CHESS#1285

Ten rounds into the Tata Steel, there is a three-way tie at the top in the Masters. Anish Giri, Magnus Carlsen and  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov are all on 7 points. Vladimir Kramnik (6.5) follows and Viswanathan Anand (6) is a half-point behind Kramnik. Wesley So and Sergey Karjakin (5.5 each) are also on plus scores. Adhiban Baskaran (3) is in poor form.

The three leaders have “plus four” scores and plus five will probably be enough to win. It’s up to  the leaders now to maintain momentum. Carlsen-Mamedaryov and Anand- Mamedyarov are two critical encounters. Kramnik has an outside chance to win if