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FIDE World Chess Championship (September 28 - October 16 / San Luis, ARGENTINA)
Final Standings
Download all the games Official Site
Round 14 (October 14)
Topalov - Polgar 1/2 / 1/2 Time to relax and wind down after 14 grueling rounds Topalov 1/2 - 1/2 J. Polgar As expected, it was time for an early celebration. It was the tales of 2 battlers. Two of the toughest chess fighters decided to end the game after 18 moves. It was time to end the World Championship marathon. For one player, it was a tournament of a lifetime. For the other, it was a tournament to forget. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Re1 Bb7 12.e4 dxe4 13.Ne5 c5 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 Bxe4 16.Rxe4 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qxd1+ 18.Rxd1 Rfd8 ½-½ Svidler 1/2 - 1/2 Anand Again, as expected, there was not much to fight for. Svidler is happy with a tie for second place and a $160,000 pay day. With the Black pieces, Anand is happy to end a disappointing tournament. Therefore, the two decided to make peace after 19 moves. While a tie for second would be great for many players, Anand had hoped to do much better. The shocking losses to Kasimdzhanov and Morozevich sealed his fate. I have to congratulate Svidler for a strong showing. He is a nice person and a wonderful player. He will now finally get the worldwide recognition and respect that he deserves. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 Ne5 10.Kb1 Re8 11.Nd4 a6 12.f4 Ng4 13.Bd3 d5 14.Rhe1 Bh4 15.g3 Nxe3 16.Rxe3 Rxe3 17.Qxe3 Bf6 18.Nf3 Qe7 19.Qxe7 ½-½ Morozevich 1/2 - 1/2 Adams You can't fault either player for trying. With very little to fight for, the game went to move 54 when the final position was King and Bishop versus King. It looked to me that Morozevich was going for the win in the early part of the game. The position somehow got away from him and Adams was going for the win in the later part of the game. If you take away the disastrous 0-2 against Svidler, Morozevich did very well. He scored 1.5 - .5 against Anand, Leko and Kasimdzhanov. Adams shockingly did not win a single game. I think he has not recovered from a forgettable match against super computer Hydra. He'll be back. He is too talented to such a dismal performance. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.Re1 0-0 9.Bg5 b5 10.Bc2 Bb7 11.Nbd2 Nb8 12.a4 Nbd7 13.b4 c5 14.Nb3 Qc7 15.Na5 Bc8 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bb3 Nb6 18.h3 c4 19.dxc4 bxc4 20.Bc2 Be6 21.Nd2 Nfd7 22.Nb1 Bf6 23.Be3 d5 24.Na3 Rac8 25.Qf3 Bg7 26.Rad1 f5 27.Nb5 Qb8 28.exf5 Bxf5 29.Bxf5 Rxf5 30.Qe2 d4 31.cxd4 Nd5 32.Nxc4 Qxb5 33.Nd6 Qxe2 34.Rxe2 Nc3 35.Nxc8 Rf8 36.dxe5 Nxd1 37.Ne7+ Kf7 38.Nc6 Nxe5 39.Nxe5+ Bxe5 40.Bc5 Re8 41.Kf1 Nb2 42.f4 Bc3 43.Rxe8 Kxe8 44.Ke2 Kd7 45.Ke3 Na4 46.Ke4 Nxc5+ 47.bxc5 Kc6 48.h4 Kxc5 49.f5 Kd6 50.fxg6 hxg6 51.h5 gxh5 52.g4 hxg4 53.Kf4 g3 54.Kxg3 ½-½ Leko 1 - 0 Kasimdzhanov
In my prediction yesterday, I gave an edge to Leko and I said that I hope he
would play out the game today. He did and won convincingly. With
the White pieces in a Paulsen Sicilian, Leko never relinquished his
advantage. He thoroughly outplayed Kasimdzhanov from the beginning to
the end. This is vintage Leko. Unfortunately, it came too little
too late. But I have to give him credit to fight it out. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.Be3 d6 9.f4 Qc7 10.0-0 Nf6 11.Bxa7 Rxa7 12.Nc3 b5 13.a4 b4 14.Nd1 a5 15.Ne3 0-0 16.Kh1 Bb7 17.Ng4 Nxg4 18.Qxg4 Raa8 19.Rae1 Qe7 20.Re3 g6 21.Qg3 Rfe8 22.Bb5 Rac8 23.c3 Red8 24.f5 bxc3 25.bxc3 Ra8 26.f6 Qf8 27.Qf4 h6 28.Rh3 g5 29.Qe3 Ne5 30.Rh5 Ng6 31.Qh3 Bxe4 32.Nd2 Bc2 33.Rxh6 Rac8 34.Rh5 Rc5 35.Rc1 g4 36.Qxg4 Bf5 37.Qg3 d5 38.Nb3 Rcc8 39.Nd4 Be4 40.Nc6 Rxc6 41.Bxc6 Qd6 42.Qg5 Qf4 43.Qxf4 Nxf4 44.Rg5+ Kh7 45.Bb5 Kh6 46.h4 Nxg2 47.Rxg2 Rg8 48.Rcc2 1-0
Round 13 (October13)
Kasimjanov vs. Topalov 1/2 / 1/2
Topalov has officially won the Kasimdzhanov ½-½ Topalov Kasimdzhanov once again played very well. Topalov repeated the more conservative Berlin. Kasim basically held on to his advantage throughout most of the game. On move 34, Topalov sacrificed a Rook but if Kasim took it, Black will follow with 35...Rxg2+ 36. Kh1 Rg3+ with at least an equal position. Therefore, White had to decline the sacrifice. On move 35, Topalov once again sacrificed an exchange. This time, Kasim had no choice but to take it. Even though Topalov was down an exchange and a pawn, he had more than enough compensation because of White's weak King in the back rank. The brilliant sacrifice finally gave Black a small edge for the first time in the entire game. On move 42, Kasim had to give back the exchange to save the game. Otherwise, he would have been in big trouble. Kasim offered a draw on move 47 and Topalov accepted it. That gave him the well deserved World Championship crown. I believe that if this would have been an earlier round, Topalov would have played on because he is the only one with any chance to win. However, he did the right thing by taking the draw to secure the World Championship. I already congratulated Topalov days ago but today's result made it official. Even though he coasted and drew every game in the second half, his performance is still around 2900! What a magnificent way to win the World Championship. Congratulations to a wonderful Champion, a nice guy and a true fighter!!! 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ne7 10.h3 Ng6 11.Be3 Be7 12.Rad1+ Ke8 13.a3 h5 14.Rfe1 h4 15.Nd4 a6 16.f4 Rh5 17.Ne4 Bd7 18.c4 a5 19.c5 a4 20.Rc1 f5 21.exf6 Bxf6 22.f5 Ne7 23.Nxf6+ gxf6 24.Bf4 Kf7 25.Bxc7 Nxf5 26.Rc4 Nxd4 27.Rxd4 Be6 28.Bd6 Ra5 29.Rde4 Bd5 30.Re7+ Kg6 31.Rxb7 Rb5 32.Rb6 Rg5 33.Re2 Rb3 34.Kh2 Re3 35.Rd2 Reg3 36.Bxg3 hxg3+ 37.Kh1 Rf5 38.Rd1 Rf2 39.Rb8 f5 40.Rd8 Bxg2+ 41.Kg1 Bd5 42.R8xd5 cxd5 43.Rc1 Rxb2 44.c6 Rb8 45.Kg2 f4 46.Kf3 Kg5 47.h4+ ½-½ Adams ½-½ Leko What is there to say about this game? There was really nothing left for either to play for. Adams played 3. Nc3 (I call it the anti-Sveshnikov) in the Sicilian. After both sides developed then exchanged some pieces, they called it a day and agreed to a draw. White was a little bit better in the final position but I think Adams is ready to finish his last two games and get out of town as soon as possible. The same can be said about Leko. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 d6 5.d3 Be7 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Nf1 Bg4 8.f3 Be6 9.Ne3 0-0 10.0-0 Nh5 11.Ned5 Bg5 12.Bxg5 Qxg5 13.Qc1 Qd8 14.a4 h6 15.Rf2 Ne7 16.Qd2 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Nf6 18.Nxf6+ Qxf6 19.b3 b6 20.Raf1 Rad8 21.Qc3 Qg6 22.a5 Rb8 23.f4 exf4 24.Rxf4 Qg5 25.axb6 ½-½ Anand ½-½ Morozevich Morozevich decided to employ the French defense today. He had no problem equalizing the game. In fact, I like his position better after move 18. On move 19, Anand decided to sacrifice his Bishop by taking Bxh7+. It is a brilliant sacrifice but not to win the game. The sacrifice was to save the game. He made another sacrifice by giving up his Queen on move 27 to force draw by perpetual checks. Anand had to do it to keep pace with Svidler and maintain a tie for second place going into the last round. Guess what? Svidler and Anand will face each other tomorrow. