FIDE Candidates 2016 - Video Recap Round 9

Opening: C50: Giuoco Piano

Player(s): Anand, Aronian

GM Larry Christiansen recaps Round 9. Anand takes one of the leaders and wipes him off the board. Is there still someone out there who says that chess is a sport for very young guys? Well, if so, this can only mean that Anand is still very young indeed! Anand played a fantastic rooks endgame with surgical precision, showing once again he's not to be called off for the final victory. Nakamura and the other leader, Sergey Karjakin, played an interesting game, with both players trying to get the advantage, to no avail. Giri and Caruana fought an epic battle for over 7 hours and 96 moves. Giri seemed to be on the verge of interrupting his incredible 8/8 draws streak. Caruana found again himself playing with an enemy's pawn very close to his king. Fabiano went for a double pawn sac, most likely part of his preparation. Giri was able to put Caruana under heavy pressure, but Fabiano showed a terrific resilience, playing on and getting slowly into the game. After over 7 hours, and some imprecisions mostly due to tension and tiredness, the two young gladiators agreed on a draw. Luckily for Fabiano and Anish tomorrow is a rest day. After such a tiring battle, a day off is surely welcome. Peter Svidler, who today had a fight with his hairdo, drew Topalov . After today, the next 5 rounds will be really a thrill, with 5 players still there contending the spot to play Carlsen in November: Anand, Karjakin, Aronian, Caruana and Giri. Play resumes Wednesday, after the rest day, at 8AM EDT, 12 noon GMT, 13:00 CET.

Teacher's library (515) C50 Anand Aronian recap