Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 9

The standing tradition of the Sinquefield Cup of no repeat winners remained as Maxime Vachier-Lagrave emerged as the winner of the 2017 tournament! Entering the round, the eventual winner was tied with Viswanathan Anand and Levon Aronian with Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin just half a point behind them. The day started off well for the Frenchman as Anand had a quick draw against Welsey So, while Aronian was already suffering in Carlsen’s hands. Vachier-Lagrave did his part by converting his advantage against Ian Nepomniachtchi on the white side of the Najdorf. He was officially crowned the winner once Aronian accepted the inevitable and resigned. For his efforts, Vachier-Lagrave collected $75,000 and 13 Grand Chess Tour points. He is now only three tour points behind Carlsen in the overall standings.



Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 1-0

For once, Vachier-Lagrave was facing the Najdorf instead of playing it with the black pieces. He played a very instructive game where he had a very classical example of a good knight against a bad bishop after exchanging all the right pieces. He converted masterfully as his opponent never got the chance to even make a threat or hope to defend his position. This important move also moved Vachier-Lagrave to the number two spot on the live rating list.



Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian 1-0

The Armenian Grandmaster’s dreams of winning were destroyed as his opponent played a high-class game. Aronian tried to create an imbalance in the position by changing the pawn structure to get activity. Carlsen defended against his opponent’s threats and the resulting position was simply advantageous for him. Black’s position fell apart as he had too many weaknesses and no real counterplay. This was truly a heartbreaking way to end the tournament for Aronian who had played creative and inspiring chess throughout tournament.



Wesley So vs Viswanathan Anand ½

The American had a disastrous tournament and it was clear that he simply wanted to play a solid game and end the tournament. He got a nice advantage in the middlegame but did not put any pressure on his opponent. It was an unfortunate situation for Anand who needed the win as Vachier-Lagrave had the white pieces and a good chance to score a victory. In the postgame interview, Anand was in good spirits and felt good about his overall tournament.



Hikaru Nakamura vs Sergey Karjakin ½

After his win yesterday, Karjakin had some mathematical, albeit unlikely, chances of still tying for first. Nakamura played an enterprising and quick b4 in a relatively new variation of the reverse Sicilian English. Karjakin had to find some precise moves to equalize the game as he found his bishop quite offside. However, once the bishop was retrieved, the Russian considered he had no problems. The logical conclusion led to massive exchanges and the draw.



Peter Svidler vs Fabiano Caruana 1-0

The opening of the game was offbeat, and the players found themselves in uncharted territory quite quickly. Svidler was ahead in development and played precisely to keep his advantage. In a critical moment, he shied away from sacrificing a piece and admitted in the confession booth that he probably should have gone for the complications. His intuition was correct as the sacrifice would have ended the game before move 30. He went on to win the game anyway, as he still had a slight advantage and Caruana’s poor form did not allow him to put up a tenacious defense to bring home the half a point.

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 8

by Tatev Abrahamyan

Round eight of the Sinquefield Cup did not bring any changes to the top of the leaderboard. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Viswanathan Anand and Levon Aronian all drew their games and remain ahead of the field by half a point. Sergey Karjakin had the only decisive result of the round and has joined Magnus Carlsen in the chase, as the two are half a point behind the leaders. One of the most shocking results of the tournament has been the struggle of last year’s winner, Wesley So, who has lost four games already and finds himself in last place. It will all come down to the final round as there are several possible scenarios for this tournament to end, including a four-way tie!



Viswanathan Anand vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ½

The former World Champion chose the English Opening, an unusual choice for him. He usually opts for 1.e4, which would have allowed his opponent to play his favorite Najdorf yet again. Vachier-Lagrave was not expecting to face the English but actually ended up surprising Anand with his reply. White had a slight edge as he had the better development, but a rapid series of exchanges simplified the position into a drawn endgame.



Levon Aronian vs Peter Svidler ½

Svidler repeated the same line Nepomniachtchi played against Aronian in round 1. Even though that game ended in a sparkling win for Aronian, he chose a different line knowing that his opponent would be well prepared. The game became extremely complicated when the players decided to repeat the position instead of entering the wilderness of the variations. The computers disapproved of their decisions but the lines were too unnatural for humans to play over the board and a peaceful result was reached.



