Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you ... the Pacifist Awards!

So... it's been a while since we've had a tournament that qualified for consideration in the Pacifist Awards. But I'm happy to announce that the wait is finally over! Earlier today, Round 1 of the London Chess Classic ended, with a perfect 5 draws in 5 games! Of the 6 players who have won a Pacifist Award thus far, 4 - So, Carlsen, MVL, Anand - are participating in this tournament, so we will likely have the chance to see a number of highly pacifist draws between some of the best draw masters! Incidentally, this tournament will be the last tournament on 2017 that qualifies for te Pacifist Awards - which means that by the end of the tournament, we will know which great draw master has won the title of Ultimate Pacifist for this year! So stay tuned - you do not want to miss the excitement!

The London Chess Classic round 2 game were all drawn!

Madies and gentlemen... we have been seeing incredible scenes so far at the London Chess Classic! After 3 rounds, all 10 players are tied for first place in the Pacifist Award race, with a perfect 3 draws out of 3! It seems that for the first time since the inception of the awards, we might see a player - or even several players - have a perfect tournament! The results thus far, moreover, are clear evidence that the Pacifist Awards have succeeded in their mission of encouraging more draws and less bloodshed in chess, justifying their continued existence for years to come.

Looking at the race for the Ultimate Pacifist title, the situation thus far would seem to benefit current leader Wesley So, who is the only player with two outright wins this year. Should more than one player win the award for the London Chess Classic, the title will go to So no matter what. There are still 6 more rounds to go, though, and anything could happen in that time, so other players need not despair yet! As always, stay tuned for the latest updates!

In round 4, Caruana and Karjakin faltered, falling to 3/4 in draws. But the rest of the players are at a perfect 4/4! Keep it up!

NOOOOO THE PEACE IS BROKEN

So isn't even trying to win.  Him and Anand are a disgrace. 

I hate to be a downer who focuses on negative stuff amidst so much positivity, but I really need to call out Vladimir Fedoseev, who is currently playing in the Russian Superfinal. After 4 rounds, he has not drawn a single game; in fact, he has won all 4, which were against Riazantsev (2650), Tomashevsky (2713), Sjugirov (2650) and Matlakov (2735). Now, I understand that not every game one plays will be a draw, and it can be hard to consistently uphold the principles of pacifism, but what Fedoseev has been doing is just excessive. It seems that he is going for blood in every game, and making things terribly difficult for his opponents. Hopefully sometime in the future he will realize his mistake and change course - if not for the sake of pacifism, then at least in the interest of being considerate.

Imagine Fedoseev winning all his games.  The nerve of some people.  Who does he think he is? Just when you thought you had everyone trained and schooled in the art of drawing, someone comes along and upsets the applecart.   

I leave it to our friends at the Russian Chess Federation to sanction this interloper.  One thing that we know for certain.  Fedoseev will never find his way to the Grand Chess Tour with this type of attitude.  I am sorry, but at the top echelons only draws are welcome. 

Pray for Tal to be reincarnated 

Word!

With just 2 more rounds to go in the London Chess Classic, we have 3 players left with a perfect score: So, Aronian and Nakamura. Behind the leaders are Carlsen and Vachier-Lagrave, both with 6/7. At this point, it seems that So has all but secured the Ultimate Pacifist title for 2017. Neither of the two players tied with him has recorded a Pacifist Award win thus far, so they cannot surpass So's two victories. And even if all 3 frontrunners somehow falter in the remaining two rounds (a la Dortmund earlier this year), it seems unlikely that anyone will finish in clear first, as it is almost certain that there will be more than one player with 8/9 and a win in the lone decisive game. 

Then again, it's generally not a good idea to count your chickens before they hatch. So still needs to concentrate on doing well in his remaining two games - and if he does, he will win the Ultimate Pacifist title in style, with 3 individual tournament victories in a single year (and potentially 2 with perfect scores). Thus, there is still a lot of action to watch for - so as usual, stay tuned!

A much-belated congratulations to Hikaru Nakamura for winning the Pacifist Award for the 2017 London Chess Classic with a perfect score of 9/9! As in the case of Dortmund, the generally pacifist tournament exploded in the final round, and many of those who entered the round with perfect scores succumed to the allure of bloodshed, and could not keep true to their pacifist ideals. Nakamura, however, was the exception this time, and finished the job in the best way possible, with no regard whatever for the chaos unfurling around him! For his magnificent display of pacifism, the American legend deserves our utmost respect.

Such a performance, however, was only enough to earn Nakamura second place in the overall 2017 Pacifist Award Standings. In a year when 7 players in total won the award in at least one tournament, the Ultimate Pacifist Title for the player with the most Pacifist Awards goes to the only player in the bunch with multiple victories - GM Wesley So! The young GM's performances in the US Championship and Norway Chess were true embodiments of the spirit of pacifism. In these tournaments, he demonstrated commitment to the cause of pacifism, playing some of the most peaceful top-level games that audiences in 2017 have had the pleasure of witnessing. He is thus a deserving winner of the title of Ultimate Pacifist.

The complete standings for the 2017 Pacifist Awards are as follows. Congratulations to all players who made the list, and make sure to keep up the good work in 2018!

Although Mamediarov apparently refused to compete for the pacifist award in the current Wijk and Zee, his game yesterday shows he's got what it takes, could it be possible to have an special "Pacifist game" award just for this jewel?

Radjabov just pulled off 8 draws in a major tournament. Not the pacifist award format but I felt it was worthy of mention.