2021 Grand Swiss, Round 9

 Two rounds to go, and the tournament has suddenly sprung to life again. Fabiano Caruana really needed to beat Firouzja to keep his chances of winning the tournament alive, and he rose to the occasion. The two of them now share the lead on 6½/9 with David Howell, who got his fourth win in a row by beating Korobov.

Ten players are right behind them on 6, including Vachier-Lagrave and Vitiugov, as well as Sasikiran, who came back from yesterday's disappointment to win against Eljanov.

My comment two rounds ago about disappointing performances by some of the big names has struck the Commentator's Curse, as all three of Aronian, Svidler and Gelfand managed wins in round 9. Of these, it was Gelfand's game that struck the eye, as both sides promoted while still in the opening.


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