Two in a row for Nakamura

Hikaru Nakamura wins anew in Round 4 of the London Chess Classic 2016, the fourth and final leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2016, against Veselin Topalov.

This is the only decisive game of the round, all the rest were drawn.

Wesley So failed to capitalize on his 1-pawn advantage against his nemesis, Anish Giri, to settle for draws.

See the summary of the results of Round 4 in the following table:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/london-2016-round-4-results.csv”]

Replay the games of Round 4 below: [replay]

Nakamura Wins in Round 3, London Chess Classic 2016

Hikaru Nakamura had a loss for his birthday against Wesley So in Round 1, but he was able to deliver a loss for his opponent in Round 3 against Viswanthan Anand, who was also celebrating his birthday on that day. It seems to be a bad luck to be playing in the London Chess Classic on your birthday.

The rest of the games were drawn.

Here are the results of the third round of the London Chess Classic 2016:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/london-2016-round-3-results.csv”]

Replay all the Round 3 games below:[replay]

Ranking after Round 3 follows:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/london-2016-ranking-after-round-3.csv”]

Replay all the games played so far in the London Chess Classic 2016.

Wesley So Leads London Chess Classic at the end of Round 2

It was another action-packed Round 2 in the London Chess Classic 2016, as 3 of the 5 matches were again decisive:[replay]

London Chess Classic 2016 Round 2 Results

WhiteResultBlack
So, Wesley1-0Adams, Michael
Anand, Viswanathan1-0Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
Kramnik, Vladimir½-½Aronian, Levon
Giri, Anish½-½Nakamura, Hikaru
Topalov, Veselin0-1Caruana, Fabiano

Wesley So wins anew in Round 2 against England’s very own, Michael Adams. This two-in-a-row outstanding performance catapulted his Live Ratings to break the 2800 barrier for the first time:

Live Chess Ratings as of December 10, 2016

London Chess Classic kicks off to some action

The London Chess Classic 2016, the fourth and final leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2016, kicked off to some action, when three of the five games in Round 1 were decided.

London Chess Classic 2016 Round 1 Results

WhiteResultBlack
Kramnik, Vladimir1-0Topalov, Veselin
Aronian, Levon1-0Adams, Michael
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime½-½Giri, Anish
Caruana, Fabiano½-½Anand, Viswanathan
Nakamura, Hikaru0-1So, Wesley

Hikaru Nakamura made a bad move as early as his 13th move with 13. Ne2 against Wesley So. The latter obliged and capitalized on the advantage and eventually won the game.

Replay all Round 1 games below:[replay]

Replay all the games played so far in London Chess Classic 2016.

Action Continues with the London Chess Classic 2016

The Grand Chess Tour of 2016 continues with the London Chess Classic. It can be recalled that so far in the tour, Wesley So with 30 points leads by a big margin, and the only player who could possibly catch up with him is Hikaru Nakamura. As such, they were pitted against each other in the very first round.

London Chess Classic 2016 List of Participants

No.NameCountryRatingWorld Rank
1Fabiano CaruanaUnited States28232
2Vladimir KramnikRussia28093
3Maxime Vachier-LagraveFrance28044
4Wesley SoUnited States27945
5Levon AronianArmenia27857
6Viswanathan AnandIndia27798-9
7Hikaru NakamuraUnited States27798-9
8Anish GiriNetherlands277110
9Veselin TopalovBulgaria276015
10Michael AdamsEngland274819
Updated ratings and rankings as of December 2016 FIDE Ratings list.

Catch the games live

Follow the game live: LIVE: London Chess Classic 2016 Round 1.

December 2016 FIDE Ratings Update

At the end of 12 rounds of classical-format games in the World Championship where the score was tied at 6 points apiece, Magnus Carlsen lost 13 ELO points, while the Challenger Sergey Karjakin gained 13. The latter thus climbed from No. 9 to No. 6 in the process.

Levon Aronian, with his sub par performance in the 32nd European Club Cup, shed off some 10 rating points, allowing Wesley So to overtake him at the 5th spot of the world’s highest rated players.

Listed below are the Top 20 highest rated players in the December 2016 FIDE Ratings update:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/fide-top-20-december-2016.csv”]

Check out the December 2016 FIDE Top 100 List.

Draw in Round 12, World Chess Championship 2016 – Tiebreak games follow

It was a hardly fought battle in the final Round 12 of the World Championship 2016, as both players seemed eager to split the point and proceed to the tie-break rounds instead. Hardly any effort was exerted by both parties in order to create imbalance and thus make the game more interesting. The World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, will thus defend his title via tiebreak rapid and/or blitz games.

The rules of the World Championship match states that draws cannot be offered and made until after black’s 30th move, except in a threefold repetition. Thus, indeed, they waited until black, played by the Challenger Sergey Karjakin, made its 30th move and agreed to a draw. [replay]

Match breakdown after 12 rounds of classical game formats follow:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/world-championship-2016-crosstable.csv”]

Round 11 Draw – World Championship 2016

And it’s going to be down to a one-game showdown, with the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, playing white, against the Challenger Sergey Karjakin, in the World Chess Championship 2016, as Round 11 ended in another draw, the 9th in 11 games.[replay]

The last round, Round 12, will determine who will be the World Champion, or whether we’re headed to a tiebreak playoff.

Match breakdown follows:

[csvtable file=”http://chesshive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/world-championship-2016-crosstable.csv”]

Game 12 is on and live coverage should be available in ChessHive Live page. Remember that you may enjoy multi-camera live streaming with live commentaries by chess celebrities and grandmasters if you unlock Worldchess.com’s full service when you visit their official website. Furthermore, you may enjoy 10% discount if you use our promo code: BISHOPD3.

Replay Game 11 below:[replay]

Replay all the games (and download all PGN) of the World Championship 2016 match.