
Aronian Carlsen, Rd 5
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6
3. g3 Bb7 4. c4 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O
7. Re1 e6 8. Nc3 Ne4 9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. Bg5 Qe8 11. Qd2 d6
12. Bh6 Nd7 13. Rac1 Qe7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Bh3 Nf6 16. Nh4 Bb7
17. f3 c5 18. e4 cxd4
19. Qxd4 Rfd8 20. Ng2 Qc7 21.
Ne3 Qc5
22. Qc3 a5 23. Red1 h5 24. Rd3 b5 25. b3 bxc4 26. bxc4 Bc6
27. Rcd1 Rd7 28. Bg2 Rb8 29. Qd4 Qe5 30. f4 Qxd4 31. Rxd4 Rc7
32. R1d2 Ne8 33. Kf2 Kf8 34. c5 dxc5 35. Rc4 Bb5 36. Rc3 c4
37. e5 Rc5 38. Nc2
Nc7 39. Nd4 Nd5 40. Bxd5 Rxd5
41. Nf3 Rc5
42. Rb2 Rd8 43. Nd2 Bc6 44. Nb3?
(44.Ke3) Rb8 45. Rcc2 c3 46.
Rb1 Rcb5
47. Rxc3 Bd5 48. Rbc1 Bxb3 49. Rxb3 Rxb3 50. axb3 Rxb3
51. Rc8+ Ke7 52. Kg2 a4 53. Kh3 g5 54. fxg5 Rb4 55. Ra8 Rg4
56. Ra7+ Kf8 57. g6 fxg6 58. Kg2 g5 59. Kf3 Rb4 60. Ke3 Ke8
61. Kd3 h4 62. Kc3 hxg3 63. hxg3 Rg4 64. Kd3 a3 65. Ke3 Rxg3+
66. Kd4 g4 67. Ra8+ Kd7 68. Kc5 Rd3 69. Kc4 Rf3 70. Kc5 g3 (71.Ra7+
Kc8) 0-1
Caruana Topalov, Rd 6
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6
7.Bd3 d5 8.O-O Nf6 9.Re1 Be7 10.e5 Nd7 11.Qg4 Kf8 12.Na4 Qa5
13.Re2 h5 14.Qf4 g5 15.Bd2 Qc7 16.Qg3
h4 17.Qg4 Rg8 18.Rae1 c5
19.c4 dxc4 20.Bxc4 Bb7 21.h3 Rd8 22.Bc3
Nb8 23.Re3 Nc6? (23
Rd7 or 23
Kg7) 24.Bxe6 fxe6 25.Rf3+ Ke8 26.Qxe6 Rg7 27.Qh6
Nd4 28.e6 Nxf3+ 29.gxf3 Bf8 30.Qh5+ Ke7 31.Bxg7 (31
Bxg7 32.Qf7+) 1-0
Carlsen Vachier-Lagrave, Rd 6
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6
3. Nf3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5.
Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3
Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 Qa5
9. f3 e6 10. O-O d5 11.
exd5 exd5
12. Qd2 Re8 13. Rad1 Bd7 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. Nxd5 Qxd2 16. Nxf6+
Bxf6 17. Bxd2 Bxb2 18. Bc3
Bxc3 19. Rxd7 Rf8 20. Rfd1 Kg7
21. Rb7 Ba5 22. Rdd7 Bb6+ 23. Kf1 Rad8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8
25. Rxf7+
Kh8 26. Ke2 Re8+ 27. Kd3
Rd8+ 28. Kc3 Ba5+ 29. Kb2 Bb6
30. g4
Rd2 31. h4 Rh2 32. Ba4 h5
33. gxh5 Rxh4 34. Bxc6 gxh5
35. Be4
Rh1 36. f4 Rh3 37. c3 h4 38.
f5 Re3 39. Re7 Ba5 40. c4 h3
41. Re6 h2 42. Bd5 Rxe6 43. fxe6 Bd8 44. Kb3 Kg7 45. Kb4 Kf6
46. Kb5 h1=Q 47. Bxh1 Kxe6 48. c5 Kd7 49. Ka6 Kc7 50. Kxa7 Be7
51. c6 Bc5+ 1/2-1/2
Nakamura Aronian, Rd 6
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5
Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O
9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11.
