Just requiring a draw to clinch the title, World No. 11 Levon Aronian effortlessly held Veselin Topalov with the black pieces to register a convincing victory in the 3rd edition of the Sinquefield Cup. Not only did the Armenian Grandmaster win with a full-point margin, but he also remained undefeated in this 9-round Super-GM event.
Aronian was followed by as many as 4 players – Giri, Carlsen, Nakamura & Vachier-Lagrave – on the 2nd spot. However, Carlsen and Nakamura were adjudged 2nd and 3rd respectively, thanks to their superior tie-breaks.
Meanwhile, Viswanathan Anand finished joint 8th along with Fabiano Caruana. The Indian Grandmaster failed to score even a single victory in the second leg of the ‘Grand Chess Tour’ after having secured the runners-up spot at Norway earlier this year.
Round 9 Results:
|
White |
Result | Black |
| Nakamura | 1-0 |
Grischuk |
|
Anand |
½-½ | Carlsen |
| Topalov | ½-½ |
Aronian |
|
Caruana |
½-½ | Wesley So |
| Vachier-Lagrave | ½-½ |
Giri |
Final Standings:
|
Rank |
Players |
Score |
|
1 |
Levon Aronian | 6 |
| 2 | Magnus Carlsen |
5 |
|
3 |
Hikaru Nakamura | 5 |
| 4 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
5 |
|
5 |
Anish Giri | 5 |
| 6 | Alexander Grischuk |
4½ |
|
7 |
Veselin Topalov | 4½ |
| 8 | Fabiano Caruana |
3½ |
|
9 |
Viswanathan Anand | 3½ |
| 10 | Wesley So |
3 |
Grand Chess Tour Standings : Here