It wasn't a safe day to be a super GM, but Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played a convincing game. | Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Written by Mike Klein | Read the full report at https://www.chess.com/news/view/almost-half-of-2700s-nicked-in-isle-of-man-opener
It turns out you don't need randomized pairings to make for an eventful opening of a chess tournament.
The 2018 Chess.com Isle of Man International, the strongest open tournament in history, fielded a score of 2700s. But after only the first round, nearly half are already smarting from an early draw. Nine of the 20, including one of the two top seeds, couldn't escape the opening day without ceding a draw to an IM who was 300 points lower rated.
It turns out you don't need randomized pairings to make for an eventful opening of a chess tournament.
The 2018 Chess.com Isle of Man International, the strongest open tournament in history, fielded a score of 2700s. But after only the first round, nearly half are already smarting from an early draw. Nine of the 20, including one of the two top seeds, couldn't escape the opening day without ceding a draw to an IM who was 300 points lower rated.
One former world champion, GM Viswanathan Anand, got all he could handle from a teenager, but survived the onslaught.
While no super-GM lost, the "death by a thousand cuts" began with GM Anish Giri, who along with GM Levon Aronian leads the tournament in rating at 2780. Playing on board two, Giri drew as black against IM Alina Kashlinskaya.
Read the full report at https://www.chess.com/news/view/almost-half-of-2700s-nicked-in-isle-of-man-opener
