Giuoco Pianissimo directed by Karjakin and Grischuk ⎸2018 Candidates, Round 3

2018 World Chess Candidates, Round 3, Sergey Karjakin vs Alexander Grischuk
Italian Game, C50 Giuoco Pianissimo (four knights)

Round three brought less excitement than the previous rounds (with the exception of Kramnik’s brilliancy in the Berlin Defense). Players seem to be calculating much more and trying to recuperate from starting off on the wrong foot in the candidates.

In this game, Karjakin and Grischuk played a Giuoco Pianissimo in the true sense of the word. A slow, drawish game with not much excitement and no real winning chances for either side. It’s still highly instructional in a sense that you can learn how to control a bad streak in chess. This is how great players “stop the bleeding” when things aren’t going too well.

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