Mamedyarov Sole Leader After Round 9 Beijing Grand Prix

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was the only winner of the day in Beijing and so Azerbaijan's number one grandmaster is the sole leader at the FIDE Grand Prix after nine rounds of play. On Sunday Mamedyarov defeated Anish Giri of the Netherlands rather easily, while Alexander Grischuk of Russia had to be satisfied with a draw against his compatriot Alexander Morozevich. The last two rounds will be played on Monday and Tuesday.

Mamedyarov's win was a surprisingly quick affair. He managed to surprise his opponent with one of the many sidelines in the Grünfeld, 5.Qa4+, although the Dutchman seemed to be knowing what he was doing. However, 15...Rad8? was a huge mistake (Black should take with Bxd5 and play Nc6-e5) after which White won way too many pieces for his queen.

At the press conference, Giri said:

I cannot really explain what happened. I remembered there was Rad8 in this line but now I’m not sure where exactly. I would automatically play 15…Bd5 if I was not so concentrated on my preparation.

Sergey Karjakin finally ended his series of losses as he drew his black game with Gata Kamsky. The American played one of his pet openings, the London System, and quite an original middlegame came on the board with opposite castling, but little attacking chances for either side. The players shuffled the pieces a bit here and there and agreed to a draw on move 52.

The game Vassily Ivanchuk versus Peter Leko, on the contrary, was very theoretical. Well, at least for the Hungarian, who knew the game Topalov-Aronian from the Norway Chess Tournament which was followed for twenty moves. Ivanchuk spent quite some time on the clock but didn't get more than Topalov: a draw.

Wang Hao and Boris Gelfand played a Semi-Tarrasch where White's setup was similar to how Black plays in the Queen's Gambit Declined. White had comfortable position but the Chinese player allowed Gelfand to get the initiative. Then, with 34.Nxf5? he blundered a piecebut Gelfand didn't see the intermediate move Nc3!. Also right at the end Gelfand missed the win, as instead of taking on e4, the forced maneuver 83…Qg8-c4-f1 wins.

Alexander Grischuk needed to win to keep the pace with Mamedyarov, but he didn't succeed. Alexander Morozevich chose the solid Slav, and got two knights for two bishops but he could create just enough counterplay on the kingside to hold the balance.

Veselin Topalov faced a well prepared Wang Yue, who declined an exchange sacrifice from the Bulgarian and preferred to play with two rooks against a queen. Both kings were not 100% safe but with opposite-coloured bishops, neither side could create serious threats.

Beijing GP 2013 | Scores

Beijing GP 2013 | Round 9 standings

The 5th Grand Prix takes place 4-16 July, 2013 in Beijing, China. The games start 15:00 CST (09:00 CET, 03:00 EDT); the final round starts two hours earlier. Tournament website: http://beijing2013.fide.com. Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich courtesy of FIDE. Games via TWIC.