Caruana vs. Draws at the London Classic

After 5 rounds at the London Classic, more than half the tournament, only one person has been able to win any games: Fabiano Caruana. After 19 straight draws between the participants, in round 4, Caruana won the first decisive game with black against Sergey Karjakin in a sharp Sicilian.

[pgn][Event "London Chess Classic"] [Site "1:00:33-0:59:33"] [Date "2017.12.05"] [Round "3"] [White "Sergey Karjakin"] [Black "Fabiano Caruana"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B48"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2017.12.01"]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qg3 b5 9. O-O-O Nf6 10. f4 Neg4 11. Bg1 h5 12. e5 b4 13. Na4 Nd5 14. Nb3 Bb7 15. Nac5 Bc6 16. Ne4 f5 17. h3 h4 18. Qe1 fxe4 19. hxg4 Nxf4 20. Rxh4 Rxh4 21. Qxh4 Qxe5 22. Bd4 Ng6 23. Qh3 Qg5+ 24. Kb1 Bd5 25. Bg1 Be7 26. g3 Ne5 27. Be2 Nf3 28. Bxf3 exf3 29. Bd4 Kf7 30. Nc1 d6 31. Nd3 e5 32. Bf2 Be6 33. Nxb4 e4 34. Qh1 Rc8 35. Nxa6 Qa5 36. Qh5+ Qxh5 37. gxh5 Bg5 38. Re1 Bc4 39. Nb4 Re8 40. Re3 Bxe3 41. Bxe3 Re5 42. g4 Rg5 0-1[/pgn]

In round 5, Caruana again produced the only decisive result, defeating the 15th World Champion, Vishwanathan Anand.

[pgn][Event "London Chess Classic"] [Site "0:01:33-0:05:33"] [Date "2017.12.06"] [EventDate "2017.12.01"] [Round "5"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Fabiano Caruana"] [Black "Viswanathan Anand"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "77"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.h3 Nd7 8.Be3 Bd6 9.Ne2 Re8 10.g4 Nc5 11.Ng3 Ne6 12.Nf5 c5 13.h4 a5 14.h5 Ra6 15.Qd2 Nd4 16.Rh3 Bf8 17.O-O-O Be6 18.Kb1 f6 19.c3 Nxf3 20.Rxf3 c4 21.Qc2 cxd3 22.Rxd3 Qc8 23.g5 fxg5 24.Bxg5 Bf7 25.h6 gxh6 26.Bc1 Qe6 27.b3 a4 28.c4 axb3 29.axb3 Qc6 30.Rg3+ Kh8 31.Rd1 b5 32.c5 b4 33.Bb2 Bg6 34.Rd5 Qb5 35.Rg1 c6 36.Rxe5 Rxe5 37.Bxe5+ Kg8 38.Bd4 Kf7 39.Nh4 1-0[/pgn]

This gives Caruana a full point lead over the field---with 7 players tied for 2nd-8th place at an even score. Caruana’s victories have propelled him to #2 in the world, currently reaching 2807.9.

Almost victories

While there have been many, many draws (92% of games so far), it's not because there have been a lack of exciting games and close calls. One such game was the topsy-turvy game between Levon Aronian and Sergey Karjakin. Karjakin aggressively advanced his kingside pawns while Aronian sacrificed a pawn (and offers a second) to generate activity. In time trouble, Aronian made a mistake, and, in the final position, Karjakin overlooked his winning chances and accepted a draw offer.

[pgn][Event "London Chess Classic"] [Site "0:03:33-0:00:33"] [Date "2017.12.04"] [Round "3"] [White "Levon Aronian"] [Black "Sergey Karjakin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E00"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2017.12.01"]1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Na3 c6 9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Be3 f5 11. Rc2 a5 12. Qc1 Bf6 13. Rd1 g5 14. Nb1 Rf7 15. Nc3 Rg7 16. Ne1 Nd6 17. b3 dxc4 18. Na4 cxb3 19. axb3 Nb5 20. Nd3 Qe8 21. Ne5 f4 22. gxf4 gxf4 23. Bxf4 Nxd4 24. Rxd4 Nxe5 25. Rd1 Qg6 26. Bg3 h5 27. Nb6 Rb8 28. Rcd2 Nf7 29. Qc5 e5 30. Qc4 Kh8 31. h4 Bf5 32. Nd7 Rbg8 33. Kh1 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

In round 5, Magnus Carlsen fought hard for over 5 hours against Wesley So, gaining an advantage and trying in his usual style to convert it into a victory, but So defended accurately.

