Wijk aan Zee, Round 9 (Updated)
Abdusattorov ekes out a draw to remain the sole leader.
A day of disappointment for some, a round of relief for others. (Apologies for the annoying alliteration.) Nodirbek Abdusattorov continues to lead the Tata Steel Chess Masters by himself, but it could very easily have been a three-way tie for first.
Abdusattorov had Black against Vincent Keymer, who had been having a very difficult time. Although Keymer was tied for last coming into the round, he outplayed his opponent and found himself in a highly favorable rook and knight ending. He was much better to winning, but after some inaccuracies found himself in a “computer-equal” ending where he still had the better chances. Soon he was winning in actual fact, but as often happens he stumbled at the last hurdle, and Abdusattorov escaped.
Had Keymer won, Anish Giri would have been tied for first rather than half a point behind after his win - with Black - against Ding Liren. They reached a very unusual position, enough so that neither player seemed to have a clear idea of what to do. There were plenty of errors, understandably, but when Ding made a relatively simple tactical error (or misjudgment?) Giri took advantage and went on to win.
As for the possible three-way tie, that would have happened if Keymer had won and Wesley So had converted his clearly winning advantage - against with Black - against Parham Maghsoodloo. It’s a dilemma that faces chess players of all levels: we have the better position, and can choose between cashing in and giving our opponents a little freedom, or keeping our grip hoping it will lead to a bigger payoff down the road. For So, it was a case of prematurely cashing in, and Maghsoodloo soon made a draw.
Behind So, four players are tied with +1 scores. (Abdusattorov has a +4 score, Giri +3, So +2.) There’s Magnus Carlsen, who despite having White against tailender Dommaraju Gukesh got nothing and made a draw; there’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana, who drew with each other (Pragg had some advantage much of the way, though never enough to win); and Levon Aronian, who achieved nothing with White against Jorden Van Foreest and made a quick draw.
Finally, Richard Rapport won - quickly and brutally, thanks to some fine prep, against Arjun Erigaisi. And by the way, he too had the black pieces. (If you’re curious, White leads overall in the tournament, 16-12 in decisive games.)
Here are today’s games, with my comments. (UPDATE: The link is now present/works.) Four rounds remain, and this is what we have to look forward to in round 10:
Abdusattorov (6.5) - Ding Liren (4)
So (5.5) - Giri (6)
Maghsoodloo (4) - Carlsen (5)
Rapport (4.5) - Aronian (5)
Caruana (5) - Erigaisi (3)
Gukesh (3) - Praggnanandhaa (5)
Van Foreest (3.5) - Keymer (3)