Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has long been renowned for his skill in sharp, complex positions. He drew on his talents today to defeat Pavel Eljanov, but he also needed a bit of luck as Eljanov missed a clear win. Consequently, Mamedyarov passes Eljanov in the standings after the third round in Shamkir, moving to +2 and clear first and pushing Eljanov, who started with two wins, back to +1. Mamedyarov's recent performance has elevated him into the top 10, likely wrecking Norway's hopes to have the full top 10 compete in Norway Chess 2017.
Three-quarters of Eljanov vs Mamedyarov went Eljanov's way. He achieved a nice advantage out of the opening and played provocatively to gain space. The game featured a lot of slight ups and downs in the evaluation as is typical for such sharp and creative play, but Eljanov's advantage had become decisive when on move 44 he selected Re5? "blundering" (Eljanov's words) 44...Qh3! and missing 44.e7! which would have basically ended the game. After that, Mamedyarov had significant practical chances and won quickly. read more...
