Carlsen And Nakamura Win In Bilbao

Vassily Ivanchuk still leads the Grand Slam Masters in Bilbao with just two rounds remaining, but his rivals edged a little closer to keep the competition very much alive.

Ivanchuk drew with world champion Vishy Anand to take his score to 14 points, but Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura both won their 8th round games to reach 11 points, just 3 points (1 win) behind.

Carlsen beat Vallejo Pons to gain some revenge for his blunderful loss to the Spaniard in the first half of the event, while Nakamura's persistence paid off against Lev Aronian in a long struggle.

Sunday is a rest day, so round nine will be on Monday when Magnus Carlsen will have the white pieces against Vassily Ivanchuk in a crucial match which could decide the fate of the tournament.  Nakamura will have black against Vallejo, and Anand takes on Aronian.

The standings after 8 rounds (3-1-0 scoring system):

Can Vassily Ivanchuk keep his lead in Bilbao?

The games in Bilbao start at 17:00 local time in Bilbao (15:00 UTC), apart from the last round which will start an hour earlier.

Sofia-Rules are in operation, meaning that players can only reach a draw by mutual agreement if they have the permission of the arbiter. The 3-1-0 soccer-style scoring system is also being used.  The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by 60 minutes to a finish, with a 10 second increment after move 40.

If there is a tie for first place, there will be a pair of blitz games, followed by a sudden death game if needed, to produce a winner. Ties for lower places will be decided by mathematical tie-breaks, starting with scores under the traditional 1-½-0 system.

Picture from the official website.