Ian Nepomniactchi vs Magnus Carlsen ½

The World Champion needed to win this game to have a chance to catch the leaders. He found an interesting idea where his rook got adventurous roaming all over the board. At one point, Carlsen needed to play more solid and make a draw but he knew he needed to win thus he chose a risky line. This decision put him in a worse position but Nepomniachtchi did not press enough and the game ended in a draw.



Sergey Karjakin – Wesley So 1-0

The opening that was played yesterday in the Ding Liren vs Anish Giri match was repeated today until Karjakin deviated on move 12. The game was balanced for a while until move 38 when So made a dubious move opening the c file, which only allowed his opponent’s rook to become active. The resulting endgame was better for Karjakin, who converted masterfully without ever letting the advantage slip or giving his opponent any chances.



Fabiano Caruana vs Hikaru Nakamura ½

Nakamura chose one of his favorite openings, the King’s Indian Defense, which is one of the sharpest opening choices that requires a lot of theoretical knowledge. Caruana completely mishandled the opening and the middle game, finding himself in a worse position with the white pieces. Nakamura had the bishop pair and the type of position where he could play for a long time trying to squeeze the win. Right before making time control, Nakamura blundered but Caruana returned the favor right away as he allowed a perpetual.

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 7

by Tatev Abrahamyan

As we inch closer and closer to the grand finale, the competition for first place is getting close. As Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s preparation failed to bring him home the full point, he was joined by Levon Aronian and Viswanathan Anand, both of whom won their games. The three are leading the tournament with 4.5/7 and are being chased by Magnus Carlsen who is only half a point behind. The tournament still remains wide open as several of the leaders will meet in the following two rounds. The players have once again proved that they came here to play and are not shying away from taking risks. The next two days promise to bring even more excitement!

Viswanathan Anand vs Ian Nepomniachtchi 1-0

The former World Champion scored his second victory of the tournament after his opponent completely collapsed. The game was a theoretical Najdorf where Anand once again chose a line that he has championed. His opponent was well prepared and the game was balanced throughout until Nepmniachtchi decided to give up a pawn for active counterplay in the rook endgame instead of playing defensively. Unfortunately for him, the counterplay did not offer enough and he soon found himself in a lost position with less material.

Hikaru Nakamura vs Levon Aronian 0-1

Levon Aronian chose a complicated and double edged line in the English Opening. His opening choice indicated that even with the Black pieces he was ready to fight and wanted that full point. Aronian was able to handle the complications of the position better and always had the upper hand. In an already difficult position, matters became even worse for Nakamura after he missed a tactical shot which was spotted by his opponent immediately. In a bishop against knight endgame, where Aronian had the bishop and the extra pawn, the four time U.S. champion was forced to resign. He now finds himself at the bottom of the standings along with Ian Nepomniachtchi and Wesley So.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Sergey Karjakin ½

This was definitely the wildest affair of the round! Karjakin played a novelty that Vachier-Lagrave was well aware of and prepared against. Karjakin later admitted that he reviewed the line an hour before the game but had a hard time remembering any of it. The resulting position was such that gave Black many opportunities to make a mistake and lose the game in truly phenomenal fashion. The Russian Grandmaster was able to figure out the ins and outs of the position over the board and save the half a point. Later in a tweet, Karjakin posted that he had everything until move 38 in his notes but had to spend all his time trying to remember it.

Welsey So vs Fabiano Caruana ½

The U.S. Champion has had a very tough tournament so far after losing two games back to back. In the postgame interview, he admitted that the losses are taking their toll on him and the past few days have been very difficult for him psychologically. He tried to remember the rest of the tournament and treated this game as the first round of a new event. The game was quite solid and uneventful as neither side tried to press for a win. Of course, it is usually White’s choice to dictate the course of the game and Wesley So simply wanted to recover with a draw, which he achieved without any trouble. Caruana is quite a bit behind the leaders but felt that today was not the round to go all out.

