Tuesday 11 October 2011

Weirdness in Bilbao

The 2011 Grand Slam Masters saw a strange set of results in Round 9. World Champion Viswanathan Anand was snapped in 25 moves by Lev Aronian, Carlsen caught Ivanchuk by scoring his second win over him, while Nakamura found a bizarre way to lose to Vallejo Pons.
Nakamura did not one, but two foolish things in his game, firstly by asking the arbiter if he had reached move 40, and then getting up to get a drink, rather than moving. This might not have mattered if he had actually played 40 moves, but as he had only played 39 he lost on time while getting his refreshments. He claimed, in his post game protest, that the arbiter had indicated he had reached the time control by nodding, but as no one else saw this, his protest was rejected.
The final round is to be played tonight with Carlsen and Ivanchuk sharing first place. Carlsen is black against Nakamura, while Ivanchuk is white against Aronian. If they finished tied for first there will be a blitz playoff for the title.

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