Carlsen played the quiet d2-d3 against the Spanish and was able to deny Topalov any real counterplay throughout the game. Slight kingside pressure led to Carlsen gaining the bishop pair and then later the opening of lines led to him obtaining a dangerous attack. Topalov resigned as Carlsen made a decisive combination involving a queen offer for a mating attack.
Bacrot played aggressively by advancing his kingside pawns in the quest for key squares. A second wave of pawn advances in the centre then netted a piece, and despite Wang Yue picking up a few pawns the result was then no longer in doubt.
Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2800 | 0.5-0.5 | Vugar Gashimov | AZE | 2719 | Slav/Grünfeld Defence | 25 |
Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 1-0 | Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2803 | Spanish d3 | 32 |
Wang Yue | CHN | 2732 | 0-1 | Etienne Bacrot | FRA | 2716 | Queen's Indian Defence | 42 |
The third game, Anand-Gashimov was a quiet affair with Gashimov playing the solid, but passive Slav/Grünfeld hybrid. The Azerbaijani found a way to reorganize his pieces and build a brick wall which Anand was unable to topple.
Here are the standings after the third round:
Standing | Name | Country | Rating | Points |
1 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 4 |
2 | Etienne Bacrot | FRA | 2716 | 3.5 |
3 | Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2800 | 2.5 |
4 | Vugar Gashimov | AZE | 2719 | 2 |
5= | Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2803 | 1.5 |
5= | Wang Yue | CHN | 2732 | 1.5 |
Carlsen's third win and Bacrot's hat-trick leave the others trailing in their wake. Anand is on 50% and is perhaps the only other player who can compete for the title.
Here is a summary of the previous rounds:
Round 1:
Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2800 | 0.5-0.5 | Wang Yue | CHN | 2732 | Slav/Grünfeld |
Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 1-0 | Etienne Bacrot | FRA | 2716 | Scotch Opening |
Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2803 | 0.5-0.5 | Vugar Gashimov | AZE | 2719 | Slav Defence |
Round 2:
Wang Yue | CHN | 2732 | 0.5-0.5 | Vugar Gashimov | AZE | 2719 | Nimzoindian Defence |
Etienne Bacrot | FRA | 2716 | 0.5-0.5 | Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2803 | Nimzoindian Defence |
Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2800 | 0.5-0.5 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | Spanish Breyer |
Round 3:
Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | 1-0 | Wang Yue | CHN | 2732 | Petroff Defence |
Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2803 | 0-1 | Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2800 | Queen's Gambit Declined Lasker |
Vugar Gashimov | AZE | 2719 | 0-1 | Etienne Bacrot | FRA | 2716 | English Opening |
Round 4:
Vugar Gashimov | AZE | 2719 | 0.5-0.5 | Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2826 | Spanish Breyer |
Etienne Bacrot | FRA | 2716 | 1-0 | Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2800 | Slav Defence |
Veselin Topalov | BUL | 2803 | 0.5-0.5 | Wang Yue | CHN | 2732 | Slav Defence |
For those who like to follow the games, in Europe it means an early morning and in America a very short night!
Live games can be watched everyday (except today the 25th which is a rest day!) from 3pm local time Live Games
Nanjing 14.30pm
Moscow 10.30am
Paris, Madrid 08.30am
London 07.30am
New York 02.30am
Los Angeles 23.30pm
For more information go to the Official site
where there is an option for English!
However for results and statistics I prefer Results