Peter Svidler vs Magnus Carlsen ½

It was the second time in this tournament that Magnus Carlsen faced the Scotch Opening, but this time with a different result. Once again, the World Champion had the upper hand but was unable to convert the extra pawn in the endgame. Unlike yesterday, the defense by his opponent was a lot more straight-forward and Carlsen did not try very hard to win, as he knew it wouldn’t be fruitful. In the postgame interview, he was asked how he overcame yesterday’s disappointment. He felt very remorseful about overlooking the critical point in the game but still remains optimistic about his chances.

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 6

by Tatev Abrahamyan

The day after the rest day produced only one decisive game but quite a lot of action! Levon Aronian took advantage of Wesley So’s poor form and won the game in style, which improved his position in the standings. Magnus Carlsen, who is chasing the leader by half a point, gave his all to close the gap but had to settle for a draw against Hikaru Nakamura. After holding a dangerous position against Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave remains the sole leader with three rounds to go. As we reach the finish line, the pressure is on the rest of the field to start winning games to leapfrog Vachier-Lagrave.

Levon Aronian vs Wesley So 1-0

This was the only decisive game of the round. The American Grandmaster hasn’t been able to find his form this whole tournament and today he collapsed completely. White had a slight advantage when So first errored by first letting his opponent’s queen enter the action then losing his central pawn in exchange for a side pawn. He was unable to hold his position once Aronian’s rooks joined the action attacking his king and capturing his kingside pawns.

Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura ½

This marathon game lasted for over six hours and 94 moves but did not prove to be fruitful for the World Champion. Historically, Carlsen has been a problematic opponent for Nakamura, who finally managed to defeat him for the first time in a classical tournament last year. In this game, Carlsen was pressing again but missed the key opportunity in a pawn up middle game. He played a move that prevented his king from penetrating the kingside, a decision he couldn’t quite explain as he knew the move was bad. Nakamura defended tenaciously and took home the hard earned half a point.

Fabiano Caruana vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ½

Once again, Vachier-Lagrave chose his pet line, the Najdorf. Caruana did not shy away from the challenge and played a novelty early on in the opening. The Frenchman was not expecting to face this line and chose a quieter continuation instead of the principled line where he would have to give up his queen. Caruana had a big advantage but underestimated his position. Instead of playing more ambitiously and energetically, he exchanged into a pawn up endgame, where he realized he no longer could play for the win.

Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Peter Svidler ½

The all Russian match was quite uneventful. Nepomniatchi had one big opportunity to play for the advantage, which he missed. At that point, it was an opposite color middlegame on the board, which meant that more exchanges meant the game would end in a draw. That is exactly what happened in the game and a draw was agreed after White managed to push his pawn all the way to b7 but had no way of making any more progress.

Sergey Karjakin vs Viswanathan Anand ½

This game was also quite eventful. Karjakin chose the London System, which is known for being a quiet opening that is used to avoid theory. White did not obtain any advantage out of the opening as Black played actively and equalized without any problems. A draw was agreed when all the pieces except for the knights came off the board.

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 5

Round 5 of the Sinquefield Cup was the final round before the day off and the players certainly gave their all. The most remarkable games were played by the current and former World Champions. Viswanathan Anand played a sparkling sacrifice, completely demolishing Fabiano Caruana and winning in style. Magnus Carlsen was able to shake off yesterday's brutal loss by taking advantage of Wesley So's careless handling of the position. The rest of the games ended peacefully. There is a slight change in the standings as Magnus Carlsen is only half a point behind the leader, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, while Fabiano Caruana is now a full point behind. The second half of the tournament promises to bring a lot of excitement as the race is very close!





Viswanathan Anand vs Fabiano Caruana 1-0

This was the most spectacular game of the round. Caruana opted for a line that he had never played before. His second, former World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, explained the opening choice by saying that both players came to the game ready to fight. Anand did not gain any advantage out of the opening but trouble came when Caruana miscalculated a long line. This was a costly mistake for the American, but mistakes like these allow for brilliancies. Anand did not miss the opportunity by first sacrificing his bishop then playing a dazzling move that put his queen under attack, forcing his opponent to resign.



