Grenke Classic 2015 Round 1

Opening: C07, D36, D70: French: Tarrasch, QGD, Neo-Grunfeld defense

Player(s): Adams, Naiditsch, Aronian, Carlsen, Bacrot, Baramidze

GM Joel Benjamin recaps Round 1. Four draws in the first round in Baden-Baden, Germany. Carlsen-Aronian was an interesting game, with Aronian playing good attacking chess, but Carlsen - who is an amazing defender - rebuffed all Levon's efforts to get ahead, and entered in a slightly better endgame. Aronian managed to equalize, and the game ended in a draw. Anand and Caruana battled over an old-fashioned Giuoco Piano opening, and went through a lot of exchanges, to come up playing a rook endgame. Then they exchanged rooks and both queened a pawn, to agree to a draw in a specular and - in a way - unusual position. Bacrot - Baramidze was the most interesting game, with a novelty in the opening, but both players were really precise and careful, and the game ended in a draw.