Ivanchuk showed immense respect to Carlsen on Board 1 by playing a very safe line in the Ruy Lopez which led to a fairly lifeless draw on move 33. They currently share the lead at 1.5/2 points each. The Board 2 match-up between Radjabov and Karjakin was equally boring, but at least the players fought it out. White attempted to grind down a B vs N middle/endgame until the 90th move, where it was painstakingly obvious that a draw was to be made.
The real action took place on Board 3, where Nakamura put the Spanish Torture to hometown favorite Nisipeanu. Nakamura’s played an interesting variation of the Ruy Lopez involving 14. b4!? that led to a complicated struggle on the queenside. White was unable to make progress until he unleashed 52. e5! – altering the pawn structure to improve the potential squares for his knight. Naka put a fantastic grind on Nisipeanu, causing black to suffer from chronic time trouble throughout the long battle. White found a forced win beginning with 66. g6! – sacrificing a pawn to force a trade of the light squared bishops. After this exchange, white simply mopped up black’s pawns to convert a deserved victory. I am extremely impressed by Nakamura’s characteristic will-to-win, as many players would have agreed to a draw early in this game.
For more on the 5th Kings Tournament – Banza 2011 – Round 3, see the original article on William’s website.
I think Nakamura will win the rest of his games.