Wesley So vs Magnus Carlsen 0-1

The World Champion was coming off of a very heartbreaking loss in the previous round where he gave away the point. He did not waste this opportunity on a recovery, as many Grandmasters do and proved once again why he's the strongest player in the world. So surprised his opponent in the opening by playing the Scotch Game. He obtained an advantage but started chasing ghosts by sacrificing a pawn instead of defending it and keeping his advantage. The mistake was quite costly as White had a vulnerable king and opening up the position only created problems for White. Black's pieces were able to penetrate and attack So's weak pawns. The US Champion resigned somewhat prematurely when he was down two pawns but it is doubtful Carlsen wouldn't convert that position.



Sergey Karjakin vs Ian Nepomniachtchi ½

Karjakin surprised everyone by playing a retreating move with his bishop in the opening. As beginners, chess players learn not to move the same piece twice in the opening when unprovoked. Karjakin explained that he did not want to go for theoretical complications and played a move that was suggested to him by a friend not remembering what the ideas of it. This inaccuracy allowed Nepomniachtchi to obtain a winning advantage which he was unable to convert as he chose to go for a rook endgame instead of keeping more pieces on the board.



Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Levon Aronian ½

This is yet another case of the result of the game not reflecting accurately what exactly went on. This was an extremely complicated game which required a lot of calculation from both sides. Aronian repeated a rare line that had occurred twice in round three of the event but Vachier-Lagrave was ready to face it with a novelty. In the middlegame, after many complications and forced variations, the game fizzled out into a rook against two minor pieces endgame. Usually this imbalance favors the side with the two minor pieces, but Aronian's active rook was enough to guarantee him the half a point.



Hikaru Nakamura vs Peter Svidler ½

The ever so common Spanish opening was played and the game was balanced throughout. Svidler found a pawn sacrifice idea which equalized the position immediately as it allowed him to have a lot of piece activity in the endgame. After several more piece exchanges, there was not enough material left on the board for realistic winning chances. Nakamura played on for as long as he could with his extra pawn, but Svidler's defense was not very complicated.



Watch all the action live on GrandChessTour.org 

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 4

The hard-fought game between Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave produced the sole leader of the tournament for the first time. Far from the perfect, the game was a rollercoaster ride which started as advantageous for Carlsen but several mistakes later ended in Vachier-Lagrave’s favor. Clearly a heartbreaking loss for the World Champion, who needs to be able to recover quickly and now allow this loss to dictate the direction of the rest of his tournament. On the other hand, the win is a big confidence boost for the Frenchman, who not only defeated one of his main rivals with the black pieces but will also have three whites in the remaining five games. The rest of the games ended in a draw, which puts Fabiano Caruana in clear second place with half a point behind the leader.



Magnus Carlsen vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0-1

This epic six hour battle was the most thrilling and crucial game of the day. At first, it seemed as though Carlsen was playing to his highest standards and in a true Magnus style that the chess world is accustomed to. In a completely locked position, the World Champion outsmarted his opponent and created an advantage out of nothing. At the key moment, instead of delivering the winning blow, Carlsen blundered. The game still could have been salvaged but usually a mistake like that means that the player has lost the thread of the game. Instead of keeping the game balanced and trying to make a draw, Carlsen kept playing for complications. All it took was one more mistake from the Norwegian for Vachier-Lagrave to take full control of the position and convert with near perfect play. With this heroic win, the Frenchman is now leading the tournament.

Ian Nepomniachtchi – Hikaru Nakamura 1-0

After losing the first two games, the Russian Grandmaster recovered nicely as his opponent completely collapsed. In an attempt to make his opponent uncomfortable, Nepomniachtchi opted for a quieter opening knowing that Nakamura, true to his style, would try to seek active counter play. White had a slight edge when not sensing the danger, Black played carelessly, then instead of accepting a worse position, blundered the exchange. The material advantage was enough for an easy conversion when Nakamura blundered yet again and was forced to resign.

Levon Aronian – Viswanathan Anand ½

The Armenian superstar, known for his creative play, did not disappoint with his opening choice. He chose an obscure line that hasn’t been explored, pushing his pawn all the way to h6. The former World Champion kept his cool and not only did he defend against his opponent’s advances but found himself in a pleasant position. He found a key idea on move 21, which forced his opponent to play with precision. Aronian reacted correctly and Anand decided to go for the repetition after not seeing a clear plan to increase his advantage.

