Nakamura Scores 10.5/11, Wins On Tiebreaks, Then Sweeps
It's always tough to stop GM Hikaru Nakamura, but it's becoming nigh impossible in Titled Tuesday. He swept both tournaments on May 14, the second time in just the past four weeks, giving him a total of 12 victories for the year when no one else has more than three.
In an unprecedented occurrence, a score of 10.5/11, one mere draw from perfection, was not enough to win the early tournament. Nakamura and GM Alexander Grischuk both scored 10.5 points, but Nakamura played the slightly tougher schedule and won on the tiebreak score, while Grischuk was forced to settle for second place. The late tournament was less of a doozy, with Nakamura scoring 9.5 points, but a full point less was somehow good enough to win outright this time.
- Early Tournament (Nakamura, 10.5/11)
- Late Tournament (Nakamura, 9.5/11)
- Titled Cup
Early Tournament
In a jumbo jet-sized field of 747 players in the early tournament, two of them stole the show. Outside of their draw in round nine—yes, against each other—Nakamura and Grischuk both scored a perfect 10/10. When someone scores 10.5 points, we don't usually show their draw, especially a boring 28-move draw, but this one was historic by Titled Tuesday standards. Stockfish gave Grischuk a marginal edge in the final position, but not enough that anyone would blame him for taking the draw.
Hikaru (3226) vs. Grischuk (3125)1/2-1/2 Live Chess Chess.com 14 May 2024 ECO: A0687654321abcdefgh1.f3d52.b3f63.b2f54.e3e65.g3h66.d4bd77.d3d68.c4c69.c2e410.fd2xd211.xd2xd312.xd3f613.O-OO-O14.e4xe415.xe4dxe416.xe4e717.fd1f618.d2a519.e2fd820.dd1b621.e3d722.d3ad823.ad1c724.3d2d625.a36d726.b2d627.a36d728.b21/2-1/2Nakamura and Grischuk's full-point lead on everyone else was now half a point, so neither player
