Magnus moves closer to his third GRENKE Classic title, Rapport reduces the gap
Magnus Carlsen (NOR) scored 1.5/2 on the fourth day of GRENKE Chess Classic 2024 to maintain his sole lead. First he defeated Daniel Fridman (GER) in Round 7. Then he drew against the reigning world champion, Ding Liren (CHN) in the eighth round. Richard Rapport (ROU) won both of his games to make a strong comeback after losing two in-a-row. The world no.1, Magnus is still at the top 5.5/8, closely followed by Rapport at 5/8. Magnus will face Vincent Keymer (GER) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) in the last two rounds. Will Magnus win GRENKE Chess Classic for the third time in his career? Round 9 and 10 starts today from 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Angelika Valkova/GRENKE Chess Classic
Rapport wins two in-a-row
After having a tough third day, Richard Rapport (ROU) bounced back by defeating the world champion - Ding Liren (CHN) and then the Germany no.1 - Vincent Keymer. Rapport handed Liren his first loss of the event. The world champion is struggling with his form at this event as he drew all of his games except Round 7.
Carlsen - Fridman, Round 7
Daniel Fridman (GER, 2575) decided to exchange the minor pieces 33...Nxb6? 34.axb6 Rb8 35.c4 Rbxb6 36.c5 Rxb4+ 37.Kxb4 the resultant rook endgame is winning for White as his king is very close to the passed c-pawn. 33...Ne5 probably would not have changed the overall outcome of the game, still it could have prolonged the game.
Rapport - Liren
Richard Rapport (ROU, 2708) gained a couple of pawns after 30.Nxg6 hxg6 31.Rxf7+ Kh6 32.Rxf6 White eventually went on to win the game. Although the world champion, Ding Liren (CHN, 2818) kept fighting back, practically it was quite difficult to save the game.
Keymer - Vachier-Lagrave
43...Qd3 would have been winning for Vincent Keymer (GER, 2627) as he cannot defend both knight and his c4-pawn. The game continued 43...Re8 44.Nc3 Qxg3 45.Nxa4 Qd3 here Rb8 was better. 46.Qb5 Re2 47.Nc5 Qc2 48.Nd7 Kh7 49.Nf8+ Kg8 50.Nd7 Kh7 51.Nf8+ Kg8 52.Nd7 Kh7 and it ended in a draw.
Keymer - Rapport
Vincent Keymer (GER) blundered 33.Qd1?? which allowed his opponent Richard Rapport (ROU) to win the game. Find out the winning continuation and what White could have done instead.
Replay Round 7-8 games
Round 7-8 results
Round 7 on 2024/03/30 at 15:00 | ||||||||||||
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | 2823 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 1 - 0 | GM | Fridman, Daniel | 2575 | 6 | |||
2 | 3 | 2708 | GM | Rapport, Richard | 1 - 0 | GM | Ding, Liren | 2818 | 5 | |||
3 | 2 | 2755 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | ½ - ½ | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2627 | 1 | |||
Round 8 on 2024/03/30 at 17:00 | ||||||||||||
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
1 | 6 | 2575 | GM | Fridman, Daniel | ½ - ½ | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2755 | 2 | |||
2 | 1 | 2627 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 0 - 1 | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2708 | 3 | |||
3 | 5 | 2818 | GM | Ding, Liren | ½ - ½ | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 2823 | 4 |
Standings after Round 8
Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Club/City | Pts. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2823 | 5,5 | ||
2 | 3 | GM | Rapport, Richard | ROU | 2708 | 5 | ||
3 | 2 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2755 | 4 | ||
4 | 5 | GM | Ding, Liren | CHN | 2818 | 3,5 | ||
5 | 1 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GER | 2627 | 3 | ||
6 | GM | Fridman, Daniel | GER | 2575 | 3 |
Round 9-10 pairings
Round 9 on 2024/03/31 at 15:00 | ||||||||||||
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | 2818 | GM | Ding, Liren | GM | Fridman, Daniel | 2575 | 6 | ||||
2 | 4 | 2823 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | GM | Keymer, Vincent | 2627 | 1 | ||||
3 | 3 | 2708 | GM | Rapport, Richard | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 2755 | 2 | ||||
Round 10 on 2024/03/31 at 17:00 | ||||||||||||
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | |||||
1 | 6 | 2575 | GM | Fridman, Daniel | GM | Rapport, Richard | 2708 | 3 | ||||
2 | 2 | 2755 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | 2823 | 4 | ||||
3 | 1 | 2627 | GM | Keymer, Vincent | GM | Ding, Liren | 2818 | 5 |
Format
6 players, double round robin (two games with reversed colors against each player)
Time control: 45 minutes per game, with a 10 sec increment from move 1
No draw offers before move 40
Places 1, 3 and 5 will be decided in 2 games with reversed colors. In the case of a score of 1-1, a tiebreaker decides: 2 games 10+2 (10 minutes + 2 sec increment per move), if necessary 2 more games 5+2, if then necessary: Armageddon (6 minutes for White, 5 minutes for Black, in case of a draw the Black player wins).