Fabiano Caruana vs Sergey Karjakin ½

The opening was yet another Giuoco Piano, which has become the latest fashion at the top levels. Caruana played a rare move order, leaving his king in the center and trying to gain advantage on the queen side. Karjakin sacrificed a central pawn trying to build quick counterplay and take advantage of his active pieces. Caruana did not take any chances and the game did not last long, but it was still a difficult game, as White needed to do a lot of precise calculation not to find himself in trouble.

Peter Svilder vs Wesley So ½

For the first time in this tournament, the open Italian opening made its debut. As mentioned before, most top level players choose the closed Italian, trying to outmaneuver or outplay their opponents in the later part of the middlegame. Svidler chose this opening because he knew how well prepared So was and decided to test the waters. They followed a game which was played earlier this year, until So chose a different continuation which oversimplified the game and equalized easily. Svidler took advantage of the only chance to pose problems for his opponent, but correct defense was not a challenge for a player of So’s caliber. The game ended in a threefold repetition.

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 3

Today was the most peaceful round so far with all draws, but the results don’t tell the entire story! Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had a dominating position against Peter Svidler, but one slip allowed his opponent to solve all his problems tactically. Fabiano Caruana also had great winning chances against Ian Nepomniachtchi but the position was very complicated with a lot of room to error. Sergey Karjakin and Levon Aronian, both of whom suffered tough losses yesterday, played a quick draw. In the all American match up of Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura, the current U.S. champion was pressing with the white pieces but could not convert his extra pawn. All eyes, once again, were on Magnus Carlsen who had to face another rival, Vishy Anand. The World Champion won a pawn tactically, but the resulting rook endgame did not offer winning chances. Carlsen, Vachier-Lagrave and Caruana remain in the lead.



Viswanathan Anand – Magnus Carlsen ½

Once again, this game was the center of attention as all chess fans remember the epic World Championship battles between two players. It was as long strategical battle turned into a long rook and knight endgame battle until Anand blundered a pawn. Winning the pawn meant simplifying the position into a rook ending, where Carlsen could not use his king without losing a pawn. The former World Champion made a draw without any trouble.

Sergey Karjakin vs Levon Aronian ½

Yesterday was an unfortunate day for both players as they both lost their games. Usually, tough losses require recovery time and it seemed that neither player wanted to go for complications today. Aronian was unhappy with his position and was low on time, but Karjakin simply went for the repetition and did not played too ambitiously with the white pieces.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Peter Svidler ½

The Frenchman reached a winning position in the middlegame, where his opponent had to decide between giving up a pawn or allowing an attack on his king that looked devastating. Svidler gave up a pawn, but in the postgame interview, after looking at the game with the engine, decided that allowing the attack was the better option. Vachier-Lagrave’s task was to slowly build up his position until his extra material was devastating for his opponent. Unfortunately for him, he allowed a tactical break and consequently a perpetual.

Welsey So vs Hikaru Nakamura ½

Up until move 10, the game was identical to Vachier-Lagrave-Svidler. Both Svidler and Nakamura played a rare idea but Nakamura fared better as he did not have any problems out of the opening. White had more space and a little pressure which eventually allowed him to win a pawn. At that point, all the central and queenside pawns were exchanged and with little material on the board, So could not do much to win the game.

Fabiano Caruana – Ian Nepomniachtchi ½

Black chose the Sicilian Defense which usually leads to complicated and attacking chess. Caruana chose the closed variation, committing to a kingside attack while allowing his opponent to enter through the queenside. It looked as though either his attack would be enough or he would find himself with extra material, but the position was extremely complicated. Caruana chose the wrong path and while he still managed to win material, his opponent had enough counterplay with his active pieces. The game ended with a threefold repetition as neither player wanted to take unnecessary risks.

