2017 Champions Showdown

final standings champions showdown 2017

9 - 14 November 2017






Round 1 - 4 (Nov 9, 2017) TC: 30 0 Live Show 
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 B92 Sicilian
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ D20 QGA
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 C65 Ruy Lopez
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ D20 QGA
Both players came to the rounds extremely motivated, ready to explore new ideas in an attempt to throw off their opposition. Fabiano started off blazing hot, securing an early victory after accurately outplaying Grischuk in a Sicilian Najdorf. Game two was a complete mess, with the advantage switching sides until the last phase of the game, during which the players threw out any concern for safety and went all out in an attempt to simply play faster than their opponent. Grischuk managed to capture all of Fabiano’s pieces before he ran out of time and the game was called a draw due to lack of material. Game three saw Grischuk simply outclass Caruana, who carelessly attempted an unconventional pawn storm on the kingside, an attempt that seriously backfired. Game four was a tense battle but neither of the players were willing to take unnecessary risks and the game ended in a draw.
Round 1 - 6 (Nov 10, 2017) TC: 20 0 Live Show 
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ C65 Ruy Lopez
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ D20 QGA
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 C65 Ruy Lopez
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ D20 QGA
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 C65 Ruy Lopez
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 1-0 D20 QGA
These players keep fighting back and forth! The match is extremely tight and, after two days, Grischuk only has a minimal advantage. The first win came from a Berlin in which the American had nice pressure all over the board thanks to his preparation; Grischuk was unable to equalize and found himself in deeper and deeper trouble. The Russian struck back in game five, interestingly in the same line of the Berlin that gave Grischuk a win yesterday! Caruana has said it’s possibly time to retire this line. The last game was absolutely chaotic, and Caruana simply overlooked that his queen was hanging! What an oversight for a player of this calibre. This gives Grischuk an advantage by 4.
Round 1 - 8 (Nov 12, 2017) TC: 10 0 Live Show 
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 C65 Ruy Lopez
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ D27 QGA
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 C24 Bishop's opening
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 1-0 A41 Queen's Pawn
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 C24 Bishop's opening
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 C16 French
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 D42 QGD
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ D30 Queen's gambit declined
This was a very streaky one! Caruana was outplayed in game one, and after drawing game two, he also went down in games three and four, one of them included a big advantage blundered away by missing a simple mate in two sequence. It seemed that Grischuk was simply running away with the match, but the American wasn't done yet. The streak was broken in a surprising way: Caruana was completely against the wall, but in these fast time controls the clock plays a huge role! Caruana flagged Grischuk, and then won two nice games to remain in striking distance.
Round 1 - 12 (Nov 13, 2017) TC: 5 0 Live Show 
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 B90 Sicilian
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ E10 Queen's pawn game
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander 1-0 B23 Sicilian
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 1-0 D30 Queen's gambit declined
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ B23 Sicilian
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 D30 Queen's gambit declined
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ D78 Neo-Gruenfeld, 6.O-O c6
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 D30 Queen's gambit declined
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ A0 Reti
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 A20 English opening
Caruana, Fabiano Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ B07 Pirc defence
Grischuk, Alexander Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 A20 English opening
Caruana entered the last day with a two game deficit, but had momentum going for him. He scored heavily toward the end of day three, and he came in with fire on the board. Caruana won his two first whites, tying the match very early. Grischuk was not about to be left behind, and retaliated immediately. The tension built up increasingly with every game, but it was Caruana that kept the better nerves and kept delivering blows. He was unstoppable with the black pieces and won three in a row with that color. Grischuk found himself needing to win the last two rounds to equalize the match, but was unable to do so. A fabulous day for Fabi, as he wins the 5-minute portion by a huge score of 8.5-3.5 (with points counting for two, that gave him 17 points against his opponent's 7) which was enough to catapult him to the win.