The 6th round of Norway Chess 2022 saw only one classical win today and it was the reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen who took over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Carlsen leaped on the top as the sole leader of the event with 12.5 points, being followed by Anand who scores 11.5 points.
The encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov saw the tense outplaying. Magnus was happy with the opening choice as Mamedyarov gave up the Bishop pair in the early part of the game. It happened to be the former’s main asset as he kept it till the end to constantly put pressure on Shakh. Being down to less than 30 seconds, the Azerbaijani blundered a pawn after 46…Qb3? and there was no escape. Only a few moves after, Carlsen scored the 3 points victory. Replay the game here
Wesley So and Aryan Tari agreed on a draw in the 81st move of play. The game started with an early moves repetition, but Wesley changed his mind and decided to keep the game going. After a quite fast transposition to an endgame, there were basically no chances for a decisive result despite the fact that both the players tried their best. The match proceeded to Armageddon where Wesley So performed an outstanding Queen’s sacrifice which eventually paid off. Tari didn’t find the best answer to punish the sacrifice and So took over the control to convincingly win the game. Replay both classical and Armageddon games here
Wang Hao and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave went for an exciting Najdorf which ended in an uneventful draw. After fast trade of the pieces, MVL confessed he was preparing to sacrifice an exchange, but it never happened. The threefold repetition was seen already after 22 moves of play and the players scheduled an Armageddon. Wang chose to open with London which didn’t go well for him. The French grandmaster had all the initiative and was the first 2022 Norway Chess player who managed to score Armageddon victory having Black pieces in the game of death. Replay both classical and Armageddon games here
There were no missed chances in the game between Anish Giri and Viswanathan Anand who agreed to a peaceful result after 35 moves. The position was constantly in frames of equality and it was the game of death that needed to determine the winner of the match. Giri chose a different opening approach but didn’t benefit from it. Anand got a safe position with slightly better chances for win. The Dutch tried to force things facing a huge trouble afterwards, and accepted a draw in the lost position. Replay both classical and Armageddon games here
Teimour Radjabov and Veselin Topalov signed a draw after 30 moves as the perpetual check appeared on the board in a drawish Queen’s endgame. The Armageddon game that followed was much tenser with Topalov having control all the time. Despite the winning position he had, the former offered a draw which brought him an overall match victory. Replay both classical and Armageddon games here
Round 6 results:
Magnus Carlsen – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 3-0
Wesley So – Aryan Tari 1.5-1.0
Anish Giri – Viswanathan Anand 1.0-1.5
Hao Wang – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 1.0-1.5
Teimour Radjabov – Veselin Topalov 1.0-1.5
There are only three rounds left to be played and the 7th round starts tomorrow at 17:00 CEST. Live broadcasts of the games can be followed on Chessdom.com.
Round 7 pairings and live games:
Aryan Tari – Magnus Carlsen
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Wesley So
Viswanathan Anand – Teimour Radjabov
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Anish Giri
Veselin Topalov – Hao Wang
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Photos by: Lennart Ootes
