Gashimov Memorial 2015 - Round 7

Opening: C65: Ruy Lopez: Berlin defense

Player(s): Carlsen, Kramnik

GM Larry Christiansen recaps Round 7. When the World Champion shows all his strenght, there is nobody able to deal with it. Today Magnus Carlsen played an incredible game. He avoided the Berlin wall against Vladimir Kramnik, well aware of the immense knowledge that the Russian possesses, and went for an apparently quieter variation of the Ruy Lopez Berlin defense. But then, in the middle game - where the Norwegian can make the difference - Carlsen showed that today he's of a different league, outplaying Kramnik. As Larry Christiansen said "it must be since his schoolboy days that Vladimir didn't lose three games in a row". It happens to the best ones, too. Caruana put on the board all his excellent technique to beat Wesley So who, after a good winning streak following the infamous incident in round 9 of the US Championship, is now dealing with - probably - a bit of tiredness. The great Vishy Anand played a very convincing game against Adams, who is having a "Jobava" in this tournament. The Mamed's drew their derby game, with MamedYAROV being a bit disappointed, as he thought he had a chance to win. The Frenchmen and the Hollander drew as well. With two rounds to go, Carlsen now leads by a full point, and it appears very unlikely that he will let the tournament slip through his hands. Anand is the sole second, while Caruana and Wesley So share 3rd-4th, 1.5 points behind Magnus. Tomorrow So will play Magnus with the white pieces. We just can't wait.

Teacher's library (515) C65 Carlsen Kramnik recap