News release
Saturday 12th December 2009
LONDON CHESS CLASSIC: ROUND 4 INTERIM PRESS RELEASE
Please note that this is an interim summary press release – full press release to follow
All four games played in Round 4 of the London Chess Classic on 12 December 2009 ended in draws. They were all fighting draws which were only concluded after full-blooded battles. Vladimir Kramnik and Michael Adams were the first to finish after the English grandmaster cleverly neutralised the ex-world champion’s pressure and then gave up a pawn to reach a sterile opposite-coloured bishops endgame. In McShane-Howell, everything but pawns disappeared from the board by move 22 but McShane’s slightly positional advantage was not enough to win.
Once again a lot of attention focused on Magnus Carlsen’s game. He managed to isolate Hikaru Nakamura’s e6 pawn but it transpired his position was not as good as it appeared and he even found himself obliged to surrender a pawn. But the game came down a queen ending and Carlsen secured a perpetual check.
The last game to finish was Nigel Short versus Ni Hua. Short won a pawn in the early middlegame but lost his way and couldn’t make anything of it, though the game went right down to the last pawn. But the players received a reward for their endeavour: they shared the best game of the round prize of 1,000 euros.
Current scores after four of the seven rounds are as follows: Carlsen 8/12, Kramnik 7, McShane, Nakamura, Adams, Howell 4, Short, Ni Hua 3. Demand to see today’s games was huge. Tickets were sold at for the auditorium, and the commentary room was packed. Further commentary was arranged for the foyer, as more than 1,000 people attended or played at the congress.
For more information and to buy tickets to The London Chess Classic, please go to www.londonchessclassic.com
ENDS
For further information please call:
John Saunders
Chess Press Chief, London Chess Classic
Press Room: 020 7598 6598
Mobile: 07777 664111
E : chesspress@londonchessclassic.com
Carlsen is so awesome.