Mtel R2: Bad luck strikes
13.05.2005 You might not be superstitious, but it was bad luck for fans and organizers when all three games were drawn today, Friday the 13th. Kramnik-Anand was a drowsy Petroff. Ponomariov and Polgar drew a rook endgame. We also saw the first GM draw, a quick repetition between Topalov and Adams. Games, results and tables.
Super GM
Tournament
in Sofia
World's top
six players
clash in the M-Tel Masters
May
11 to 22, 2005
in the Grand Hotel Sofia, Bulgaria |
|
The Mtel Masters Super Tournament is under way. It is a category 20 event
with an Elo average of 2744. The time controls are classic (up to seven hours
per game) and the tournament is a double round robin (every player plays every
other player twice). There is a special rule in place at this Super Tournament:
draw offers are
not allowed, i.e. draws by mutual agreement between the players are forbidden,
only technical draws may be given by the arbiter.
Three draws on Friday the 13th
Let us start by counting the moves played so far: Judit Polgar leads with
152 moves in two games, followed by Ponomariov with 148, Adams with 100, Anand
and Kramnik with 92 each, and Veselin Topalov trailing at 86. That was the
balance after one explosive, fighting round, and then one that reminded us
of the days before the Mtel anti-draw rule. What the players basically proved
is that they – or the current status of chess expertise – can circumvent any
attempts to force exciting, crowd-pleasing chess.
Vladimir Kramnik
Kramnik vs Anand is a paradigm for this situation. In a super-solid
Petroff neither of the players gave the other a chance to get anywhere near
a window of success. After 32 moves they had hoovered the board of all pieces,
leaving only opposite coloured bishops and symmetrical pawns and a position
that no reasonable arbiter could require them to play on in. The result was
a draw.
Veselin Topalov
Topalov vs Adams took a different course. Britain's top GM
sacrificed a pawn on move 14 and used his ample compensation to force a draw
by repetition on move 26.
Ponomariov vs Polgar under the giant Mtel logo (Photos by Olena Boytsun)
Ponomariov vs Judit Polgar, finally, was actually hard-fought,
but mainly because the former world champion, who had lost his first round
game, desperately wanted the point against the toughest lady in chess. In a
rook ending with four vs three pawns on the kingside young Ruslan played on
for 43 manoeuvring moves before accepting that his opponent knew exactly how
to hold such positions. Draw in 78.
Attacking and defensive rook manoeuvres in Ponomariov-Polgar
Round 2 (Friday, May 13, 2005) |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
½-½ |
Judit Polgar |
Veselin Topalov |
½-½ |
Michael Adams |
Vladimir Kramnik |
½-½ |
Viswanathan Anand |
Games – Report
|
Current standings
Schedule and results
Round 1 (Thursday, May 12,
2005) |
Vladimir Kramnik |
1-0 |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
Viswanathan Anand |
½-½ |
Veselin Topalov |
Michael Adams |
½-½ |
Judit Polgar |
Games
– Report
|
|
Round 2 (Friday, May 13,
2005) |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
½-½ |
Judit Polgar |
Veselin Topalov |
½-½ |
Michael Adams |
Vladimir Kramnik |
½-½ |
Viswanathan Anand |
Games
– Report
|
|
Round 3
(Saturday, May 14, 2005) |
Viswanathan Anand |
- |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
Michael Adams |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Judit Polgar |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Games – Report |
|
Round
4 (Sunday, May 15, 2005) |
Michael Adams |
- |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
Judit Polgar |
- |
Viswanathan Anand |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Games – Report |
|
Round 5
(Monday, May 16, 2005) |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Judit Polgar |
Viswanathan Anand |
- |
Michael Adams |
Games – Report |
|
Round
6 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005) |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Viswanathan Anand |
Judit Polgar |
- |
Michael Adams |
Games – Report |
|
Round 7
(Thursday, May 19, 2005) |
Judit Polgar |
- |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
Michael Adams |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Viswanathan Anand |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Games – Report |
|
Round
8 (Friday, May 20, 2005) |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
- |
Viswanathan Anand |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Michael Adams |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Judit Polgar |
Games – Report |
|
Round 9
(Saturday, May 21, 2005) |
Veselin Topalov |
- |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
Judit Polgar |
- |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Michael Adams |
- |
Viswanathan Anand |
Games – Report |
|
Round
10 (Sunday, May 22, 2005) |
Ruslan Ponomariov |
- |
Michael Adams |
Viswanathan Anand |
- |
Judit Polgar |
Vladimir Kramnik |
- |
Veselin Topalov |
Games – Report |
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Links
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