Re2 c6
12. Ne3 Be7 13. Qe1 Bf6 14. Nf5 d5 15. Ne7+ Kh8 16. Nxc8 Rxc8
17. g3 Qd7 18. d3
Nc7 19. Qa5 Rfe8 20. Qe1 Rxe2 21.
Qxe2 b5
22. c3 d4 23. c4
Re8 24. Qd1 bxc4 25. dxc4 Ne6
26. b4 d3
27. Rb1 Rd8 28. Bd2 Bg5 29. Rb2 Qd4 30. Rb3 Bxd2 31. Qxd2 Qxc4
32. Rxd3 Rxd3 33. Qxd3
Qxa2 34. Qd7 Kg8 35. Qxc6 g6
36. Bc4
Qb1+ 37. Kg2 Qxb4 38. Bxe6
fxe6 39. Qa8+ Qf8 40. Qxa7 h5
41. Qd7 Qf5 42. Qe8+ Kg7 43. Qe7+ Kg8 44. Qe8+ Kg7 45. Qe7+
Kg8 1/2-1/2
Vachier-Lagrave Caruana, Rd 7
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.e3 O-O 6.Rc1 Nbd7 7.c5
Ne4 8.Bd3 f5 9.Nf3 c6 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 Bf6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6
13.Ne2 e5 14.Qa4 Qh4 15.g3 Qg4 16.Rf1
Ng5 17.Kd2 Nf3+ 18.Kc3
Nxh2 19.Rh1 Nf3 20.Qa5 Qg5 21.dxe5 Qe7 22.Nd4? (22.Nf4) Nxe5 23.b3 b6
24.cxb6 c5 25.Nb5 Bb7 26.bxa7 d4+
27.exd4 Nxd3 28.Kxd3 Bxh1
29.Rxc5 Qe4+ 30.Kc4 Qe2+ 31.Kb4 Qd2+
32.Rc3 Bc6 33.a4 Bxb5
34.Kxb5 Qxd4 35.Rc7 Rfd8 36.Qb6 Rd5+
37.Ka6 Rd6 38.a5 Qd3+
39.Kb7 Qd5+ (40.Ka6 Rxb6) 0-1
Carlsen Nakamura, Rd 7
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3.
Nc3 dxc4 4. e3 b5 5. a4 b4 6. Ne4 Qd5
7. Nd2 c3 8. bxc3 bxc3
9. Nb1 Qa5 10. Qc2 e5 11.
Nf3 Na6
12. Nxe5 Nb4 13. Qb3? (13.Nh6) Be6 14. Bc4 c2 15. Bxe6 Nd3+ 16. Ke2 Nxe5 17. dxe5 fxe6 18. Qxe6+ Ne7 19. Nd2 Qd5 20. Qxd5 Nxd5 21. Ne4
Rb8 22. Bd2 Bb4 23. Rhc1
Bxd2 24. Nxd2 Nb4 25. Nf3 Ke7
26. Ne1
Rhd8 27. f4 c5 28. Nxc2 Nd3
29. Rcb1 Nb2 30. Ra2 Nxa4 31.
Rxb8
Nc3+ 32. Kf3 Nxa2 33. Rb5 Nb4
34. Nxb4 cxb4 35. Rxb4 Ra8
36. Ke4 a5 37. Ra4 Kf7 38. g4 Ke7 39. f5 h6 40. h4 Kf7 41. e6+
Kf6 42. Rd4 Ke7 43. Rd7+ Kf8
44. e7+ Ke8 45. Rd8+ Rxd8
46. exd8=Q+ Kxd8 47. Kd5
Ke7 48. g5 a4 49. Kc4 hxg5
50. hxg5
Kd6 51. e4 Ke5 52. Kb4 (52
Kxe4 53.f6) 1-0
Topalov Aronian, Rd 7
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3.
Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. g3 dxc4 6. Bg2 Rb8
7. a4 Bb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nd2 e5 10. Nxc4 exd4 11. Qxd4 Nc5
12. Qxd8 Rxd8 13. Bf4 Ne6 14. Be3 a6 15. Ne5 Bd6 16. Nc4 Bb4
17. Rfc1 Nd4 18. Bxd4 Rxd4 19. b3 c6 20. h3 Be6 21. e3 Rdd8
22. Ne2 g6 23. Nd4 Bd5 24. a5 h5 25. Ra4 Bc5 26. Bxd5 Rxd5
27. Ne2 Be7 28. Nc3 Rb5 29. Nd2 Rb4 30. Rxb4 Bxb4 31. Nc4 Rd8
32. Na2 Be7 33. Nc3 Nd5 34. Na4 Nb4 35. Kf1 Rd3 36. Rb1 Na2
37. Ra1 Nb4 38. Rb1 Na2 39. Ra1 Nb4 40. Rb1 1/2-1/2
Caruana Carlsen, Rd 8
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.f3
Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 O-O 10.Qd2 a5 11.b3 a4 12.b4 Be6 13.Rc1
Nd7 14.Be2 Nb6 15.Nb5 a3 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.h4 h5 18.g4 hxg4
19.fxg4 e5 20.Nb3 Bc6 21.Bf3 f5 22.gxf5
gxf5 23.Na5 f4 24.Bf2
Na4 25.Nxc6 bxc6 26.O-O c5 27.b5 Bf6 28.Kh1
Nb6 29.Rcd1? (29.Rfd1!) Kh8 30.Qxd6 Qxd6 31.Rxd6 Nxc4 32.Rd5 Ne3 33.Bxe3
fxe3 34.Be2 Bxh4
35.Rf5 Rxf5 36.exf5 Rd8 37.Rxd8+ Bxd8
38.Kg2 Kg7 39.Kf3 Kf6
40.Ke4 c4 41.Bxc4 Bb6 42.Bd3 1/2-1/2
Aronian Vachier-Lagrave, Rd 8
1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. e4 e5 5. g4 g6 6. g5 Nh5
7. Bh3 exd4 8. Nxd4 h6 9. Bxd7+ Bxd7 10. h4 Be7 11. gxh6 Bxh4
12. Be3 c6 13. Nf5 gxf5 14. Qxh5 Bf6 15. O-O-O Qe7 16. Bf4
O-O-O 17. Bxd6 Qe6 18. e5 Bxe5 19. Bxe5 Qxe5 20. h7 Rde8
21. Qxf7 Re7 22. Qg8+ Kc7 23. Rde1 Rexh7 24. Qxh7 Rxh7
25. Rxe5 Rxh1+ 26. Kd2 Kd6 27. Re3 Rh2 28. Ke1 Rh1+ 29. Kd2
Rh2 30. Ke1 Rh1+ 1/2-1/2
Nakamura Topalov, Rd 8
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6
dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+
Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 Ne7
11. Ne4
Ng6 12. Re1 h6 13. Kh2 c5
14. c4 Be6 15. b3 b6 16.
