Triumph of the underdogs?
Triumph of the underdogs?
In the penultimate round of the first FIDE Grand Prix event in Baku there were another 5 decisive games in this amazing tournament. Among the winners was unfancied Vugar Gashimov who crushed rival Alexander Grischuk to join Wang Yue at the top of the leaderboard.
Magnus Carlsen (pictured) was also among the winners today, beating Mickey Adams to move within half a point of the leaders and stay in contention.
Bacrot managed not to hang his Queen this round, but still eventually lost to Mamedyarov. Svidler bounced back at the expense of Kamsky who has had a disappointing tournament after starting well in the early rounds. The final winner was David Navara, the lowest ranked player in the event at 2672 Elo, who left it late to open his winning account by beating Radjabov.
Phew, what a round! Although last rounds are traditionally quieter affairs, a lot is still at stake and the anti-draw offer rules could mean fighting chess to the very last - let's hope so.
The results in round 12:
| Gashimov, Vugar | - Grischuk, Alexander | 1-0 | 33 | C72 | Ruy Lopez Modern Steinitz |
| Carlsen, Magnus | - Adams, Michael | 1-0 | 56 | E37 | Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2 |
| Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | - Bacrot, Etienne | 1-0 | 73 | D15 | Slav Defence |
| Cheparinov, Ivan | - Karjakin, Sergey | ½-½ | 92 | E21 | Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3 |
| Kamsky, Gata | - Svidler, Peter | 0-1 | 40 | B96 | Sicilian Najdorf |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Navara, David | 0-1 | 47 | B46 | Sicilian Paulsen |
| Inarkiev, Ernesto | - Wang Yue | ½-½ | 57 | D15 | Slav Defence |
The table after round 12:
| Rank | Name | Rtg | FED | Pts | Tie-breaks |
| 1 | Gashimov Vugar | 2679 | AZE | 7½ | 44.25 |
| 2 | Wang Yue | 2689 | CHN | 7½ | 43.00 |
| 3 | Carlsen Magnus | 2765 | NOR | 7 | 40.75 |
| 4 | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2752 | AZE | 7 | 40.50 |
| 5 | Grischuk Alexander | 2716 | RUS | 7 | 39.50 |
| 6 | Adams Michael | 2729 | ENG | 6 | 34.00 |
| 7 | Cheparinov Ivan | 2695 | BUL | 5½ | 33.00 |
| 8 | Kamsky Gata | 2726 | USA | 5½ | 32.75 |
| 9 | Radjabov Teimour | 2751 | AZE | 5½ | 32.50 |
| 10 | Karjakin Sergey | 2732 | UKR | 5½ | 32.00 |
| 11 | Svidler Peter | 2746 | RUS | 5½ | 31.75 |
| 12 | Bacrot Etienne | 2705 | FRA | 5 | 30.00 |
| 13 | Inarkiev Ernesto | 2684 | RUS | 5 | 29.75 |
| 14 | Navara David | 2672 | CZE | 4½ | 27.25 |
The 13th and final round takes place on the 5th May at 2pm local time. The pairings are:
| White | Black | |
| Karjakin Sergey | - | Kamsky Gata |
| Navara David | - | Cheparinov Ivan |
| Grischuk Alexander | - | Radjabov Teimour |
| Adams Michael | - | Gashimov Vugar |
| Bacrot Etienne | - | Carlsen Magnus |
| Wang Yue | - | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar |
| Svidler Peter | - | Inarkiev Ernesto |
