The Week in Chess

The second day of the Airthings Masters produced only three decisive games out of the 24 played, a very low percentage of decisive games even compared to day 1. I can't help feeling that the idea of a preliminary section where only four players are eliminated rewards this kind of caution. The Magnus Chess Tour tinkered quite a bit with the format of the online events and I wouldn't expect this precise one to make a reappearance. That said the final day is almost bound to see more action, although actually making wins happen in such a field is very tough. Magnus Carlsen joined the leaders on +1 to make it six in the lead on 4.5/8. Depending on how the results go Carlsen might have quite a tricky final day where he faces Nakamura (who might be open to a draw), Grischuk and Nepomniachtchi (who could easily find themselves in need of a win).

The decisive games were: Round 5 Carlsen grinding down Dubov and Giri beating Harikrishna, Round 6 Dubov beating Giri.

Round 8 of 11 Standings: 1st= Dubov, Nakamura, Aronian, Carlsen, Radjabov, Wesley So 4.5pts 7th= Grischuk, Nepomniachtchi 4pts 9th= MVL Harikrishna 3.5pts 11th= Giri, Anton Guijarro 3pts.