Three draws in second round Nanjing
![Three draws in second round Nanjing](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/290/http/00a423769d.jpg)
General info
The third Kanion Cup Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament takes place October 21-30 in Nanjing, China. Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Veselin Topalov, Wang Yue, Vugar Gashimov and Etienne Bacrot play a double round-robin with one rest day halfway. More info here.Videos
Round 2 report
After the first round Wang Yue was asked by a local reporter whether he was planning to win some games. After all the local hero had drawn so many games last year, and then he started with another one this year. The grandmaster answered that he was confident that he would, but today Wang Yue might have lost some of that confidence. Against Gashimov he missed several promising, close to winning continuations, and eventually even had to defend a worse rook ending.Gashimov himself felt he was lost, but didn't see exactly where. Then he felt he might have been winning, but he didn't see that either. He turned out to be right in the first case and wrong in the second, as the computer shows.![Wang Yue-Gashimov](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/wangyue-gashimov/http/16ba083387.jpg)
Photo ChessVibes
![Bacrot-Topalov](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/bacrot-topalov/http/ec9b929d30.jpg)
Photo ChessVibes
After 16.axb5 (the alternative is 16.a5), Black usually recaptures with the a-pawn: 16...axb5 17.Rxa8 Bxa8 or 17... Qxa8. In the symmetrical positions that arise after White takes on e5 White is slightly more active. Black has to be a little careful but has good chances of drawing. Still, many chess players find it depressing to play a position right from the opening in which the maximum you can hope for is to split the point. Our guess is that Carlsen is probably one of them and he showed that it's possible to create a lot of dynamism by recapturing the other way: 16...cxb5."And... just on the same day Mr Carlsen goes for 16...axb5 anyway. :-) At least he showed a big grin on his face when yours truly told him this anecdote.
![Bacrot-Topalov](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/carlsen/http/9d72cf57ee.jpg)
Photo ChessVibes
Games round 2
Game viewer by ChessTempo![Pearl Spring (Nanjing) 2010 | Schedule & results](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/tabellen/nanjing10_schedule_r2/http/bcc048f988.jpg)
![Pearl Spring (Nanjing) 2010 | Round 2 standings](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/tabellen/nanjing10_standings_r2/http/a273ab26a7.jpg)
![The press conference with Anand and Carlsen](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/pc/http/f02316bf61.jpg)
The press conference with Anand and Carlsen | Photo Yu Feng
![Anand](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/anand/http/459ce719fa.jpg)
"I guess we both like this kind of positions..." | Photo Yu Feng
![Carlsen](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/carlsen2/http/cd3c3ff4ab.jpg)
"This is what happens sometimes at these top tournaments..." | Photo Yu Feng
![Carlsen tabletennis](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/tabletennis1/http/29198abf0d.jpg)
A popular time spending during the nights at the hotel is table tennis... | Photo Yu Feng
![Carlsen tabletennis](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/proxy/www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/nanjing10/r2/tabletennis2/http/b2b06ddaf7.jpg)
...where some players take their play to new heights | Photo Yu Feng