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a6 11.Nb3 Bb4 12.Bd3 b5 13.Rhf1 Nb6 14.a3 Be7 15.Nd4 Qc7 16.Nxc6 Qxc6 17.Bd4 Nc4 18.Qe2 Rb8 19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Rd3 f5 22.Rh3 Bc5 23.Rff3 Bxd4 24.Rfg3 Rb7 25.Qh7+ Kf7 26.Qxg7+ Ke8 27.Qxf8+ ½-½ J. Polgar ½-½ Svidler Svidler chose the Marshall Attack in the Ruy Lopez against Judit. She decided to play 12. d3 instead of 12. d4 which she played against Adams in the 9th round. Nakamura played the same line against Aronian earlier this year in Gibraltar. Judit and Svidler basically followed well known theories. The problem with an opening like this is just about everything has been analyzed at home and not much had to be done on the board. That is why both players were playing at very rapid pace. Nothing can be done as the game was eventually a draw. Even though the game lasted until move 39, they had to work very little. Svidler was content with a draw because that meant that he is still in a tie for second with Anand. He will have White against Anand in the final round. If he draws Anand with the White pieces in the final game, he will get second on tie-break.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5
9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d3 Bd6 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Qf3 Qh4 15.g3
Qh3 16.Nd2 Rae8 17.Ne4 Bg4 18.Qg2 Qxg2+ 19.Kxg2 f5 20.Bf4 Bxf4 21.gxf4 fxe4
22.dxe4 Bf3+ 23.Kxf3 Rxf4+ 24.Kg3 Rfxe4 25.Rxe4 Rxe4 26.f3 Re5 27.c4 bxc4
28.Bxc4 a5 29.Rc1 Kf8 30.Bxd5 Rg5+ 31.Kf4 Rxd5 32.Rxc6 Rd2 33.Ra6 Rxh2
34.Rxa5 Rxb2 35.a4 Kf7 36.Kf5 g6+ 37.Ke5 Re2+ 38.Kf4 h5 39.Ra7+ ½-½ Round 12 (October11)
Topalov - Svidler ½ - ½ Rock solid ending - Round 12 summary Topalov 1/2 - 1/2 Svidler Inching one step closer toward the FIDE World Championship crown, Topalov is using common sense and played "safely". Through the Ruy Lopez, the Queens came off the board on move 19 and Topalov offered a draw in a slightly better position on move 21. Svidler, just like Anand, for some reason is content to fight for second place and agreed to a draw. Topalov maintains his 1.5 points lead with only 2 games to go. The crown is just about all locked up. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Nd8 12.d4 exd4 13.Nxd4 Re8 14.Nf5 Ne6 15.Nxe7+ Rxe7 16.f3 Rd8 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.e5 dxe5 19.Qxd7 Rdxd7 20.Rxe5 Rd6 21.Bf4 ½-½ Morozevich 1/2 - 1/2 J. Polgar Morozevich started the game with 1. Nc3! The players had a good sense to transform it to a Najdorf Sicilian. Once again, Judit never castled and she went on the offensive in the Queenside. However, with the Queens off the board, it was not very effective. On move 30, she should have sacrificed the exchange with 30...Rxb6 31.Bxb6 Bc8 32.Be3 e6. She would have had good compensation because of the Bishop pair. After 30...Bd7, Morozevich got a small edge in the endgame. Judit defended well and the game ended in a draw. 1.Nc3 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.Be2 h5 11.h4 gxh4 12.Rxh4 Nc6 13.Nb3 Be6 14.Qd2 Rc8 15.0-0-0 Qb6 16.f3 Qe3 17.Bf4 Qxd2+ 18.Rxd2 Nge5 19.Be3 Bf6 20.Rh1 Nc4 21.Bxc4 Bxc4 22.Na4 b5 23.Nb6 Rb8 24.Kb1 h4 25.f4 Rb7 26.Nc1 Rg8 27.Rh3 Rg4 28.b3 Be6 29.Ne2 Rxg2 30.f5 Bd7 [ 30...Rxb6!? 31.Bxb6 Bc8 32.Be3 Rg4 33.Nf4 Be5 34.Rg2 Rxf4 35.Bxf4 Bxf4 36.Rxh4 Be5] 31.Nd5 Ne5?! [31...Bg7] 32.Nxf6+ exf6 33.Nc3 [33.Rxh4? Nf3 34.Rh8+ Ke7] 33...Rg3 34.Rxg3 hxg3 35.Nd5 [35.Bf4!] 35...Bc6 36.Nxf6+ Ke7 37.Nh5 f6? [37...Nf3 38.Re2 g2 39.Rxg2 Bxe4; 37...Bxe4? 38.Bg5+ Kf8 39.Rxd6 Rd7 40.Rh6] 38.Nxg3 Rb8 39.Rh2 Rg8 40.Rh7+ Nf7 41.Bf4 Rg4 42.Nh5 Bxe4 [42...Rh4] 43.Bxd6+ Kxd6 44.Rxf7 Rg2 45.Rxf6+ Ke5 46.Re6+ Kxf5 47.Rxa6 Bxc2+ 48.Kc1 Be4 49.Ra5 Bd3 50.a4 Rc2+ 51.Kd1 Ra2 52.Kc1 Rc2+ 53.Kd1 Ra2 54.Kc1 Rc2+ 1/2-1/2 Leko 0 - 1 Anand An opening gone bad? That is how I would describe this game. Leko was cranking out the opening moves at lightning pace. Unless the transmission clock was wrong, it seemed to me that Leko only started to think with any length of time after Anand played 25...Ne7. That led me to believe that he thoroughly analyzed this at home. However, I am completely puzzled! Why would one play a line that involves sacrificing a pawn as White for no advantage or initiative what so ever? That is exactly what happened. Anand simply played well from that point on to slowly enhance his advantage and score a full point with the black pieces. Now, Anand is in a tie (with Svidler) for 2nd place, 1.5 points behind Topalov with 2 rounds to go. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.a3 Nc6 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bf5 14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4 17.Nd2 Bxg2 18.Bg4 Bh1 19.f3 Bh4 20.Rf1 f5 21.Bh5 g6 22.Kxh1 gxh5 23.Rg1+ Kh8 24.Qf1 Bf6 25.Rb1 Ne7 26.Bg5 Bxg5 27.Rxg5 Rg8 28.Rxg8+ Rxg8 29.Qe2 Ng6 30.Rb5 Qc6 31.Rxf5 Qxc3 32.Rd5 Qxa3 33.Kh2 Qf8 34.Qe6 Qf4+ 35.Kh1 Rf8 36.Qe2 h4 37.Rd7 Rf7 38.Rd8+ Kg7 39.Ne4 Qxf3+ 40.Qxf3 Rxf3 41.Nc5 b6 42.Ne6+ Kf6 43.Nxc7 Rxh3+ 44.Kg1 Rd3 45.Nb5 Kg5 46.Nxa7 h3 47.Nc6 Kg4 48.Ra8 Kg3 49.Ra1 h2+ 50.Kh1 Nf4 51.Ne5 Re3 52.Rd1 Kh3 53.Nf7 Rg3 0-1 Kasimdzhanov 1/2 - 1/2 Adams Kasim played this game very well. On the White side of the Ruy Lopez, he basically maintained a fair advantage through out most of the game. He continued to keep the pressure on Adams all the way until the endgame. Even with a pawn up endgame, Kasim could not capitalize on the advantage as Adams defended very well to earn a draw. Both players fought very hard even though they were out of the running for top placements. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Qd7 11.c3 Rfe8 12.Nf1 h6 13.Ne3 Na5 14.Bd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Nb7 16.d4 e4 17.Nd2 c6 18.dxc6 Qxc6 19.axb5 axb5 20.d5 Qc7 21.Rxa8 Rxa8 22.Qe2 Nc5 23.Qxb5 Nd3 24.Rd1 Ra5 25.Qc4 Qb7 26.Nxe4 Nxc1 27.Rxc1 Qxb2 28.Rf1 Nxe4 29.Qxe4 Ra7 30.c4 g6 31.g3 Kg7 32.Rb1 Ra1 33.Rxa1 Qxa1+ 34.Kg2 Bf6 35.Qd3 Qb2 36.Nc2 h5 37.h4 Kf8 38.Qe4 Qb1 39.Qe2 Qb2 40.Qd3 Qb1 41.Qf3 Be5 42.Ne3 Bd4 43.g4 hxg4 44.Nxg4 Qc1 45.Qd3 Ba7 46.Ne3 Bxe3 47.fxe3 Qe1 48.Qd4 ½-½ Round 11 (October 10)
Adams -
