Nakamura Leads Tata Steel

Hikaru Nakamura is having a great tournament in Wijk Aan Zee so far, and by beating Jan Smeets today he is the sole leader after seven rounds.  Great opening preparation and another strong endgame ensured victory for the American.

Naka's next two games will be crucial. He is black against Magnus Carlsen in round eight on Sunday, and after a rest day on Monday he has white against Vishy Anand on Tuesday.

The other winners in Group A were Kramnik and Aronian.  Kramnik won an early pawn against Giri and never looked back.  Aronian beat a desperately out-of-form Grischuk on the black side of a Ruy Lopez.

The clash between Carlsen and Anand promised much but failed to deliver.  Anand equalised with ease in a Najdorf and the points were split after a mere 18 moves.  Nepo and Pono's draw was just four moves longer while Vachier-Lagrave and L'Ami played six more moves before arriving at the same result.

The last game to finish in the A Group was more lively, with Shirov refusing to temper his sacrificial style despite poor results so far. However, he remains firmly rooted at the bottom of the standings after drawing with Wang Hao.

Are you lookin' at me? Nakamura is now the man to beat in Wijk.

Anand easily equalises against 'The Kid' Carlsen in round seven

Wang Hao and Shirov hear no evil and speak no evil during their entertaining struggle

Luke McShane finally came unstuck in Group B, losing to the young Vietnamese star Le Quang Liem.  This allowed Zahar Efimenko to catch him at the top of the standings, where they were joined by Wesley So who beat David Navara.

The Force deserts Luke against Quang Liem in round seven

Wesley So wins his third game in a row to join the Group B leaders (pics from the official Facebook site)

The leaders of Group C, Illya Nyzhnyk and Daniele Vocaturo both won again to keep up the hectic pace at the top.  Kateryna Lahno also won an opposite coloured bishop ending to stay just half a point behind.

Proving size doesn't matter - 14 year-old Ukrainian Illyna Nyzhnyk beats Sebastian Siebrecht

For all the games and more information visit the official website www.tatasteelchess.com

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The full results and standings after round seven: