Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Fabiano Caruana, Open Catalan, E04
2018 Chess Candidates Tournament, Round 10
The tournament leader before round 10, Fabiano Caruana, faced Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who was just behind him with only half a point less. They played a very instructional Open Catalan in which Mamedyarov deviated from the main line very soon in the opening, perhaps trying to get Caruana out of his preparation.
The fact that he chose to play an inferior move shows great courage and a will to fight for a win, despite the obvious downside of relinquishing his opening advantage by not playing the most precise line. His “bluff” worked, and he managed to get a favorable middle game position which soon became tactically complex.
Caruana had an opportunity to gain a lot of initiative but failed to find the best variation, after which the queens got traded and the position became a lot calmer. They ended up transposing into a very instructive endgame with Mamedyarov having two pawns for the exchange; he gave his rook away for a bishop. Unfortunately for him, his passed pawn wasn’t enough for a full point and the game ended in a draw.
This means that the situation on the scoreboard is still very unclear and almost all eight players still stand a chance to end up in first place, but Caruana remains the leader, which is even though it’s by only half a point, definitely a huge psychological advantage going into round 11 tomorrow. He will also be playing with the white pieces so I expect him to stay on the top!
Standings after round 10:
Fabiano Caruana 6.5/10
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 6/10
Alexander Grischuk 5.5/10
Ding Liren 5/10
Sergey Karjakin 5/10
Vladimir Kramnik 4.5/10
Wesley So 4/10
Levon Aronian 3.5/10 !