Topalov ½ - ½ King Topalov: final march to Camelot - Summary of round 11 Adams 1/2 - 1/2 Topalov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.a4 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3 Bf8 13.Nb3 b6 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Nd7 16.Bxc6 Qxc6 17.Nd4 Qb7 18.Qh5 g6 19.Qh4 Nxe5 20.Ne4 Be7 21.Ng5 Bxg5 22.Bxg5 f5 23.Rae1 Qd5 24.Ne2 Nf7 25.Nf4 Qc6 26.Nh5 Nxg5 27.Nf6+ Kf7 28.Nxe8 Bb7 29.Nd6+ Qxd6 30.Qxg5 Rc8 31.Rf2 Rc4 32.Qh6 Kg8 33.Rd2 Bd5 34.b3 Rc3 35.Qh4 Qc5 36.Rxe6 Bxe6 37.Qf6 Bd5 38.Qd8+ Kg7 39.Rxd5 Qf2 40.Rd7+ Kh6 41.Qf8+ Kg5 42.Qe7+ Kf4 43.Qd6+ Kg5 44.Qe7+ Kf4 45.Qd6+ ½-½ Topalov seems to amaze the fans more and more each day. With only 4 games left and leading by 2 full points, one would expect Topalov to play safe. Of course not! That is just not possible with the Bulgarian superstar. He decided to play a sharp Sicilian (Scheveningen). Adams made the first move. On move 14, he played e5 and basically decided to sacrifice a pawn for initiatives while creating a strong Kingside attack. He succeeded as Topalov's position had key weaknesses on the dark square in front of the King. On move 26, Adams decided to go all out and offered a sacrifice of a Knight. If Topalov would have taken the Knight, the continuation would have been very dangerous and hard to calculate. He wisely declined the sacrifice and decided to sacrifice an exchange himself to get rid of White's deadly dark square Bishop. For a while, it looked like Topalov was about to suffer his first loss against the only player who does not have a win in the World Championship. Even though Adams had the advantage, it was not a clear forced win. Adams could have made Topalov's life so miserable by patiently squeezing the position. Unfortunately, Adams did not have that patience and he decided to give back an exchange to open up the position. The plan did not work as Topalov defended brilliantly and Adams was forced to give perpetual checks. Anand 1 - 0 Kasimdzhanov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Nbd7 9.Qd2 b5 10.0-0-0 Nb6 11.Qf2 Nc4 12.Bxc4 bxc4 13.Na5 Rc8 14.Bb6 Qd7 15.g3 g6 16.Rd2 Bh6 17.f4 Ng4 18.Qf3 Rb8 19.h3 Nf6 20.Bc5 exf4 21.gxf4 Rc8 22.Bxd6 Qd8 23.Bb4 Qb6 24.a3 Nh5 25.Kb1 Bxf4 26.Nd5 Bxd5 27.Rxd5 Bb8 28.Rhd1 c3 29.Rd7 1-0 Anand and Kasimdzhanov engaged in a Be3 Najdorf. Instead of a more "normal" 13. Nc5, Anand surprised Kasim with 13. Na5. That seemed to throw Kasim off. On move 15, Kasim should have played Be7. He made a strange decision by playing 15...g6. On move 19, Kasim missed a brilliant defensive move 19...Nh2!! that would have given him an OK position. He played the "normal" 19...Nf6 and Anand precisely punished him the rest of the way. Kasim resigned on move 29. Anand is now at +2. J. Polgar 1/2 - 1/2 Leko 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Bxf3 9.gxf3 e6 10.Qxb7 Nxd4 11.Bb5+ Nxb5 12.Qc6+ Ke7 13.Qxb5 Qd7 14.Nxd5+ Qxd5 15.Bg5+ f6 16.Qxd5 exd5 17.Be3 Ke6 18.0-0-0 Bb4 19.Rd3 Rhd8 20.a3 Rac8+ 21.Kb1 Bc5 22.Re1 Kf7 23.Red1 Ke6 24.Re1 Kf7 25.Red1 ½-½ Leko employed the Caro-Kann and they really did not have to play chess this round. Just about everything was part of theories. On move 25, Judit offered a draw in a dead even endgame. Svidler 1 - 0 Morozevich 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 c6 9.Re1 Bf5 10.Qb3 Na6 11.Nc3 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Nxc3 13.bxc3 b5 14.Bf1 Nc7 15.Bg5 Qc8 16.Bh4 a5 17.Bg3 a4 18.Qb2 Bxg3 19.hxg3 Nd5 20.c4 bxc4 21.Bxc4 Rb8 22.Qd2 Qb7 23.Ne5 Qb6 24.Rac1 Be6 25.a3 Rfc8 26.Ba2 h6 27.Rc2 Bf5 28.Rc5 Qb2 29.Qxb2 Rxb2 30.Bc4 Kf8 31.Rc1 Nb6 32.Nxf7 Rb1 33.Rxb1 Bxb1 34.Ne5 Ke7 35.Ba6 Rc7 36.Be2 Kd6 37.Bf3 Ba2 38.Be4 Bd5 39.f3 Re7 40.Rc3 Rc7 41.Rc5 Bb3 42.Kf2 Nd5 43.Ke2 Ne7 44.Ra5 Rb7 45.Ke3 Bd5 46.Nd3 Bc4 47.Nb4 Bb5 48.g4 Nc8 49.Kd2 Ra7 50.Rxa7 Nxa7 51.Nc2 c5 52.Kc3 Bf1 53.dxc5+ Kxc5 54.Ne3 Ba6 55.Bc2 Nb5+ 56.Kb2 Nd6 57.Bxa4 Kd4 58.Nf5+ Nxf5 59.gxf5 h5 60.g3 Be2 61.Bc6 Ke3 62.Kc3 Kf2 63.Kd2 Ba6 64.g4 h4 65.g5 h3 66.f6 gxf6 67.gxf6 Bb5 68.Be4 Be8 69.f4 Bg6 70.Bxg6 1-0 I have to hand it to Svidler this round. In a harmless Petroff, he just outplayed Morozevich in the middle game. Yes, White did have a small advantage but it was not something that warranted a full point. But Svidler kept on squeezing and he fully earned the win to give him a +3 and still in clear second place. The most important thing is he is now only 1.5 points behind Topalov with 3 rounds to go and they face each other tomorrow.
Round 10 (October 9)
Topalov - Morozevich ½ - ½ Topalov power - Round 10 summary Topalov 1/2 - 1/2 Morozevich 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 00 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 Nc6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.00 d4 13.e4 Bc7 14.Bxc7 Qxc7 15.h3 Qb6 16.b4 Be6 17.Rc1 h6 18.Qd2 Rfd8 19.Qf4 Ne7 20.Rc5 Ng6 21.Qg3 a5 22.Rb5 Qc6 23.e5 b6 24.bxa5 bxa5 25.Rfb1 Nf8 26.Nd2 Bd5 27.f4 Qc3 28.R1b2 Qc1+ 29.Kh2 Rac8 30.f5 Rc3 31.Nb1 Rc5 32.Rxc5 Qxc5 33.Rc2 Qb6 34.Nd2 Re8?! 35.e6!+- Nh7 36.Rc7 Rf8 37.Nc4 Bxc4 38.Bxc4 This is a completely winning position for White 38...Nf6 39.Qe5 d3 40.exf7+ [40.Bxd3 fxe6 41.fxe6 And White should win easily] 40...Kh7 41.Bxd3 Qb3 42.Qd6 Qb8 43.Bc4 Ne4 44.Qe5 Nd2 45.Ba2 Qb6 46.Rc2? This move still wins but not as precise as Rc5 [46.Rc5 Nf1+ 47.Kg1 Ng3 48.Qe7 The position is hopeless for Black] 46...Qf2 47.Rxd2 Qxd2 48.Bd5 Qg5 49.Qd6 [49.Be6 is another option] 49...Qd8 50.Qxd8 [50.Qg6+ Kh8 51.Be6 White is still somewhat better but not the same as before] 50...Rxd8 51.Bc6 g6 52.Be8 Kg7 53.fxg6 h5= 54.a4 [54.Kg3 Rd3+ 55.Kh4 Rxa3 56.Kxh5 Rg3=] 54...h4 55.Kg1 Rd2 56.g3 hxg3 57.h4 Rh2 58.h5 Kf8 59.Kf1 Kg7 60.Kg1 Kf8 61.Kf1 ½½ Topalov has no understanding of the draw concept! Have I said that before? Of course I have. Once again, even with 2 full points up on the next closest player, he was still gunning for his opponent. This time, it happens to be the very hot Morozevich who has won 3 consecutive games. He totally outplayed Morozevich to reach a winning position. In my opinion, his biggest mistake was on move 46. If he would have played 46. Rc5, the game would have been over. 46. Rc2 was too cautious and gave Morozevich more life that needed. Morozevich did everything he could to enhance his slim chances for a draw and he miraculously succeeded. It is not the end of the world. The World Championship is still in the firm hands of Topalov. Kasimdzhanov 1 - 0 J. Polgar 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.a4 Be7 8.00 Nc6 9.Be3 00 10.f4 Bd7 [10...Qc7 0 11.Kh1 0 11...Re8 0 12.Bf3 0 12...Rb8 13.g4 This is the most popular line] 11.Nb3 b6 12.Bf3 Qc7 13.g4 Bc8 14.g5 Nd7 15.Bg2 Re8 16.Rf3 Bf8 This is all theories so far but White's position seems promising 17.Rh3 g6 18.Qe1 Nb4?! [18...Bg7 I think this move is a must. If 19. Qh4 then Nf8] 19.Qf2 Many were suggesting Qh4 but this move is fine [19.Qh4 h5 20.gxh6 Nxc2 21.Rc1 Nxe3 22.Rxe3 Qd8 Black is fine in this position] 19...Rb8 [19...Bb7 White is better but nothing decisive] 20.Rf1 f5 This move defies any defensive logic. It is scary to open up the Kingside 21.exf5 gxf5 22.Bd4 Gata Kamsky and I were discussing this position and came up with some alternatives such as Bb7 and Nc5. However, White still has an overwhelming advantage on all those variations. 