Round 6 summary by GM Stellan Brynell

Stellan Brynell
GM Stellan Brynell Photo: Lars OA Hedlund

Erigaisi-Mishra

Mishra seemed to be well prepared as black in the Jobava London system. He equalized easily, and when the position became completely locked, the game ended in a draw.

Svidler-Grandelius

Svidler played the unusual 6.Qd3 in the Najdorf Sicilian. The move was not unknown to Grandelius, who deviated from a Magnus Carlsen game when he played 7…Bd7. The game was equal all the way, and right before move 40, it ended in a draw by repetition.

Photo: David Llada. Svidler – Grandelius.

Van Foreest-Keymer

Van Foreest played the surprising 7.Bf4 in the Nimzo-Indian f3 version.


Van Foreest – Keymer. Position after 7.Bf4
Keymer used up a lot of time, but managed to neutralize white’s initiative. Finally, Keymer found a piece sacrifice that led to perpetual check, and the game ended in a draw.

Gelfand-Gukesh

In a very sharp version of the Slav Defence, Gelfand seemed to have created problems for black. However, after playing 16.Nxf5 instead of 16.fxe5, he soon found himself in a very difficult endgame.

Gelfand -Gukesh. Position after 16.Nxf5
Gukesh pressed hard for a win, but Gelfand defended well and finally managed to secure a draw.