"It was tough. You gotta fight for every half-point these days. He was pushing hard, trying his best." -Wesley So

[pgn][Event "London Chess Classic"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2017.12.06"] [Round "5"] [White "Magnus Carlsen"] [Black "Wesley So"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2837"] [BlackElo "2788"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2017.11.29"]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bg5 Nd4 6. Nxd4 Bxd4 7. c3 Bb6 8. Nd2 c6 9. Ba4 h6 10. Bh4 d6 11. Nc4 Bc7 12. Ne3 Bb6 13. Bb3 g5 14. Bg3 Bxe3 15. fxe3 Bg4 16. Qd2 Nh5 17. O-O O-O 18. Be1 Qe7 19. h3 Be6 20. Qe2 Bxb3 21. Qxh5 Bc2 22. Qe2 Ba4 23. b3 Bb5 24. a4 Ba6 25. b4 b6 26. c4 Bb7 27. a5 f6 28. d4 Qh7 29. c5 bxc5 30. bxc5 Qxe4 31. cxd6 exd4 32. Qc4+ Kg7 33. a6 Bc8 34. Qxd4 Qxd4 35. exd4 Rb8 36. Bf2 Rf7 37. d5 cxd5 38. Rfc1 d4 39. Bxd4 Bf5 40. Rc7 Rd8 41. Bc5 Rdd7 42. Rxd7 Rxd7 43. Kf2 Be4 44. g4 f5 45. Ke3 Kf6 46. Ra5 Bc2 47. Rb5 Ke6 48. Rb2 f4+ 49. Kd4 Bd1 50. Rb8 f3 51. Ke3 Kd5 52. Ba3 Be2 53. Rh8 Kc4 54. Rxh6 Kb3 55. Bc5 Kc4 56. Bd4 Kd5 57. Rg6 Rxd6 58. Rxg5+ Ke6 59. Bxa7 Rxa6 60. Bc5 Ra2 61. Kf4 f2 62. Re5+ Kf7 63. Rf5+ Kg8 64. Bxf2 Bf1 65. Kg3 Ra3+ 66. Rf3 Rxf3+ 67. Kxf3 Bxh3 68. Kf4 Bxg4 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

In an attempt for exciting games, Hikaru Nakamura has tried the hyper-aggressive Sicilian Dragon in both of his rounds with black. The games were sharp, especially his battle against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, but ultimately ended peacefully.

[pgn][Event "London Chess Classic"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2017.12.03"] [Round "2"] [White "Maxime Vachier-Lagrave"] [Black "Hikaru Nakamura"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B77"] [WhiteElo "2789"] [BlackElo "2781"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2017.11.29"]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. h4 h5 11. Bb3 Rc8 12. O-O-O Ne5 13. Bg5 Rc5 14. Kb1 Re8 15. g4 hxg4 16. f4 Nc4 17. Qd3 Na5 18. Bxf6 exf6 19. Bd5 Nc6 20. Nxc6 bxc6 21. Bxf7+ Kxf7 22. Qxd6 Rxc3 23. Qxd7+ Qxd7 24. Rxd7+ Ke6 25. Rxg7 Rf3 26. Rxg6 Rxf4 27. Rg1 Rxe4 28. R6xg4 Rxg4 29. Rxg4 f5 30. Ra4 Rg8 31. b3 Rg4 32. Rxa7 f4 33. Kc1 f3 34. Kd2 Rxh4 35. Ra8 Rh2+ 36. Kd3 Kf5 37. a4 Kg4 38. a5 Rh1 39. Rg8+ Kf4 40. Rf8+ Kg3 41. Rg8+ Kf4 42. Rf8+ Kg3 43. b4 f2 44. Kd4 f1=Q 45. Rxf1 Rxf1 46. Kc5 Rc1 47. Kxc6 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

Why so many draws?

Even with a 92% draw rate, this isn't anything new for super-GM chess. In fact, for the London Classic 2017 to take over the world record for the most draws, every single remaining game would have to end in a split point. The current record holder for the highest percentage of draws in a tournament is the 1999 Petrosian Memorial, where 42 games out of 45 were drawn, 93.3%. In that event, half the players drew every single one of their 9 games. Here are a few of the players' thoughts on the high frequency of draws and possible solutions.

"At the end of the year, before the Candidates', you see slightly more cautious play. Players are not going all out as they normally would."

-Fabiano Caruana

 

“There is nothing wrong about a draw, but offering a draw should be taken out of the game.” -Levon Aronian

 

“I think we should keep classic chess, but we should maybe play more tournaments with a knockout system where one has to win at some point. It’s much more interesting to watch, like the World Cup.” -Sergey Karjakin

The drawmaster himself, Anish Giri (who isn't playing in the event), even joked about the draw percentage on Twitter, to which Caruana replied with a suggestion to rename the tournament.

Personally, I think we will see more decisive results in the second half. It's unlikely that the players of this caliber and will to win, especially Carlsen, will let Caruana run away with the tournament without making a fight of it.

Pairings - Round 6

Tune in for Round 6 and watch live commentary by Yasser Seirawan, Jennifer Shahade, Maurice Ashley, and Cristian Chirila on Friday, December 8, starting at 10 a.m. CST. For more information on the London Classic, visit the Official Website.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vanessa West is a regular writer and digital assistant for US Chess News. She won the 2017 Chess Journalist of the Year award. You can follow her on Twitter: @Vanessa__West