22...Re7 23.Re1 e5 Another shocking move [23...Bb7 24.Bf6 Bxg2 25.Qxg2 Ree8 26.Nd4+-] 24.Nd5 Nxd5 25.Bxd5+ Kh8 26.Bc3 Bb7 27.Bxb7 Qxb7 28.Nd4 [28.fxe5 Nxe5 29.Qxf5+-] 28...Rf7 29.Qh4 [29.Ne6! Re8 30.g6+-] 29...b5 30.Nxf5! [30.Qh5 Nc5 (30...Nf6 31.gxf6+- b4 32.Nc6 bxc3 33.Nxb8) 31.fxe5+-] 30...d5 31.g6?! Not as affective [31.Qh5 Bc5+ 32.Kf1 Rbf8 33.g6] 31...Qb6+ 32.Kh1 Qxg6 33.Rxe5?! White is beginning to give black too many chances [33.fxe5! Basically, the game is over] 33...Nxe5 34.Bxe5+ Bg7 35.Bxg7+?! Kasim is making a series of inaccurate moves to give Black some life [35.Nxg7 Qe4+ 36.Kg1 Rg8 37.Rg3+-] 35...Rxg7 36.Nxg7 Qxg7 37.axb5 axb5 38.c3 Qg6? Another mistake to make Kasim's life much simpler [38...Rf8 39.Rg3 White is still better but Kasim is making it way more difficult than it had to] 39.f5 Qg7 40.Re3 Ra8 41.Qe1 Qf7 42.Qd1 Qg7 43.b4 h6 44.Qe1 Ra7? This helps White win immediately 45.f6! Qxf6 46.Re8+ Kh7 47.Qb1+ If 47...Qg6 48.Rh8+! or 47...Kg7 48.Qg1 Kf7 49.Qg8 checkmate 10 This game started similarly to the Karpov - Kasparov (1985 match game 24). I don't know the theories behind it very well but I think Kasim made some improvements. Judit did not defend very well and she got into a completely lost position. However, Kasim made a series of inaccurate moves before the time control and gave Judit some life. Then on move 38 and 44, Judit made 2 crucial blunders to seal her fate. I know she is not having a good tournament but she sure fought hard in every game. She definitely has not given up like some other players. Kasim is now tied with Leko at -1. Leko 1/2 - 1/2 Svidler 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.d3 d6 10.a5 Be6 11.Nbd2 Qc8 12.Nc4 h6 13.c3 Rb8 14.d4 Bg4 15.Ba4 Qb7 16.d5 Na7 17.Ne3 Bc8 18.Qd3 Ng4 19.c4 Nxe3 20.Bxe3 c5 21.dxc6 Nxc6 22.Qd5 Bd7 23.c5 dxc5 24.Bxc5 Bxc5 25.Qxc5 Rfc8 26.Qe3 Be6 27.h3 b3 28.Bxc6 Rxc6 29.Nxe5 Rc2 30.Rab1 Qb4 31.Nf3 Rd8 32.Qb6 Qxb6 33.axb6 Rb8 34.Nd4 Rd2 35.Red1 Rxd1+ 36.Rxd1 ½-½ Another anti-Marshall! Svidler did not seem to have a problem equalizing as Black. This anti-Marshall was somewhat more interesting than the Adams - Anand battle that was taking place just a few feet away. However, both players decided not to risk so much and many pieces were exchanged. Leko offered a draw on move 36 and the two of them joined Adams and Anand for an early night. Svidler of course is fine with his second place and +2 score. I am not sure why Leko is content with a -1 score. It seems that just about all the players have handed the World Championship to Topalov. Adams 1/2 - 1/2 Anand 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.d3 d6 10.a5 Be6 11.Nbd2 Rb8 12.Nc4 h6 13.h3 Qc8 14.Be3 Rd8 15.Qe2 Bf8 16.Nfd2 Ne7 17.d4 Ng6 18.d5 Bd7 19.Ba4 Bb5 20.b3 Be7 21.Rec1 c6 22.Bxb5 Rxb5 23.Nb6 Qb7 24.dxc6 Qxc6 25.Qc4 ½-½ Not much happened in this game. This game started similarly to the Leko - Svidler game. Adams was content to have an early dinner and so was his opponent. The food must be really good because I still don't understand why Anand is content with a +1 score. If Topalov is leading by 2 points (+6) and the man is still gunning for his opponent, why not at least make an attempt to fight? Adams offered a draw on move 25 and Anand accepted. Round 9 (October 8)
Anand - Topalov ½ - ½ 5 games from the finish line - Round 9 summary Anand ½-½ Topalov 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 d6 9.Nbd2 a6 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.0-0 Ba7 12.d4 g4 13.Bh4 gxf3 14.Qxf3 Kg7 15.Qg3+ Kh7 16.Qf3 Kg7 17.Qg3+ ½-½ This was supposed to be the epic battle. This was supposed to be the game where Anand would be making his move. This was supposed to be the game where Topalov would be sweating profusely. None of it happened. Topalov was doing his part. In a Berlin, he dangerously played g5 on move 7 and exposing his King. Surely he must be crazy to take that kind of a chance? On move 13, Anand decided to sacrifice a piece to create a very dangerous pin on the f6 Knight. However, Anand shockingly decided to force a draw by repetition instead of trying for a win with moves such as 15. dxe5 or 15. Nc4. He basically resigned from the tournament and handed the World Championship to Topalov. J. Polgar ½-½ Adams 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Qd3 Rae8 17.Nd2 Re6 18.a4 Qh5 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qf1 Rfe8 21.Bxd5 Qxd5 22.h3 Bh5 23.Qg2 Qxg2+ 24.Kxg2 f5 25.Nf3 f4 26.Bd2 fxg3 27.Rxe6 Rxe6 28.Ra8+ Bf8 29.Ne5 gxf2 30.Kxf2 Re8 31.Ra6 Bd6 32.Bf4 Bxe5 33.Bxe5 Re6 34.b4 Kf7 35.Ra7+ Re7 36.Rxe7+ Kxe7 37.Bxg7 ½-½ Adams decided to employ the extremely sharp Marshall, an opening full of deep theories. Unfortunately, not much serious fireworks took place. Even though they tried to make the game interesting, a lot of pieces were exchanged and the game ended in a Bishop opposite color dead draw endgame. Svidler ½-½ Kasimdzhanov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4 13.Ne2 Ne8 14.Ng3 a5 15.Kb1 a4 16.Nc1 Qb8 17.f4 exf4 18.Bxf4 b3 19.cxb3 axb3 20.a3 Qb7 21.Nce2 Bd8 22.Nd4 Ba5 23.Qe2 Nc5 24.Bg2 Bc3 25.e5 d5 26.Qb5 Qc7 27.Nge2 Bd7 28.e6 Bxb5 29.Bxc7 Bxd4 30.Nxd4 fxe6 31.Nxb5 Nxc7 32.Nxc7 Rf2 33.Nxa8 Na4 34.Rd3 ½-½ Kasim once again played the Najdorf and launched a serious attack on the Queenside immediately. Before Svidler even had a chance to do anything on the Kingside, Kasim's pawn was at b3 already. Kasim was very determined and his attack was incredibly dangerous. It was very hard to calculate all the lines out unless you are Fritz. On move 24, Kasim made an incredible move with Bc3. It may have not been the best move. It may have not been the most accurate move. However, it was a move that is very hard for any human to handle. Kasim eventually sacrificed a Rook and Bishop for some wild unsound attack. In time pressure, Svidler offered a draw on move 34. Rd3 after allowing a repetition. Svidler could have tried 34. Be4 with some chances. Kasim had to continue perfectly in time pressure just to have some chances to save the game. 34. Be4 was a hard move to find and I am not even sure if Svidler saw it. Morozevich 1-0 Leko 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c4 b4 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.b3 Bg5 14.g3 00 15.h4 Bh6 16.Bh3 Be6 17.Kf1 a5 18.Kg2 Rb7 19.Bf5 Kh8 20.Qd3 Nb8 21.Rad1 Na6 22.Qf3 g6 23.Bh3 f5 =+ 24.h5?! [24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Bxf5 Rxf5 26.Qe2 =+] 24...fxe4΅ 25.Qxe4 Nc5 26.Qe2 Bxd5+ 27.Rxd5 Rbf7 28.Rf1 gxh5 29.Qxh5 Qf6 30.Bg4 Ne4 31.f3 Qg7 Black is doing very good here 32.Rdd1 Nf6 33.Qh3 Nxg4 34.Qxg4 Qf6 [34...Qxg4 35.fxg4 Rxf1 36.Rxf1 Rxf1 37.Kxf1 Kg7 38.Ke2 Kf6 Black has chances here] 35.Qe4 Bf4 [35...Rg7 36.Rh1 Qg5 37.Rh3 Black is still maintaining an edge] 36.Kf2 Qh6? [36...Bg5 37.Kg2 Rg7 =+] 37.gxf4 += 37...Rxf4 38.Rh1 Qg7 39.Qd5 e4 [39...Qg4 40.Ne1 e4 41.Qd4+ R8f6 Black has compensation for the sacrifice] 40.Rdg1 Rxf3+ 41.Ke2 Rf2+ 42.Kd1 Qe5 43.Rh5 [43.Rg5! Qf6 44.Qxe4+- White is completely winning] 43...Rf1+ 44.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 45.Ke2 Qf4 46.Qd4+ Kg8 47.Rg5+ [47.Qe3! Qg4+ 48.Kxf1 Qxh5 49.Qxe4+- White wins easily] 47...Qxg5 48.Kxf1 Qc1+ 49.Ne1 Qf4+ 50.Kg1 Qg5+ 51.Ng2 Qc1+ 52.Kh2 Qh6+ 53.Kg3 Qg5+ 54.Kf2 10 Leko played extremely well and had a great game. He managed to bust open Morozevich Kingside. Even though Morozevich defended very well, Leko had an upper hand. Unfortunately, Leko blunder in time pressure on move 36. Morozevich fully capitalized on this mistake and scored his third straight win. He went from last place to a tie for third. This is typical Morozevich.
Topalov - Leko ½ - ½ In search for Morozevich - Round 8 summary The enigmatic Morozevich is on a roll. Imagine that! He is out of last place and now has an even score after defeating the reigning FIDE World Champion with the Black pieces. Topalov is not making the headline today! Anand defeated Judit to be in clear third. Kasimdzhanov 0-1 Morozevich 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Be3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Kh1 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 e5 11.Be3 Be6 12.f4 exf4 13.Rxf4 a6 14.a4 Qa5 15.Qd2 Rfc8 16.Rd1 Bd8 17.Rff1 Bb6 18.Bd4 Bxd4 19.Qxd4 Rc6 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Rcc8 22.Rxf6! gxf6 23.Bd3 Re8 24.Qh4 Kf8 25.Rf1?! [25.Bxh7 Re5 26.b4 Qd8 27.Rf1+/-] 25...Qxd5 26.Qh6+? [26.Qxf6 Qe6 27.Qh8+ Ke7 28.Qd4+/=] 26...Ke7 27.Qxf6+=/+ Kd7 28.h3 h5 29.b4 Re3 30.Rf5 Re5 31.Rxe5 dxe5 [31...Qxe5 32.Qxf7+ Kc6 33.a5=] 32.Qf5+? [32.Bf5+ Kc7 33.c4 Qxc4 34.Qxe5+ Kc6 35.Qf6+ Kc7 36.Qe5+=] 32...Qe6-/+ 33.Qxh5 e4 34.Be2 Rf8 [34...Rg8=/+] 35.b5 f5 36.bxa6 bxa6 37.Qh7+ Qf7 38.Qh6 Qf6 39.Qh7+ Rf7 40.Qg8 Ke7 41.Bc4 Rf8 [41...Qa1+ 42.Kh2 Qe5+ 43.Kh1 Rf8-/+] 42.Qh7+ Kd6 43.Qb7 Qa1+ 44.Kh2 Qe5+ 45.Kh1 [45.g3 a5 46.Qa6+ Ke7-/+] 45...a5 46.Qb6+ Ke7 47.Qb7+ Kf6-+ 48.Qb6+ Kg7 49.Qb7+ Kh6 50.Qb6+ Rf6 51.Qd8 Rd6 52.Qf8+ Kg5 53.Be2 Kf4 0-1 Kasimdzhanov played very well. On move 22, he made a brilliant sacrifice that gave him a very strong attack. Unfortunately, Kasim failed to find the best continuation during time pressure. Morozevich took advantage of this and converted an almost lost game for a full point and now tie with Leko for 4th - 5th place. It was an unlucky loss for Kasim. Topalov 1/2-1/2 Leko Topalov cooled down if you can believe it. He actually played "safe", "boring" and "cautious". Actually, it is not a bad idea for him to continue to consolidate his lead. Topalov offered a draw on move 24. I was actually very surprised to see Leko accepting the draw offer when he is trailing Topalov by 3 points with only 6 rounds to go. I would have certainly played on if I wanted to catch the leader. Anand 1-0 J. Polgar 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.000 Bb4 9.f3 Ne7 10.Nde2 b5 [10...d5] 11.Bf4 e5 12.Bg5 Bb7 13.Kb1 Ba5 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Qh6 Qb6 16.g3? Qe6? [16...b4 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 Nf5 19.Qc1 (19.Qh5 Ne3 20.Rd3 Qc5΅) 19...Qf2³] 17.Bh3 f5 18.Qh4 f6? [18...Qg6] 19.exf5 Qf7 20.Ne4 Bxe4 21.fxe4 Nc6 22.Rd6 00 23.Rhd1 Ra7 24.Bf1 [24.Bg4+-] 24...Rc7 25.Nc1 Bb4 26.R6d5 Rfc8 27.Nb3 Bf8 28.c3 Kh8 29.g4 Qg7 30.Qg3 Ra8 31.a3 Rac8 32.Nc1 Na5 33.Na2?! [33.g5 Qxg5 34.Qxg5 fxg5 35.a4+-] 33...Nb3 34.h4 Nc5 35.Bd3 Na4 36.Bc2 Nb6 37.R5d3 d5?! [37...a5 38.g5 Be7±] 38.exd5 Bd6 39.Bb3 [39.g5 e4 40.Qxd6 exd3 41.Bxd3 Nc4 42.Qe6+-] 39...a5 40.Qf2 [40.g5 b4 41.axb4 a4 42.Bc2+-] 40...Nc4 41.Qe2 Rg8 42.Rg1 Qh6 43.Rdd1 a4? [43...Qxh4 44.Bxc4 Rxc4²] 44.Bxc4 Rxc4 45.g5 fxg5 46.hxg5 Rxg5 47.Qe3 Rf4 48.Qb6 Rgxf5 [48...Rxg1 49.Rxg1 Qf8 50.Qxb5±] 49.Qxb5 Rf8 50.Nb4 e4 51.Rde1 Rh4 52.Ka1 e3 53.Qxa4 Re4 54.Qa6 Rfe8 55.Re2 Qf8 56.Qd3 Qf6 57.Nc2 Bc5 58.Rge1 Qe5 59.b4 Bb6 60.Kb2 h5 61.d6 Qf5 62.Rxe3 10 This is not my sister Judit's tournament. She can't seem to get things going. Even though I am sad to see her performance, I am very proud of the fact that she is still fighting hard in every game. She has not given up and definitely not playing "safe". She is giving her best shot in every game. The first chance that she missed was 16...Qe6? 16...b4 would have given her a completely different game. Anand played very cautiously to slowly convert the material advantage to a full point. Adams 1/2-1/2 Svidler 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.f3 0-0 9.0-0-0 a6 10.g4 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 Nd7 12.h4 b5 13.g5 Qa5 14.Kb1 b4 15.Ne2 Bb7 16.h5 Ne5 17.f4 Ng4 18.Bh3 Nxe3 19.Qxe3 Qc5 20.Qd3 Qb5 21.Qe3 Qc5 22.Qf3 h6 23.gxh6 gxh6 24.f5 Qe5 25.Rhg1+ Kh7 26.fxe6 Bxe4 27.Qb3 a5 28.Bg2 Bxg2 29.Rxg2 fxe6 30.Qd3+ Qf5 31.Nd4 Qxd3 32.cxd3 Rg8 33.Rxg8 Rxg8 34.Nxe6 Rg2 35.Rf1 Kg8 36.a4 b3 37.Nd4 Bf6 38.Nxb3 Rxb2+ 39.Kc1 Rxb3 40.Rxf6 Rxd3 Game drawn ½-½ Even though Adams has had a horrendous tournament, he is still fighting. He chose a sharp opening choice and had tried very hard to win. He had some chances but Svidler defended extremely well. The most shocking but effective move was 22...h6. Even GM Yasser Seirawan said that he almost fell out of the chair when he saw that move. Even though Svidler's position looked horrible, Adams could not find an affective way to continue. They ended up in a Rook and pawns endgame and eventually led to a draw. I am glad to see Adams still fighting hard.
