Getting into the last round with a half point lead over Alexander Grischuk, as the round progressed it became clear that ll that Fabi needed was a draw to win the tournament and quality as the Challenger to World Champion Magnus Carlsen. But that was not what Fabi had in mind. Like he said at his press conference he really didn’t have a strategy going into the round on the last day except for reminding himself not to “do something crazy”. Fabi played solid moves and showed great form in his play to press for the win after 69 moves.
Grischuk resigns. -Photo: Niki Riga
Grischuk v Caruana
The position above is after move White move 43.Rc2 and Caruana replied 43…Rxb4 and at this stage in their game Karjakin had already drawn- as Fabi said it in the press conference he was relieved seeing move 27… h3+! from Ding Liren earlier in their game- and Mamedyarov was clearly heading to a draw. It was clear to Fabi now that all he needed to do was draw and walk away tournament winner. But he settled into his chair after seeing 44.Bc6 and calmly replied 44…c3! The pawn is poisoned and cannot be captured because after 45.Rxc3 Rd2+, 46.Ke1 Rb2+ with mate to follow. He pressed his advantage precisely until Grischuk finally resigned after more than six hours of play. Theirs was the longest game of the day and one of the longest of the tournament.
Final Press Conference with Tournament Winner
Mamedyarov pressed hard against Kramink playing with the Black pieces. It was an exciting game with sacrifices and counter sacrifices coming on the board. But Kramnik kept his cool and didn’t give Shakh any chances.
Sergey Karjakin barely managed to escape with a draw playing White in his game against Ding Liren after blundering with 27.Nd5 that was brilliantly replied with 27…h3+! Sergey was totally disappointed with his outcome saying that he completely “forgot” 27…h3+ in his calculations. He gave credit to Fabiano on his win saying that it was well deserved as he narrowly missed it last Candidates Tournament and totally deserved to win here.Â
The ebullient new challenger! -Photo: Niki Riga
Given his perseverance in the last two rounds theres no doubt that Fabi got this tournament win in convincing manner. The Challenger may have his first meet with the World Champion at the Grenke Chess Classic starting April 31!
