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by Johannes Fischer
12/27/2020 – The Airthings Masters begins with a 12-player round robin preliminary tournament, in which the top eight players qualify for the knockout phase. This game mode invites caution, and on day 2 of the preliminary tournament only three of the 24 games were decided. Now, after eight rounds, no fewer than six players share the lead at 4.5 / 8, and while tailenders Anish Giri and David Anton will need a strong finish on Day 3, theoretically all twelve players can still qualify for the knockout stage. The most entertaining player on day 2 was Daniil Dubov (pictured). | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive)
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Masters of Airthings, Day 2
Round 5
In Round 5, Dubov played Black against Magnus Carlsen, who was eager to win a game after starting Day 1 with four draws. After an interesting opening and lively midgame, Carlsen managed to reach a pawn-up ending, which, however, was difficult to win. But with his fine technique, Carlsen managed to present Dubov with problem after problem and in the end Dubov failed and lost.
At 1.0 / 4, Anish Giri had a disastrous day 1 and on day 2 he was determined to do better, which he demonstrated in his energetic and excellent victory against Pentala Harikrishna.
The other four games of the round were tied, after more or less fights. Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So played the shortest and fastest game of the round following a familiar Berlin line leading to a replay.
Round 6
But in the sixth round Giri suffered another setback, losing directly in the opening to Dubov.
The other games of the round ended in a draw. In fact, this was the last victory of day 2 – the remaining twelve games in rounds 7 and 8 ended peacefully.
Round 7
Round 8
But despite the high number of draws, some of the games remained interesting, for example, the theoretical duel between David Anton and Alexander Grischuk.
The game between Carlsen and Giri was also interesting. After all, these two enjoy a long-standing rivalry that they both like to keep alive on Twitter. In this game Giri had no problems with Black, but lost the opportunity to put Carlsen under more pressure.
After eight of the eleven rounds, six players share the lead at 4½ / 8 each, but all twelve players can still hope to qualify for the knockout phase. This could lead to an exciting day three, and while only 18 games will be played, the number of wins will likely be higher than on day 2.
