Fabi is back to his form after the rest day and emerges sole leader after round 13 with a brilliant win over Levon Aronian! Sergey Karjakin was held to a rather quick draw in his game against American Wesley So when Fabi had just a marginal edge in his game against Levon. Having come to the board with some solid preparation on 9.Bd2 thanks to Grischuk who played this “brilliant” idea against Levon in the previous round, Fabi took notice of the chance for him to take the lead and pressed on to score a nice win after 35 moves. We look at their game below with analysis by GM Bojkov.
Fabi and his second GM Rustam Kasimzdhanov had looked at 9.Bd2 for a few hours on the rest day. -Photo: Maria Emilianova
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beat Alexander Grischuk in round 13 today after a near devastating loss to Ding Liren in the last round. “It was a complete catastrophe. I was awake until 7am in the morning.” -in Shakh’s own words. This loss effectively eliminates Sasha from the tournament and puts Mamedyarov right back in contention for the top spot. Both players faced unpleasant standings after a draw in this game and they both came to the board with guns blazing.
The win today puts Shakh back in contention. -Photo: Maria Emilianova
This leaves the Candidates Tournament an a crucial crossroads facing the last round tomorrow. Can Fabi hold on to this lead. He needs to keep a balanced outlook and not go too far to be over cautious in avoiding enterprising winning combinations in his last game while at the same time he must not throw caution to the wind. This type of situation most favors Sergey Karjakin. Sergey is super cool while at the same time super menacing. Having him at your heels automatically makes one anxious and ups the anxiety meter. Shakhriyar is in his first Candidates Tournament and he’s shown his mettle as the #2 in the world behind Carlsen with a powerful win against Grischuk today. Having said that let’s not leave out Ding Liren. Much as he’s shown the tenacity and perseverance he’ll have to more than double the effort facing Levon tomorrow.
Round 13 Report
With all said and done, Fabi has the best chances to come out on top tomorrow, but Karjakin is the only one having White between the three of them at tomorrow’s games!
