The first round of the 5th King's Tournament got off to a very good start with two wins in the three games. Perhaps the start of the start wasn't so great, as Nisipeanu-Karjakin was a quick draw that may have been in both players' computers years ago. The other two games were much more exciting.
Ivanchuk-Radjabov was an Averbakh King's Indian with the rare 9.Bf3. Radjabov didn't seem very comfortable in the Maroczy Bind middlegame that ensued, and may have just missed Ivanchuk's 16.f5. Radjabov was forced to play the unpleasant 16...gxf5, but with weak pawns everywhere and a vulnerable king Ivanchuk had everything his way the rest of the game, and won.
Carlsen-Nakamura was a pairing most fans wanted to see, and they got it in the very first round. After 1.d4 Nakamura didn't go for either the Dutch or the King's Indian but opted for the solid Queen's Gambit Declined. It didn't stay solid, though, as Carlsen chose a plan with queenside castling while Nakamura played ...b5 and castled short. (In earlier games in that variation, Black had generally chosen to castle long as well, with a more technical position.) Unfortunately for Nakamura, White's attack was always faster, and while Black could have limited White's advantage at several moments Carlsen had the better of it from move 19 on. After mistakes on moves 26 and 28, White was able to break through, and Carlsen won on move 38 (possibly on time).
Carlsen and Ivanchuk are tied for the early lead, and for Live Top List fans the win will put Carlsen back at #1, ahead of Anand.
Tomorrow's pairings: Radjabov - Karjakin, Nakamura - Nisipeanu, Ivanchuk - Carlsen.
Today's games, with my notes, are here.