g4 h5
17. Kg3 Rd8 18. Neg5 Bc8 19. Bb2 Be7 20. Rad1 Rxd1 21. Rxd1
hxg4 22. hxg4 f6 23. exf6
gxf6 24. Re1 Kf8 25. Ne4 Kf7
26. Bc1
Rg8 27. Rh1? (27.a4) Bb7 28. Re1 Re8 29. Nfd2 Ne5 30. Bb2 Nd3 31. Rb1
Rg8 32. Kf3 Nxb2 33. Rxb2
Bc8 34. g5 f5 35. Nf6 Rxg5
36. Nd5
Bb7 37. Rb1 Rg4 38. Rh1 Bd6
39. Ke2 Rd4 40. Rh7+ Kg6 41.
Rd7
Bxd5 42. cxd5 Rxd5 43. Nc4 b5
44. Nxd6 cxd6 45. Rxa7 b4 46.
a4
bxa3 47. Rxa3 Re5+ 48. Kd3 Kg5
49. Ra6 Re1 50. Kd2 Re6 51.
Rb6
Kg4 52. b4 cxb4 53. Rxb4+
Kf3 54. Kd1 f4 55. Rd4 Re4
56. Rd2
d5 57. Ra2 Kg2 (58.Rd2 f3) 0-1
Caruana Nakamura, Rd 9
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6
7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3 h5 11.Bf4 Be7 12.Rad1
Be6 13.Ng5 Rh6 14.Rfe1 Bb4 15.g4 hxg4 16.hxg4 Ne7 17.Nxe6 Rxe6
18.Kg2 Rd8 19.Rxd8+ Kxd8 20.Rd1+ Kc8
21.Bg3 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Rg6
23.Rd4 f5 24.Bh4 c5 25.Rf4 Nd5 26.Rxf5
Rxg4+ 27.Bg3 Kd8 28.Kh3
Rg6 29.c4 Ne7 30.Rf8+ Kd7 31.f4 Ke6 32.Bh4 Rh6 33.Re8 g5
34.fxg5 Rg6 35.Kg4 Kf7 36.Rh8 Ra6
37.Rh7+ Kf8 38.Rh6 Ng6
39.Kf5 Kg7 40.Bf2 Ne7+ 41.Ke4 Ra4
42.Re6 Nc6 43.Kf5 Rxc4
44.Rg6+ Kf8 45.Rf6+ Kg8 46.g6 Rxc2
47.Be3 Nd4+ 48.Bxd4 cxd4
49.Rf7 d3 50.Rd7 Rf2+ 51.Kg5 Rg2+
52.Kf6 Rf2+ 53.Kg5 Rg2+
54.Kf6 Rf2+ 55.Kg5 Rg2+ 1/2-1/2
Vachier-Lagrave Topalov, Rd 9
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Ne7 6. e4 O-O
7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Nc3
Nc6 9. Re1 Nde7 10. a4 h6 11.
a5 a6
12. Be3 Re8 13. Qd2 Nf5 14. Bc5 Rb8 15. Ne4 b6 16. axb6 cxb6
17. Ba3 Ncd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4
19. Qd1 Bb7 20. c3 Nb5
21. Qb3 Qd7
22. Re3 Kh7 23. Rae1 f5 24. Nd2 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Re6 26. Nf3 Rbe8
27. Kg1 e4 28. dxe4 Rxe4 29. Rxe4 Rxe4 30. Rd1
Qe8 31. Qd5
Nxa3 32. bxa3 Qe7 33. h4
Qc5 34. h5 Qxd5 35. hxg6+ Kxg6
36. Rxd5 Bxc3 37. Rd6+ Kf7 38. Rxb6 Ra4 39. Rxh6 Rxa3 40. Nh4
Ra5 41. Rc6 1/2-1/2
Carlsen Aronian, Rd 9
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 Ne4
8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Rc1 c6 10.Qc2 Nxc3 11.Qxc3 Nd7 12.Be2 dxc4 13.Qxc4 e5 14.O-O exd4
15.Nxd4 Nf6 16.b4 Bd7 17.Rfd1 Rfe8 18.Qc5 g6 19.a4 Qxc5 20.bxc5 a5 21.Nb3 Re5
22.Rd4 Kf8 23.Kf1 Ke7 24.Bc4 g5 25.h3 b5 26.cxb6 Rb8 27.f4 Rxe3 28.Nc5 Rxb6
29.Kf2 gxf4 30.Rxf4 Re5 31.Rxf6 Be8 32.Rf4 Rxc5 33.Re4+ Kf8 34.Rxe8+ Kxe8
35.Bxf7+ Kxf7 36.Rxc5 Rb4 37.Rxa5 c5 38.Ke3 Rd4 39.Ra6 Kg7 40.a5 Ra4 41.g4 h5 42.gxh5
Ra3+ 43.Ke4 c4 44.Kd4 c3 45.Kd3 Kh7 46.h6? (46.Kc2!)