Sinquefield Cup Recap - Round 2

Just as in round one, the second round of the Sinquefield Cup saw three decisive results however the road to these results was significantly different. The first result came from Ian Nepomniachtchi and Wesley So; the Russian misplayed the opening and saw his position fall apart quickly after. Peter Svidler versus Viswanathan Anand and Hikaru Nakamura versus Maxime Vachier-Lagrave were quite uneventful draws. The game that had everyone’s attention was the battle between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin. The World Champion came out on top after outplaying his opponent in true Carlsen-esque fashion. Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian played a 110 move marathon game, with the American finally converting the winning advantage.



Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin 1-0

All eyes were on this match as the two giants have developed quite the rivalry since their World Championship match in 2016. Since then, they met only once in a classical tournament in the Altibox Norway Chess in 2017, where the World Champion won in a one-sided game. True to his style, Carlsen slowly started building up his position and putting pressure on his opponent. Karjakin made one crucial mistake when he did not fight for the only open file in the game and allowed his opponent to penetrate with his rook and eventually build up an attack on his king. On move 42, Karjakin admitted defeat.



Levon Aronian vs Fabiano Caruana 0-1

This was an epic battle that lasted almost seven hours. Aronian made a careless blunder and found himself down a piece in an endgame. The only reason this was complicated was because Caruana had a pawn on the h-file and a dark squared bishop. Without any material on the board, this position is a theoretical draw. However, each side had a rook and Aronian also had two pawns. Caruana missed a tactical win on move 40, before making time control and the game went on for another 70 moves. The former U.S. champion missed several other wins in the marathon game, but his technique was still good enough as he forced the game into a winning rook and bishop versus a rook endgame. These endgames are usually drawn with correct play, with the exception for some specific theoretical positions, one of which appeared on the board.



Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Wesley So 0-1

After a tough first round loss, the Russian grandmaster played very unambitiously in the opening, opting out for an obscure line. Black was able to obtain the two bishop advantage and get a grip on the dark squares. Nepomniachtchi blundered with 17.f4, when he overlooked that his opponent could capture his knight right away instead of trading pawns first. Quickly, White found himself in an endgame with too many pawn weaknesses, none of which he could defend. So went on to convert without any trouble.



Peter Svilder vs Viswanathan Anand ½

The game was pretty equal throughout. Black accepted a position with an isolated pawn, which offers the opponent a long term advantage. However, Anand had enough counter play to never find himself in a worse position. He played precisely by exchanging a knight for his opponent’s bishop then putting his passed pawn on a dark square to limit White’s remaining dark square bishop. After enough pieces were traded off, the opponents agreed to a draw as the position did not offer anything to play for.



Hikaru Nakamura vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave ½

The Frenchman once again played his pet line, the Najdorf, and got a comfortable position out of the opening. In the confessional booth during the game, he recalled the game he played on the white side of it against Topalov a few years ago. He called his opponent’s play inaccurate as he had an improvement based on his game. At some point, it was Nakamura who had to play precisely not to find himself in an uncomfortable position. After all the pieces were traded off, a draw was agreed in an opposite color bishop ending.

Sinquefield Cup started in Saint Louis

The 2017 Sinquefield Cup is an elite international event, featuring 10 of the strongest chess players in the world.

Over the course of nine rounds, these competitors will battle for $300,000 in prize money, points toward the Grand Chess Tour, and the coveted title of 2017 Sinquefield Cup Champion.

Round 1 results:
1 GM Aronian Levon ARM 2799 - GM Nepomniachtchi Ian RUS 2751 1-0
2 GM Caruana Fabiano USA 2807 - GM Carlsen Magnus NOR 2822 ½-½
3 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2773 - GM Svidler Peter RUS 2751 1-0
4 GM Anand Viswanathan IND 2783 - GM Nakamura Hikaru USA 2792 ½-½
5 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime FRA 2789 - GM So Wesley USA 2810 1-0

Round 2 pairings:
1 GM Nepomniachtchi Ian RUS 2751 - GM So Wesley USA 2810
2 GM Nakamura Hikaru USA 2792 - GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime FRA 2789
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS 2751 - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 2783
4 GM Carlsen Magnus NOR 2822 - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2773
5 GM Aronian Levon ARM 2799 - GM Caruana Fabiano USA 2807

Official website