12 November 2017

Magnus Carlsen Takes the Lead in His Match With Ding Liren

Champions Showdown is going on in Saint Louis.

Photo: Austin Fuller, official site
Photo: Austin Fuller, official site
The Champions Showdown, a series of four matches of prominent chess players, is taking place in the Saint Louis Chess Club. The format is experimental: the games feature no delay or increment; each player has 30 minutes for the first 4 games, 20 minutes for the next 6, 10 minutes for the next 8, and finally only 5 minutes for the last 12 game. Scoring: G/30 - 5 points per victory, G/20 - 4 points, G/10 - 3 points, and G/5 - 2 points.  

On November 11, the match between the World Champion Magnus Carlsen and the World Cup finalist Ding Liren started. Carlsen scored 2.5 points in four G/30 bouts, and the score is 12.5-7.5 in his favour. 

Games of G/10 were played in other three encounters. The matches Hikaru Nakamura vs. Veselin Topalov and Alexander Grischuk vs. Fabiano Caruana finished with an equal score, while Leinier Dominguez lost to Wesley So 9-15. 

Standings after three match days: Grischuk vs. Caruana 36-32, Nakamura vs. Topalov 40.5-27.5, and Dominguez - So 37.5-30.5. 

Official website