Rb3 47.Kc2 Rb5 48.Kxc3 Rf5 49.Ra8 Rb5 50.Kc4 Rf5 51.Kb4 Rf4+ 52.Kc5 Rf5+ 53.Kd4
Rb5 54.Ke4 Rc5 55.Ra6 Rb5 56.h4 Rc5 57.Kd4 Rb5 58.Kc4 Rf5 59.Kb4 Rf4+ 60.Kc5
Rf5+ 61.Kb6 Rf6+ 62.Kb7 Rf7+ 63.Kc8 Rf8+ 64.Kd7 Rf5 65.Ra8 Rd5+ 66.Ke6 Rb5
67.Kf6 Rc5 68.Ra7+ Kxh6 69.Kf7 Rb5 70.a6 Rb6 71.Kg8 Rb8+ 72.Kf7 Rb6 73.Ke7 Kg6
74.Kd7 Rf6 75.Ra8 Kg7 76.Kc7 Rf7+ 77.Kd6 Rf6+ 78.Ke5 Rb6 79.Ra7+ Kg6 80.h5+ Kh6
81.Kf5 Rc6 82.Re7 Rxa6 83.Re6+ Rxe6 84.Kxe6 Kxh5 1/2-1/2
Aronian Caruana, Rd 9
1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.d4 e6 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bg2 cxd4
8.Nxd4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Nxd4 10.cxd4 Bb4+ 11.Kf1 O-O 12.Rb1 Bd6 13.h4 Rb8 14.h5 h6
15.e4 b6 16.Be3 e5 17.dxe5 Bxe5 18.f4 Qxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Bg4 20.Rd5 Bb2 21.Rb5 Ba3
22.Bh3 Bxh3+ 23.Rxh3 Rbc8 24.Rh2 Rfd8 25.Rb3 Bc1 26.Re2 Bxe3 27.Rbxe3 Kf8 28.e5
Rc5 29.Kg2 Ke7 30.Rb2 Rdc8 1/2-1/2
Topalov Carlsen, Rd 10
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5.
d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 b6 11. Bf4 Bb4 12. Ne4 Ba6 13. Rfc1 Be2 14. Nfd2 Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Nd4 16.
Be3 Nf5 17. Bf4 Nd4 18. Be3 Nf5 19. Bf4 Nd4
1/2-1/2
Nakamura Vachier-Lagrave, Rd 10
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. Bg5 Be6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Nec3 g6 12. Bc4 Bh6 13. O-O O-O 14. Bb3
Nc6 15. Qd3 Rc8 16. Rad1 Nd4
17. Ne2 Nxb3 18. Qxb3 b5 19.
a4 b4 20. c3 bxc3 21. Nexc3 Kg7 22. Qb7 a5 23. Qa6 Ra8 24. Qe2 Rc8 25. Qa6 Ra8 26. Qd3 Rc8 27. Nb5 Rc6 28. Qa3 Qd7 29. Rfe1 Bg5 30. Rd3 Rd8 31. Red1 Qb7 32. Rc3 Rd7 33. Rdd3 Bd8 34. Rxc6 Qxc6 35. Rc3 Qa8 36. Nbc7 Bxc7 37. Rxc7 Rxc7 38. Nxc7
Qc6 39. Nxe6+ fxe6 40. g3
Kf7 41. b4 Qxe4 42. b5 Qe1+
43. Kg2 Qe4+ 44. Kh2 Qe2 45. Kg2 Qe4+ 46. Kh2 Qe2 47. Kg2
1/2-1/2