FIDE Candidates Tournament: All Games Drawn in Round Four
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Wang Hao maintain leadership.
The FIDE Candidates has resumed at the Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg hotel following a rest day.
Symbolic first moves in the round four games were made by the legends of world sport: one of the most titled volleyball coaches, the hero of Russia Nikolai Karpol, president of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Chess Federation Andrey Simanovsky, first deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Viktor Sheptiy, and executive director of the Sverdlovsk Oblast Chess Federation Albert Stepanyan.
This round has turned out to be the most peaceful so far as all games ended in a draw. However, it does by no means testify to the lack of intense struggle.
Fabiano Caruana (USA) – Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) 1/2-1/2
The game opened with a highly-theoretical line of the Grunfeld Defense. The Russian admitted to not having double-checked the line before the game. As White managed to mount certain pressure and get a small but stable advantage, Black needed come up with precise play. Mass exchanges sent the game into a queen and same-colored bishops ending. A more in-depth insight into the position allowed Caruana to gain a significant edge thanks to the central passed pawn. Still, his inaccuracy on move 31 helped Nepomniachtchi to repel threats and remedy the situation. The exchange of queens transposed into an equal same-colored bishops ending in which a draw was agreed after Black's move 55.
Fabiano Caruana, “I thought I had some very strong pressure on my opponent, but I misplayed it on move 31, taking the queen in the wrong direction. I must have underestimated Black's defensive resources, and the game became level.
Ian Nepomniachtchi, "Obviously, I went wrong somewhere in this game, which was the result of insufficient opening preparation. So, I am pleased with the result of this game."
Wang Hao (China) – Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) 1/2-1/2
This game was yet another the Grunfeld Defense, in which a transposition of moves resulted in a different line though. Black temporarily sacrificed a pawn out of the opening to step up the value of his pieces. Alekseenko soon gave the material back, and the trade of queens produced a roughly equal endgame. However, White managed to create a strong passer, and Black had to give up the exchange for it. Still, the drawing tendencies were strong, and Alekseenko came up with a required defensive setup. A draw was agreed on move 41.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) – Alexander Grischuk (Russia) 1/2-1/2
The grandmasters were battling it out in the Berlin line of Ruy Lopez, following in the footsteps of Nepomniachtchi-Grischuk from this tournament up until move 17. In a seemingly thoroughly studied line, Black burned a lot of clock and, being in a severe time pressure, committed a blunder by taking the poisoned pawn. However, Vachier-Lagrave did not immediately punish the opponent but came back an inaccuracy as well. The followup exchanges were almost forced, and Black managed to equalize and draw the rook ending.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, “Alexander defended very well towards the end of the game, and I could not get a decisive advantage.”
Alexander Grischuk, “Like with Alekseenko, I made a very stupid thing by thinking for one hour. Being in time trouble in a difficult situation, I had many opportunities to blunder, but the right moves will usually lead to a draw, as is often the case in such crazy positions.”
Ding Liren (China) – Anish Giri (Netherlands) 1/2-1/2
This duel opened with a hotly contested line of the Bogo-Indian Defense. Giri played very quickly in the opening, thus demonstrating his home preparation. Black attempted to destabilize the kingside situation (the Chinese grandmaster did praise this idea), but White calmly continued to maneuver and tried to improve the position of his pieces. In general, both players kept the position under control, and in the middlegame the game never left the realms of equality. Giri considered the endgame that arose after the exchange of queens as slightly better for White. Still, precise play from both sides brought the game to its logical conclusion as a draw was agreed on move 42.
Standings after Round 4:
1-3. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Wang Hao, – 2.5;
4-5. Fabiano Caruana, Alexander Grischuk – 2;
6-8. Ding Liren, Kirill Alekseenko, Anish Giri – 1.5.
Round 5 pairings:
Anish Giri (Netherlands) – Fabiano Caruana (USA)
Alexander Grischuk (Russia) – Ding Liren (China)
Kirill Alekseenko (Netherlands) – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)
Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) – Wang Hao (China)
The organizers of the FIDE Candidates Tournament are the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) as well as the Government of the Sverdlovsk Region and the Chess Federation of the Sverdlovsk Region.
Partners:
Sima Land - general partner of the FIDE Candidates Tournament
Algorand - official blockchain partner
Kaspersky - official cybersecurity partner
PJSC PhosAgro - General partner of the CFR
Mercedes-Benz Russia - official auto partner
Pine Creek Golf Resort and SILA International Lawyers - partners
