Are we witnessing the metamorphosis of Magnus Carlsen from a powerful young GM with world title aspirations into Garry Kasparov 2.0?
The influence of the former world champion has been self-evident in Carlsen's choice of openings so far in Nanjing, culminating in the Sicilian Najdorf today!
It was far from plain sailing for the Norwegian, however, as Dmitry Jakovenko gave as good as he got in a fiercely contested game where both players suffered time trouble. But it was Carlsen who laughed last to extend his lead to a mighty 1.5 points.
Lest we forget that there are other players taking part, we should note that Radjabov came within a whisker of beating Topalov today in an exciting game (another Scotch!). On the other hand the immovable object that is Wang Yue, versus the immovable object that is Peter Leko, failed to move anyone.
The standings after round 4:
| Carlsen, Magnus |
NOR |
2772 |
3½ |
| Wang Yue |
CHN |
2736 |
2 |
| Radjabov, Teimour |
AZE |
2757 |
2 |
| Jakovenko, Dmitry |
RUS |
2742 |
1½ |
| Leko, Peter |
HUN |
2762 |
1½ |
| Topalov, Veselin |
BUL |
2813 |
1½ |
Carlsen will take on Radjabov with the white pieces in the pick of the games in round 5.