Vladimir Kramnik vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, E05, Catalan Opening, Open Variation
2018 World Chess Candidates Tournament, Round 14, Berlin, Germany, 03/27/18
Mamedyarov faced Kramnik in the final round and his final chance at winning the Candidates and challenging Magnus for the title. The situation on the scoreboard wasn’t ideal for him. Him and Sergey Karjakin were both at 7.5/13, but Fabiano, the tournament leader ever since rd.4 was half a point ahead. That meant that he was the only one who could decide his own faith coming into round 14, and Sergey and Shak had to rely on the other two players doing badly as well as winning themselves.
So he had to win against Kramnik. They entered a well known and very trendy Catalan Opening which has been played over 10 times so far in the previous rounds. They played a very theoretical line in the Open Catalan and Kramnik was better entering the middlegame.
Mamedyarov then found an equalizing tactical line with which he traded a few pieces and ended up having two pawns for the exchange and a slightly better position, but nothing major nor enough to win. By the they reached the endgame Caruana was already completely winning in his game, which must have been why Mamedyarov agreed to a draw in a position which he could have played on.
Here are the press conferences the players held after the final round:
Press conference Kramnik – Mamedyarov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWASmH71ixA
Press conference with the winner Fabiano Caruana
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zi61h4F5Zgc
Karjakin – Ding Liren
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_mvWGeKpx4
Final Standings after Round 14:
Fabiano Caruana 9/14
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 8/14
Sergey Karjakin 8/14
Ding Liren 7.5/14
Vladimir Kramnik 6.5/14
Alexander Grischuk 6.5/14
Wesley So 6/14
Levon Aronian 4.5/14
Thanks for watching the 2018 Candidates Tournament analysis! Coming up are instructive games by the old masters such as Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal, as well as a series on opening theory and lesser known ideas in early middlegame. I will also be covering some of the key encounters between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana so far, as preparation for their London match for the World Chess Championship. See you soon with more chess!