Game of the Week: Kamsky, Grischuk,

Down the stretch of the FIDE Grand Prix in Thessaloniki, Greece, three players were writing compelling stories. In a dramatic last round, Fabiano Caruana took down the leader, Gata Kamsky, thus equaling his score of 7.5/11. Neither player could ultimately celebrate as Lenier Dominguez pushed through the open door with an endgame squeeze from Veselin Topalov. The Cuban grandmaster’s score of 8/11 netted first place in his greatest result to date. The three at the top showed a higher level than the others, though in any long tournament there will be many missed opportunities along the way. Kamsky, who forged his lead with an opening win over Dominguez and a 4.5/5 spurt just before the end, will certainly regret some moves from the finale, but he can also lament the missed opportunity against Alexander Grischuk in round four. Taking advantage of his opponent’s mistaken timing, Kamsky forged a surprising early attack but found the decisive blow unexpectedly elusive.