The first round of the 2015 Sinquefield Cup is finished with each game concluding decisively. Magnus Carlsen and Veselin Topalov played a rather snoozy game that the World Champion later referred to as chicken chess. It seemed at times like Carlsen was playing as though he was not familiar with the opening. In the end Carlsen was unable to obtain sufficient compensation for his play and fell in the first round to Topalov.
Fabiano Caruana, who was last year’s tournament champion, was among the first players to fall in the first round. Caruana was unable to solve an exciting game against Levon Aronian. This was the game that I spent most of the day watching because I was curious to see how Caruana was going to approach this year’s tournament play. When it became apparent that he would be unable to convert a win against Aronian, WGM Jennifer Shahade remarked that Caruana, although lost, was poised to go out in a blaze of glory.
Fighting Spirit Throughout
While the Carlsen-Topalov game was a nice sleeper, it was clear that the participants came to Saint Louis this year with a strong will to fight in their hearts. Round 02 starts tomorrow at 1300 EST at the Saint Louis Chess Club and will be broadcast on multiple mediums across the web.
| White | Result | Black | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Carlsen M. (0) 2853 | 0-1 | GM Topalov V. (0) 2816 |
| 2 | GM Nakamura H. (0) 2814 | 1-0 | GM Anand V. (0) 2816 |
| 3 | GM Aronian L. (0) 2765 | 1-0 | GM Caruana F. (0) 2808 |
| 4 | GM Giri Anish (0) 2793 | 1-0 | GM Grischuk A. (0) 2771 |
| 5 | GM So Wesley (0) 2779 | 0-1 | GM Vachier-Lagr (0) 2731 |
2015 Sinquefield Cup – Round 02 Pairings
| White | Result | Black | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Grischuk A. (0) 2771 | — — | GM Anand V. (0) 2816 |
| 2 | GM Topalov V. (1) 2816 | — — | GM Nakamura H. (1) 2814 |
| 3 | GM Caruana F. (0) 2808 | — — | GM Carlsen M. (0) 2853 |
| 4 | GM Vachier-Lagr. (1) 2731 | — — | GM Aronian L. (1) 2765 |
| 5 | GM Giri A. (1) 2793 | — — | GM So Wesley (0) 2779 |
