Gashimov Memorial 2015 continues to excite

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

The 2nd Shamkir Chess Tournament devoted to Azerbaijan's late grandmaster Vugar Gashimov continues to excite chess fans.

The tournament has gathered great many grand masters and chess enthusiasts.

The fourth round of the tournament, which is taking place at the Shamkir’s Heydar Aliyev Centre was held on April 20.

The match in between the two ex-world champions Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik and Indian Viswanathan Anand ended in a draw after the two fiercely battled each other.

Another chess dual in between French Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Italian Fabiano Caruana also ended in a draw, living chess lovers to hold their breath.

Azerbaijan's star Shakhriyar Mammadyarov played an extensive game against Anish Giri (Netherlands). The game, although mesmerizing to watch also ended in a draw after a lengthy defense.

Commenting on the game, Mammadyarov said the dual had been interesting. “I did not have a tangible superiority, that’s why I agreed to a draw,” he said. “I should play better. I will try to gain points in the next five rounds.”

The game in between Azerbaijani Rauf Mammadov and US Wesley So was extremely lively. Mammadov was a little pressing and that took So to the top of the table.

“I did not expect to lead the table after the four rounds. This is a good surprise, as the tournament hosts many world champions such as Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand. I think, it is early to think about victory,” he said.

Talking about the game against Rauf, So said, “I took advantage of my rival’s mistake at the 22nd move. Then, I went on the attack and got the victory,” So noted.

Another draw came in between the current world champion Magnus Carlsen and Michael Adams. Despite a good start from Carlsen his rival tried to turn the game on its head, offering strong resistance.

The results after the four rounds are as follow:

Wesley So - 3.5 points

Magnus Carlsen, - 3.0 points
Vladimir Kramnik - 2.5 points
Viswanathan Anand, Rauf Mammadov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave - 2.0 points
Anish Giri, Shahriyar Mammadyarov, Fabiano Caruana - 1.5 points
Michael Adams - 1.0 point

The fifth round of the tournament will held on April 21.

Rauf Mammadov (AZE) - Michael Adams (UK)

Viswanathan Anand (India) - Wesley So (USA)

Shahriyar Mammadyarov (AZE) - Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)

Fabiano Caruana (Italy) - Anish Giri (Netherlands)

Magnus Carlsen (Norway) - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France)

The fund price of the tournament which will last until April 26 stands at €100,000. A day of rest is set for April 22.