Topalov vs
Kasimdzhanov 1 - 0 King Topalov at the midway point - Round 7 summary GM_Topalov (2788) - Kasimd_1-0 (2670) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nbd2 Nc6 13.Nf1 Bc8 14.c3 Be6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.b4 Qd7 17.Qb3 Rfb8 18.N1h2 a5 19.Bd2 h6 20.Ng4 Nxg4 21.hxg4 axb4 22.axb4 cxb4 23.cxb4 Bf6 24.Rec1 Kf7 25.g3 Qb7 26.Kg2 Rxa1 27.Rxa1 Ra8 28.Rh1 Nd4 29.Nxd4 exd4 30.Bf4 d5 31.e5 Be7 32.Qd1 Bg5 33.Bxg5 hxg5 34.Rh5 Qe7 35.Qh1 Rf8 36.Rh7 Ke8 37.Qa1 Kf7 38.Qc1 Ke8 39.Qa1 Kf7 40.Qxd4 Kg8 41.Rh1 Qf7 42.Qe3 d4 43.Qe2 Qb7+ 44.Qe4 Qxe4+ 45.dxe4 Rc8 46.Rb1 Rc3 47.Rb2 Kf7 48.Kf1 Rc1+ 49.Ke2 Rc3 50.Ra2 Rb3 51.Ra7+ Kf8 52.Rb7 Rxb4 53.Kd3 Rb2 54.f4 Rb3+ 55.Kxd4 Rxg3 56.f5 Rxg4 57.f6 Rg1 58.Rxg7 b4 59.Kc5 b3 60.Rb7 Ra1 61.Rxb3 Ra5+ 62.Kd4 Ra4+ 63.Ke3 Ra5 64.Rb8+ Kf7 65.Rb7+ Kf8 66.Kd4 Ra4+ 67.Kc5 Ra5+ 68.Kd4 Ra4+ 69.Ke3 Ra3+ 70.Kf2 Ra5 71.Kg3 Rxe5 72.Kg4 Rxe4+ 73.Kh5 White wins 1-0 I am tongue tied. I am running out of words to describe the one of the greatest chess performances in my lifetime (maybe the best ever?). Topalov can beat his opponents with a knockout punch. He can outplay his opponents in the middlegame. He can destroy his opponents in the endgame. He can grind his opponents to death. But can he make a mean Hungarian goulash or can he sew? It seems that he can do everything else. Kasim gave all he had to hang on. Topalov just simply beat him with Capablanca-like endgame techniques. He will have 4 whites in the last 7 games. The only question is will he continue to go all out or will he start to coast? I hope he will continue this pace. He has been one of the most underrated players. He is also a very nice person. He deserves this. I am very happy for him. GM_Leko (2763) - GM_Adams (2719) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.a3 Nc6 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Na5 14.Ne5 Bf5 15.c4 Qd6 16.c5 Qd5 17.Bf3 Be4 18.Bxe4 Qxe4 19.Bd2 Nc6 20.Re1 Qh4 21.Nf3 Qh5 22.Rb1 Bf6 23.Rxb7 Nxd4 24.Nxd4 Qxd1 25.Rxd1 Bxd4 26.Be3 Bxe3 27.fxe3 c6 28.Rd6 Rae8 29.Kf2 Re5 30.Rxc6 Rfe8 31.Rcc7 Rxe3 32.Rxf7 Re2+ 33.Kg3 R8e3+ 34.Rf3 Rxf3+ 35.Kxf3 Rc2 36.Rc7 h5 37.c6 Kh7 38.h3 Kh6 39.Ke4 Kg6 White wins 1-0
Adams tried the same line of the Petroff as in round 1. It seems that
Leko was well prepared against it and just slowly won in a double rook
endgame. As I said many times in the past, one cannot be so
predictable in the openings if one wants to win a top caliber event.
It seems that Adams is way out of form. He is much better than the way
he has performed so far. Leko ended the first half of the event on a
good note. He is now back at even score and I expect him to end up
with a +1 or +2 at the end. GM_Morozevich (2707) - GM_Anand (2788) 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.Nbd2 h6 7.0-0 Nd7 8.c3 a6 9.Nb3 Rc8 10.Nh4 Bh7 11.f4 c5 12.Bh5 Nf5 13.Nxf5 Bxf5 14.Be3 g6 15.Be2 h5 16.dxc5 Nxc5 17.Nd4 Be4 18.a4 h4 19.a5 h3 20.g3 Bg2 21.Rf2 Ne4 22.Rxg2 hxg2 23.Kxg2 Bc5 24.Bd3 Qd7 25.Qf3 Bxd4 26.Bxd4 f5 27.exf6 e5 28.Bxe4 Qh3+ 29.Kf2 Qxh2+ 30.Qg2 exd4 31.Bxg6+ Kf8 32.Re1 d3 33.Bxd3 Rc6 34.Re5 Rd6 35.Kf3 Qxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Rh6 37.g4 Rhxf6 38.f5 Rf7 39.Kg3 b5 40.axb6 Rxb6 41.g5 Rd7 42.f6 d4 43.Bg6 Rb8 44.cxd4 Rxd4 45.Re7 Rdb4 46.Rf7+ Kg8 47.Rg7+ Kh8 48.Bf7 Rd4 49.Rg6 Rd3+ 50.Kg4 White wins 1-0
Morozevich can beat anyone brilliantly and he can lose just as easily.
Today, the vintage Morozevich showed up. Anand once again employed the
Caro-Kann. On move 21, Morozevich decided to sacrifice a Rook for a
Bishop and pawn. The game became an unbalanced endgame with 2 Rooks
and 3 pawns (for Anand) versus Rook, Bishop and 5 pawns. Morozevich
finished the game brilliantly and knocked Anand back to an even score.
At this level, anything can happen in any given game. GM_Svidler (2738) - GM_Polgar (2735) 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Ne5 11.f3 Nbc6 12.Bf2 Ng6 13.Qd2 Qa5 14.0-0-0 Bd7 15.Kb1 Rc8 16.g3 Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Bxd4 18.Qxd4 Qe5 19.Qf2 Rxc3 20.bxc3 Qxc3 21.Rd3 Qa5 22.Qe3 Be6 23.Ra3 Qb4+ 24.Ka1 Kd7 25.Be2 Qc5 26.Rb1 Qxe3 27.Rxe3 Rb8 28.Bxa6 Ra8 29.Bb5+ Kd8 30.a3 h5 31.Bf1 Ra7 32.Rb4 Bc8 33.Kb2 f6 34.h4 gxh4 35.gxh4 Bd7 36.Reb3 Bc8 37.Rb5 Nf4 38.Bc4 Kc7 39.Bf7 Bd7 40.Rc3+ Kd8 41.Rxh5 Nxh5 42.Bxh5 e6 43.Bg6 Bc6 44.h5 Ke7 45.f4 Ra8 46.h6 Rh8 47.h7 f5 48.exf5 Kf6 49.Rd3 Be4 50.Rxd6 Bxf5 51.Bxf5 Kxf5 52.Rd7 b6 53.Rf7+ Kg6 54.Rb7 Kf5 55.c4 Kxf4 56.Rxb6 e5 57.Rh6 e4 58.Kc2 Ke3 59.Rh2 White wins 1-0
It is another sad day for me. My sister went for the win on the Black
side of the Najdorf. Svidler decided to castle on the opposite side
for a sharp attack on the Kingside. All of a sudden, she decided to
sacrifice an exchange on move 19 to expose her opponent's King.
Perhaps it was not a sound sacrifice but she sure tried to go for the win
every game. Despite her valiant effort, Svidler defended well.
