Caruana
Caruana won against Naiditsch although Black had a much better game for a while. Adams also was better and put a strong pressure on Black but Fridman found a nice way to equalize. Anand and Meier had a relatively calm draw. So, Caruana is leading with 2.5 points.
Results of the round
Caruana 1.5 1-0 1.5 Naiditsch
Meier 0.5 1/2 1 Anand
Adams 0.5 1/2 1 Fridman
Standings after the 3rd round
1. Caruana 2.5
2-4. Naiditsch, Anand, Fridman 1.5
5-6. Meier, Adams 1
Games of the round
With only one round to go there are 7 (!!) players sharing the 1st place. Quite unusual, but true :). View the full standings here.
Results of top 10 boards
1 GM Kokarev Dmitry 2635 6 ½ – ½ 6 GM Savchenko Boris 2584
2 GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2703 5½ 1 – 0 6 GM Ponkratov Pavel 2584
3 GM Mamedov Rauf 2651 5½ 1 – 0 5½ GM Kovalenko Igor 2586
4 GM Khairullin Ildar 2650 5½ 1 – 0 5½ GM Gabrielian Artur 2579
5 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2626 5½ 0 – 1 5½ GM Maletin Pavel 2571
6 GM Guseinov Gadir 2623 5½ ½ – ½ 5½ IM Goganov Aleksey 2550
7 GM Smirnov Pavel 2618 5½ 1 – 0 5½ GM Adhiban B. 2547
8 GM Sandipan Chanda 2590 5½ ½ – ½ 5½ IM Kovalev Vladislav 2500
9 GM Vorobiov Evgeny E. 2584 5 ½ – ½ 5½ IM Matinian Nikita 2460
10 GM Iturrizaga Eduardo 2646 5 1 – 0 5 IM Badmatsyrenov Oleg 2472
Top 10 players after 8 rounds
1 GM Nepomniachtchi RUS 2703 6.5
2 GM Maletin Pavel RUS 2571 6.5
3 GM Mamedov Rauf AZE 2651 6.5
4 GM Savchenko Boris RUS 2584 6.5
5 GM Kokarev Dmitry RUS 2635 6.5
6 GM Khairullin Ilda RUS 2650 6.5
7 GM Smirnov Pavel RUS 2618 6.5
8 GM Ibragimov Ildar USA 2555 6.0
9 GM Ponkratov Pavel RUS 2584 6.0
10 IM Matinian Nikita RUS 2460 6.0
Top 10 pairings of the last round
1 GM Kokarev Dmitry 2635 6½ – 6½ GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2703
2 GM Mamedov Rauf 2651 6½ – 6½ GM Smirnov Pavel 2618
3 GM Maletin Pavel 2571 6½ – 6½ GM Khairullin Ildar 2650
4 GM Ponkratov Pavel 2584 6 – 6½ GM Savchenko Boris 2584
5 GM Ibragimov Ildar 2555 6 – 6 GM Iturrizaga Eduardo 2646
6 IM Kovalev Vladislav 2500 6 – 6 GM Guseinov Gadir 2623
7 IM Goganov Aleksey 2550 6 – 6 GM Sandipan Chanda 2590
8 GM Nyzhnyk Illya 2637 5½ – 6 IM Matinian Nikita 2460
9 GM Demchenko Anton 2627 5½ – 5½ IM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2546
10 GM Gabuzyan Hovhannes 2517 5½ – 5½ GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2626
Naiditsch won against Adams in a very long (almost 7 hours!!) and interesting game. The other two games were drawn. Caruana and Naiditsch share 1st place with 1.5 out of 2.
Results of 2nd round
Anand-Caruana 1/2
Naiditsch-Adams 1-0
Fridman-Meier 1/2
Standings after 2nd round
1-2. Caruana, Naiditsch 1.5
3-4. Anand, Fridman 1
5-6. Adams, Meier 0.5
Today’s pairings
Adams-Fridman
Caruana-Naiditsch
Meier-Anand
Games of 2nd round
