London Chess Classic: The Big Three Win
Luke McShane is still in first after drawing Mickey Adams, but now he has company. Viswanathan Anand didn't have much trouble with Nigel Short's anti-Sicilian approach, and went on to win when Short miscalculated a piece sac. As a result, Anand is tied for first.
Further, Vladimir Kramnik is just a point behind (on 3-1-0 scoring) after beating David Howell. Howell chose a Gruenfeld, but achieved neither counterplay against White's center nor a sound blockade. Kramnik was able to engineer a kingside breakthrough, and while Black might not have been completely lost until near the very end, it was an extremely difficult position to hold - and he didn't.
Magnus Carlsen is a further point back, again bouncing back with White after a loss. His victim today was Hikaru Nakamura, who has generally given Carlsen problems in their past battles. Carlsen played the English again, and won a nice, complete game against Nakamura's Dutch approach with 1...f5. The positional and tactical elements worked together beautifully, and the world's #3 player got right back into the thick of things.
Standings After Round 4:
1-2. Anand, McShane 8
3. Kramnik 7
4. Carlsen 6
5-6. Nakamura, Adams 5
7. Howell 2
8. Short 1
Round 5 Pairings:
Adams - Kramnik
Anand - McShane (Battle of the leaders!)
Nakamura - Short
Howell - Carlsen
Tournament site here.
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