On move 41. Svidler decided to give back the exchange to simplify the game
for a pawn up Rook, Bishop and pawns endgame. He eventually converted
for a full point to be at +2 and in second place again. Round 6 (October 4)
Polgar vs Topalov 0 - 1 Round 6 Summary - Is it too premature to crown King Topalov? GM_Polgar (2735) - GM_Topalov (2788) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ne7 10.h3 Ng6 11.Ne4 h6 12.b3 c5 13.Be3 b6 14.Rad1+ Bd7 15.Nc3 Kc8 16.Nd5 Be6 17.c4 Kb7 18.Bc1 a5 19.a4 Rd8 20.g4 h5 21.Ne3 Re8 22.Rfe1 Nf4 23.Ng5 Be7 24.Nxe6 fxe6 25.gxh5 Nxh3+ 26.Kf1 Rxh5 27.Ng4 Bg5 28.Bxg5 Rxg5 29.f3 Rf8 30.Kg2 Nf4+ 31.Kg3 Rh5 32.Kf2 Ng6 33.Rd7 Rh3 34.Re3 Nh4 35.Rdd3 Kc6 36.Rc3 Rh1 37.Red3 Nf5 38.Ne3 Nd4 39.Nf1 Rh5 40.Re3 Rf4 41.Rcd3 g5 42.Re4 Kb7 43.Kg3 Rxe4 44.fxe4 Rh4 45.Nd2 Kc8 46.Re3 Kd7 47.Re1 Ke7 48.Nf3 Nxf3 49.Kxf3 Kf7 50.Rd1 Rf4+ 51.Ke3 Kg7 52.Rd7+ Rf7 53.Rd1 Kg6 54.Rd8 g4 55.Rg8+ Kh5 56.Rh8+ Kg5 57.Rg8+ Kh4 58.Rg6 Rf3+ 59.Ke2 Kg3 60.Rxe6 Kf4 61.Re8 Re3+ 62.Kf2 g3+ 63.Kg2 Kxe4 64.e6 Kd3 Black wins 0-1
I am VERY impressed! I am VERY impressed! I am VERY impressed!
Not only Topalov has guts and heart, he is also smart! He chose the
perfect surprised opening choice against Judit. While everyone (and
probably Judit too) expected severe fireworks, he pulled the Berlin out of
the hat! Wow! What a shocker! He tested Judit's patience
and he fully succeeded. She gave in and played 20. g4 a little bit too
prematurely and basically caused her downfall. The rest was history.
He played great the rest of the way to score a full point! Wow!
I am VERY impressed! Did I say that already? :) I am sad
for my sister. This was a game that could have turned her tournament
around. GM_Anand (2788) - GM_Svidler (2738) 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 g5 16.Qf1 Qxf1+ 17.Kxf1 Bf5 18.f3 h6 19.Nd2 Bxe4 20.fxe4 Nc7 21.Kg2 c5 22.e5 Be7 23.Ne4 cxd4 24.cxd4 a5 25.Be3 a4 26.Bd1 Nd5 27.Bf2 Rac8 28.Rb1 f6 29.exf6 Bxf6 30.Nd6 Rc6 31.Nxb5 Rb6 32.Bxa4 Rfb8 33.Na3 Rxb2 34.Rxb2 Rxb2 35.Nc4 Rxa2 36.Bb3 Rxf2+ 37.Kxf2 Bxd4+ 38.Ne3 Bxe3+ 39.Kf3 Game drawn ½-½ Anand and Svidler
engaged the sharp Marshall Attack. Anand decided to sacrifice material
(Bishop and Pawn for a Rook) for good initiatives. It was a back and
forth battle where neither side really had any big advantage. The game
eventually ended in a draw. Now, both Anand and Svidler are 2 full
points behind TTT (Topalov the Terminator). GM_Adams (2719) - GM_Morozevich (2707) 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Bd7 10.Kh1 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 Bc6 12.Rad1 Qc7 13.Bf3 Rfd8 14.Qc4 Rac8 15.Nb5 Qd7 16.Nxa7 Bd5 17.Qxc8 Rxc8 18.Nxc8 Bxe4 19.Nxe7+ Qxe7 20.c4 h5 21.b3 h4 22.Rd4 d5 23.cxd5 exd5 24.h3 Qc7 25.Kh2 Qc3 26.Bg1 Qc2 27.Bxe4 dxe4 28.Bf2 Qe2 29.Kg1 Qxa2 30.Bxh4 Qxb3 31.Kh2 Nd5 32.Rxe4 Qd3 33.Rfe1 b5 34.Bf2 Qd2 35.R1e2 Qd1 36.Ra2 Qb1 37.Ra8+ Kh7 38.Rd4 Nc7 39.Rb8 Ne6 40.Rd7 Nxf4 41.Rxf7 Qe4 42.Rxf4 Qxf4+ 43.Bg3 Qg5 44.Re8 b4 45.Re2 b3 46.Be5 Qh5 47.Re3 Qd1 48.Rg3 Qd5 49.Bxg7 Qd6 50.Bb2 Kh6 51.h4 Kh5 52.Kh3 Qe6+ 53.Kh2 Kxh4 54.Rh3+ Kg4 55.Rg3+ Kf5 56.Rf3+ Ke4 57.Kg1 Qd6 58.Bf6 Qd1+ 59.Kh2 Kd5 60.Bb2 Qc2 61.Bf6 Kc4 62.Kg1 Kb4 63.Rf4+ Ka3 64.Rf3 Qc5+ 65.Kh2 Qc1 66.Be7+ Ka2 67.Bf6 Qd1 68.Rf2+ Kb1 69.Rf3 Qd6+ 70.Kg1 Qb6+ 71.Kh1 Kc2 72.Rc3+ Kd2 73.Rf3 Ke2 74.Kh2 b2 75.Bxb2 Qxb2 76.Rh3 Qe5+ Game drawn ½-½ The game started
as a normal Sicilian Scheveningen. All of a sudden, fireworks occurred
around move 15 - 16. 16...Bd5 was a cute move. That led to an
imbalanced game with 2 Rooks against Queen middlegame / endgame. Even
though Adams was the one with the 2 Rooks and Bishop pair, Morozevich played
very well. At the end, it was Adams who had to be very careful not to
lose. Unfortunately, with the way Topalov is playing, everything else
is pale in comparison. GM_Kasimdzhanov (2670) - GM_Leko (2763) [B33] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 0-0 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8 16.Ra2 g6 17.0-0 Kh8 18.b4 Bd7 19.Qe2 axb4 20.Ncxb4 Na5 21.Rfa1 Nxc4 22.Qxc4 Rc8 23.Qe2 Rc5 24.Ra7 Be6 25.h3 Bh6 26.Na6 Ra5 27.Nac7 Rxa1+ 28.Rxa1 Bc8 29.c4 Qg5 30.Kh2 Rd8 31.Nb5 Bf8 32.Qf3 f5 33.Ra7 Be6 34.g3 fxe4 35.Nf6 Bg8 36.Nxe4 Qf5 37.Qe2 d5 38.cxd5 Bxd5 39.Nbc3 Bg8 40.h4 Bg7 41.Qe3 Rf8 42.Kg2 Qe6 43.Rc7 Game drawn ½-½ I don't understand this game. Why does Leko insist on using the same opening that brought him basically nothing against Anand yesterday? Black virtually had very little and had to be careful not to lose. The game was interesting but no real excitement. Maybe I'm suffering from the Mr. Excitement Topalov syndrome. Round 5 (October 3)
Svidler vs Popalov 0 -1 Round 5 Summary - The world is in hurricane Topalov's hands Svidler 0-1 Topalov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Ne5 11.Nf5 Bxf5 12.exf5 Nbc6 13.Nd5 e6 14.Ne3 Qa5+ 15.c3 Nf3+ 16.Qxf3 Bxc3+ 17.Kd1 Qa4+ 18.Nc2 Bxb2 19.fxe6 fxe6 20.Qb3 Qxb3 21.axb3 Bxa1 22.Nxa1 Ke7 23.Bd3 Rac8 24.Re1 Nd4 25.f3 [25.Kd2=] 25...Rc3 26.Kd2 Rhc8 27.Rb1 R3c5 28.b4 Rd5 29.Bf2 Kd7 30.Be3 Nf5 31.Bf2 Nh4 32.Bxh4 gxh4 33.Nc2 h5 34.Re1 Rg8 35.Kc3? [35.Re2 Rdg5 36.Ne1=] 35...a5 36.Bc4?? [36.bxa5 Rc8+ 37.Kd2 Rxa5=] 36...Rc8 37.Ne3 Rb5 38.Kd3 Rxb4 39.Bxe6+ Kxe6 40.Nc2+ Kd5 41.Nxb4+ axb4 42.Re7 b5 43.Rh7 Rc3+ 44.Kd2 Rc4 01
Another remarkable win by Topalov. Svidler basically was able to hang
on against Topalov's incredible sacrificing (did you expect anything else?)
