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Ivanchuk extends lead in the Grand Slam Chess Masters Final |
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Friday, 07 October 2011 01:31 |
 Ukraine's Vasily Ivanchuk has made a giant leap towards walking away with the title at the 4th Grand Slam Masters Final 2011, which began this afternoon in the central atrium of the Alhóndiga Bilbao, after his win over American Hikaru Nakamura.
Ivanchuk’s win gives him a clear advantage on the provisional leaderboard after draws in the other matches played between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand, and Francisco Vallejo and Levon Aronian.
In the first match between Ivanchuck and Nakamura, a Paulsen Sicilian defense was played. Ivanchuk played very creatively from the beginning, sacrificing the structure of his queen’s side in exchange for a powerful dark-squared bishop. The game unfolded with growing tension on the king’s side. In the end, he carried out the attack brilliantly, walking away with the full point.
The most highly anticipated matchup of the second and deciding leg of the Grand Slam Masters Final, the one which pitted current number 1 in the world rankings, Magnus Carlsen, (white) against current World Champion, Viswanathan Anand, (black) ended in a draw.
In the third game, Spain’s Paco Vallejo faced 2009 Grand Slam Champion Levon Aronian. Aronian played very ambitiously in the opening holding on to the maximum number of pieces possible. Paco Vallejo got a hold of some advantage, but when it was time to capitalize he got into a complicated position where Aronian is in his element. Vallejo’s position always seemed better but in the end Levon knew how to defend himself and keep things in balance.
Interviews with Anand, Carlsen, Vallejo, Aronian, Ivanchuk, Nakamura, and Leontxo Garcia
The leaderboard is headed by Vassily Ivanchuk with 13 points. He is followed by, Nakamura, Carlsen, Anand and Aronian, all tied with 7. Trailing is Francisco Vallejo, with 4 points.
The 7th round, which takes place Friday, will see Vallejo (white) come up against Ivanchuk (black), Aronian (white) against Carlsen (black) and Anand (white) versus Nakamura (black).
Live games with GM commentary and computer analysis
Furthermore, the organizers of the 2011 Grand Slam Masters Final Sao Paulo-Bilbao wish to thank Vassily Ivanchuk, provisional leader of the tournament, for his efforts, and his complete and utter willingness to resume the tournament today in Bilbao, after the unpleasant incident of which both he and his wife were victims in Sao Paulo and which detained them in Brazil too long to arrange their arrival to Spain.
His efforts and those of the Final’s organizers finally paid off yesterday as he is already in the Biscayan capital to begin playing this afternoon in the second round of the tournament, one of the foremost in the world.
Photo-gallery of the 6th round by Manu de Alba: http://www.bilbaomastersfinal.com/en/chess-masters-final/photos/6th-round/
Official website
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