Photos round 6

Yesterday Swedish Chess Federation official photographer, Lars OA Hedlund, arrived from Stockholm and was taking photos during the round. You find those photos here.

Nisipeanu & Harikrishna in the commentary room after there game. Photo: Lars OA Hedlund

Round 5 report

Both leaders drew as Nihal Sarin won the battle of the youngsters against Parham Maghsoodloo. The two Swedes faced off with Nils Grandelius having to win twice to secure the whole point.

Dieter Nisipeanu tried something different (6.Qf3) in the opening and it misfired, with Gawain Jones gaining the upper hand. A black win looked likely during most of the game, but Dieter managed to secure a draw by repetition with some clever play at the end.

A very calm game between Ivan Saric and Pentala Harikrishna suddenly came to life in a very sharp endgame that had study-like twists. Ivan held the draw with a piece down through very exact play.

Nihal held his cool when Parham launched a kingside attack, opting for a breakthrough in the centre. The lone queen dominated against the two rooks and snatched pawn after pawn until black had to resign.

Tiger Hillarp Persson played the Hedgehog against fellow Swede Nils Grandelius. Nils dictated the game and had the opportunity to secure an early win. Tiger defended with vigour and survived into an endgame, only for Nils to force himself into a winning position again and this time claiming the point.

Round 4 report

The two Indian players faced each other and Nihal Sarin, the young underdog, defended well as black against the tournament leader Pentala Harikrishna. A seemingly drawish endgame was reached, but Pentala managed to squeeze out every drop of play – winning through a beautiful bishop sacrifice in an opposite-coloured bishop position.

“The luckiest day of my life!” stated Parham Maghsoodloo after his game with Nils Grandelius. The Swede missed several opportunities to gain a big advantage in the middlegame and had to settle for a draw in the end.

Dieter Nisipeanu equalized quickly as black against Tiger Hillarp Persson. As it looked like Dieter would get the definite upper hand Tiger whipped up some kingside activity mixed with time trouble. A bunch of exchanges followed and a draw was agreed after an easy rook endgame was reached.

Gawain Jones and Ivan Saric played a very sharp game despite an early queen exchange. The Croatian struggled to maintain equality and lost a piece (and the game) as the time control approached.

As it stands Pentala Harikrishna and Gawain Jones has opened up a small lead at the top. Can anybody catch them?