American Grand Master Fabiano Caruana held on to his lead at the end of round eight of the Candidates tournament in Berlin after drawing with compatriot Wesley So on Monday.
Meanwhile, the all-Russian battle between Vladimir Kramnik and Alexander Grischuk saw the latter earn third spot with a win over the veteran GM. So wasn’t complaining after the draw: “I had nothing to lose. If Fabiano beats me then it’s good for USA; if I draw it’s not bad either!”
The other games during the day: China’s Ding Liren versus Levon Aronian, second placed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov versus Sergey Karjakin also ended in draws. Liren and Aronian played out an interesting game where the player in white had the advantage, but the Armenian GM never had an advantage.
Mamedyarov, who is second with five points, faces the struggling Aronian. Another loss for Kramnik sees him placed at fifth in the table. Aronian languishes at the bottom and faces elimination. Liren is fourth and has four points on the board. So-Grischuk, Caruana-Ding, Aronian-Mamedyarov, Karjakin-Kramnik are the fixtures lined up for round nine on Tuesday.