It is tough at the top

After 3 rounds of the 2015 Qatar Masters, only 2 players are left on a perfect score. Anish Giri and Li Chao have won all their games, and play in tonight's 4th round. As for the other players in the field, points and half points have been dropped in various ways.
The first round saw two interesting results on the top boards. World Champion Magnus Carlsen drew with WGM Nino Batsiashvili in a game where Batsiashvili made Carlsen work hard for the draw. Wei Yi had a nightmare finish to his game against IM Shardul Gagare, resigning in a position where he could have still played on. Round 2 saw Vladimir Kramnik draw with GM Kacper Piorun on board 1, while round 3 saw a number of draws, including GM David Howell halving the point with Wesley So.
Of the top players, Anish Giri looks in good form (continuing his run from the London Chess Classic) and beat Radoslaw Wojtaszek in a game that had a nice finish. Normally the ending sees rooks at their strongest, but with the very clever 60.Bd7, Giri reduced the mobility of his opponents rook almost to zero, and forced an immediate resignation.


Giri,Anish (2784) - Wojtaszek,Radoslaw (2723) [B91]
Qatar Masters Open 2015 Doha QAT (3.1), 22.12.2015