Round 6 of the FIDE Grand Prix in London saw a fight of continents between Hikaru Nakamura and Wang Hao.
Surprisingly, Hikaru chose a quiet line with double fianchetto 2.g3 and 4.b3. Wang Hao had a pretty safe position and waited the time control to see a big blunder (45.Nxa4??) from the American player.
Alexander Grischuk and Peter Leko, both pursuing the Grand Prix leader Boris Gelfand and playing white pieces, tried to reduce the gap. Alexander avoided the main weapon of Michael Adams, the Marshall gambit in Ruy Lopez, and went for 6.d3. White quickly opened the centre forcing black to give away a pawn. In compensation, Adams held a pair of bishops. It was enough to secure the draw in the endgame.
The longest game of the day saw Veselin Topalov facing Leinier Dominguez. In response to Cuban’s Chebanenko Slav defence, Veselin decided to take space immediately with 7.Ne5 and 8.f4. Topalov gradually increased the advantage, sacrificing a piece to beautifully win in the endgame.
Back to business with the only leader of the tournament, Boris Gelfand (3,5/5), played against Vasily Ivanchuk. The Israeli player went for an aggressive line against the Queen’s Indian, sacrificing a pawn very early in the game. Both players admitted later that it was a complicated game and finally the draw was agreed before the time trouble, on move 25.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov played Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in one of the most fashionable lines of the Meran Slav defence. The position became very sharp when Mamedyarov decided to develop his initiative on the King’s side, pushing his “f” and “h” pawns. The 38th move was a terrible blunder from the Uzbek player and “Shak” jumped on the opportunity to score a full point.
Peter Leko and Anish Giri explored a topical line of the Sicilian Najdorf. Peter quickly gave a pawn away in order to seize the initiative and two bishops. Anish launched the counter attack on the “a” file and managed to equalize. Both players decided to quickly repeat the moves and agree a draw.
Replay the games with computer analysis
Round 6 results:
GM Leko Peter 2737 ½ – ½ GM Giri Anish 2730
GM Grischuk Alexander 2754 ½ – ½ GM Adams Michael 2722
GM Gelfand Boris 2738 ½ – ½ GM Ivanchuk Vassily 2769
GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2684 0 – 1 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2729
GM Nakamura Hikaru 2783 0 – 1 GM Wang Hao 2742
GM Topalov Veselin 2752 1 – 0 GM Dominguez Perez Leinier 2725
Round 6 standings:
1. GM Gelfand Boris 2738 ISR – 4
2-5. GM Grischuk Alexander 2754 RUS, GM Topalov Veselin 2752 BUL, GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2729 AZE and GM Leko Peter 2737 HUN – 3½
6-7. GM Adams Michael 2722 ENG and GM Wang Hao 2742 CHN – 3
8-11. GM Ivanchuk Vassily 2769 UKR, GM Dominguez Perez Leinier 2725 CUB, GM Giri Anish 2730 NED and GM Nakamura Hikaru 2783 USA – 2½
12. GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2684 UZB – 2
Round 7 pairings (on 2012/09/28):
GM Dominguez Perez Leinier 2725 – GM Leko Peter 2737
GM Wang Hao 2742 – GM Topalov Veselin 2752
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2729 – GM Nakamura Hikaru 2783
GM Ivanchuk Vassily 2769 – GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2684
GM Adams Michael 2722 – GM Gelfand Boris 2738
GM Giri Anish 2730 – GM Grischuk Alexander 2754
Nakamura will destroy Mamedyarov.