attack. He was fine until 36. Bc4?? Another minor inaccuracy by
Svidler came one move before that with 35. Kc3. When you are playing
someone like Topalov, you're not likely to survive with too many mistakes
and Svidler did not. After 5 rounds, Topalov has a performance rating
of over 3120!! It would have been even further out of this world if he
had beaten Anand in a winning position. I have not witnessed anything
like this in my life. Wonder what he is eating? J. Polgar ½-½ Morozevich 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.00 00 7.Qe2 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nb6 9.Bb3 Nfd7 10.Be3 Nc5 11.Rad1 Bf6 12.f4 Qe7 13.Qf3 Bd7 14.Rfe1 Rae8 15.Bf2 g6 16.Qg3 Nxb3 17.axb3 Bg7 18.Nf3 f6 19.Ra1± Nc8 20.Nd5 Qd8 21.c4 c6 22.Nc3 c5 23.Nd5 Ne7 24.b4 Nxd5 25.cxd5 cxb4 26.Rxa7 Qc7 27.Raa1 f5 28.e5 Qc4 [28...dxe5 29.Nxe5 (29.fxe5 f4+=) 29...Qd6 30.Rad1±] 29.Rad1 Ba4 30.Rd2+- Bc2 31.h4 Be4 32.Rd4?! [32.h5 gxh5 33.Bd4+=] 32...Qb3? [32...Qb5 33.h5 gxh5 34.Rc1=] 33.Ng5 [33.Nd2 Qa2 34.Nxe4 fxe4 35.Rdxe4 dxe5 36.fxe5 Qxd5 37.h5+=] 33...Qxb2 34.Nxe4 fxe4 35.Rdxe4 dxe5 36.Qd3 Qc3? [36...Rc8 37.R4e2 Qa3=] 37.Qb5 b3? 38.R4e3? [38.Bc5±] 38...Qc2 39.Rxb3 Rd8 40.Bb6 Qd2 41.Rbb1 Rxd5 ½½
Morozevich decided to employ the seldom played Philidor defense, an opening
which is hardly ever played among top level. But this is what
Morozevich is famous for. He likes unusual and off beat openings.
Judit had an advantage during the entire game but failed to capitalize on
her advantage and had to settle for a draw. What a pity! Anand ½-½ Leko 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 00 12.Nc2 Bg5 13.a4 bxa4 14.Rxa4 a5 15.Bc4 Rb8 16.Ra2 g6 17.00 Kh8 18.b4 axb4 19.cxb4 Be6 20.b5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Na5 22.Be2 Ra8 23.Nb4 Nb7 24.Ra6 Nc5 25.Rc6 Ra4 26.Qb1 Qa5 27.Na6 Ne4 28.b6 Qxd5 [28...Nd2 29.b7 Nxb1 30.Rc8 Nc3 31.Rxf8+ Kg7 32.Bd1=+ (32.b8Q Nxe2+ 33.Kh1 Ra1+) ] 29.Qb5 [29.b7 Qxc6 30.b8Q Rxb8 31.Qxb8+ Kg7=] 29...Qd4 30.Rc4 [30.b7 Kg7 31.b8Q Rxb8 32.Nxb8 Nxf2 33.Qb6 Be3 34.Qxd4 exd4=] 30...Rxc4 31.Qxc4 Nc3 32.Bd3 Qxc4 33.Bxc4 d5 34.Bxd5 Nxd5 35.b7 e4 36.b8Q Rxb8 37.Nxb8 e3 38.fxe3 Bxe3+ 39.Kh1 Kg7 40.Nc6 h5 41.Rd1 Nf6 42.Rb1 Ng4 43.g3 Bg5 44.Kg2 Bf6 45.Re1 Nh6 46.Kf3 Nf5 47.Rd1 Nh6 48.h3 Nf5 49.Rd7 Kf8 50.Na5 Nd4+ 51.Kg2 Nf5 52.Nc4 Kg7 53.g4 hxg4 54.hxg4 Ne7 55.Nd6 Be5 56.Ne4 Ng8 57.g5 Kf8 58.Rb7 f6 59.Nc5 Ke8 60.Nd3 Bd6 ½½
Anand managed to get an excellent against Leko's Sicilian Sveshnikov.
For a while, I thought Anand was going to win. Even with a number of
inaccuracies, Anand got into a very favorable endgame which was not easy for
Leko to hold on for a draw. A combination of Anand' lackluster play
and Leko good endgame technique resulted in an unusual draw at the end. Adams ½-½ Kasimdzhanov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.00 00 9.Kh1 Bd7 10.Bg5 Bc6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Bc4 Be7 13.Qe2 Nd7 14.Rfd1 Kh8 15.Nd2 Nf6 16.a4 g6 17.Bb3 Qc7 18.a5 Rad8 19.Nf1 Nh5 20.Ne3 Bg5 21.Ned5 Qb8 22.Rd3 Ng7 23.Qg4 Ne6 24.Nb6 [24.Rf3 Rde8+=; 24.Rad1 f5 25.exf5 gxf5+=] 24...f5 25.exf5 gxf5 26.Qg3 Bf4 27.Qh4 Bg5 28.Qg3 Bf4 29.Qh4 Bg5 ½½ This game was somewhat dull. Both players were just maneuvering their pieces without any serious confrontation until 24...f5. I fail to understand the idea behind 24. Nb6. What was he trying to attack on the Queenside? The battle was on the Kingside. After a few more moves, both sides decided to have an early dinner by repeating moves. Comparing to games by Topalov, everything else looks boring.
Veselin Topalov vs. Michael Adams 1 / 0
Round 4 Summary - Back to back day of fighting chess
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.000 Bb4 9.f3 Ne7 10.Nde2 b5 [10...d5 11.a3 (11.Bg5 dxe4 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.fxe4 Nc6=) 11...Ba5 12.Bg5 dxe4 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Qh6=] 11.g4 h6 [11...00 12.g5 Ne8 13.h4 Ba5+=] 12.Rg1 Ng6 [12...d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.f4 Ba5=+] 13.a3 Be7 14.f4 b4 15.axb4 Bxb4 16.Qd4 Qa5 17.Kb1 Rb8? [17...d6 18.g5 hxg5 19.Rxg5 e5 20.Qc4 Kf8=] 18.g5 [18.e5±] 18...Nh5? [18...Ba3 19.b3 hxg5 20.Rxg5 Qc7=] 19.gxh6 Rxh6 20.Rg5 [20.f5! Ngf4 21.Rxg7+-] 20...Qc7 21.Nb5 Rxb5 22.Rxb5 axb5 23.Qxb4 Nhxf4 24.Nc3+- Rxh2 25.Bg1 10 On move 12, Judit made the first of many inaccuracies. A better option would have been 12...d5. Her biggest error was on move 18...Nh5? 18...Ba3 would have lead into an interesting game. This was certainly not a well played game by either side. However, Leko made fewer inaccuracies and that is why he collected the full point. I am not sure why my sister resigned on move 25. I agree that her final position was very bad but it was far from resignable. I would have certainly played on. Kasimdzhanov 1 - 0 Anand 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Ne5 11.Nf5 Bxf5 12.exf5 Nbc6 13.Nd5 e6 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.Ne3 00 16.Be2 Qe7 17.00 Rad8 18.Bh5 Kh8 19.Re1 d5 20.a4 Nc4 21.Nxc4 dxc4 22.Qg4 Qb4 23.Qxe6 Rd2 24.Rad1 Nd4 25.Qe4 Nf5 26.Be5 Rxf2 27.Bf3 Rd2 28.Bxg7+ Kxg7 29.Qe5+ Rf6 30.a5?! [30.Rxd2 Qxd2 31.Bxb7 Qf4 (31...Qxc2?? 32.Be4+-) 32.c3±] 30...Nh4?? [30...b5 31.axb6 Qxb6+ 32.Kh1=] 31.Qc7+ Rf7 32.Qe5+ Rf6 33.Bh5! Ng6 34.Bxg6 Rxd1 35.Rxd1 Kxg6 36.Qe4+ [36.Qe8+!+-] 36...Kg7 37.Rd7+ Kg8 [37...Rf7 38.Qe5+ Kg8 39.Rd8++-] 38.Qh7+ 10 This was not a good game for Anand. I think he underestimated Kasim. The final blow was 30...Nh4?? Perhaps he was trying to blitz Kasim who had very little time left at that point. Anand now trails Topalov by a full point. This is a great come back after a horrible against Judit yesterday. A well deserved win for the reigning FIDE World Champion. Topalov 1 - 0 Adams 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.00 Be7 7.Re1 Ne4 8.d4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Be4 10.Bf1 d6 11.h4 Nd7=+ 12.d5 00 13.a4 h6 14.Bh3 exd5 15.cxd5 Bf6 16.Ra3 b5? [16...Ne5 17.Nxe5 Bxe5=+] 17.axb5 Nb6 18.c4 Bxf3 19.Rxf3 Nxc4 20.Qa4 Ne5 21.Ra3 Re8 22.h5 Re7 23.Bf4 Rb8 24.Bf5 Qe8 25.Bc2 [25.Rb1+=] 25...Qd7 [25...Rxb5 26.Qe4 g6 27.Bxe5 Rb4=] 26.Qe4 Ng6 27.Qd3 c4 28.Qxc4 Nxf4 29.Qxf4 Re5 30.Qf3± Qh3 31.Rxa7 Rxh5 32.e3 Qh2+ [32...g6 33.Be4 Qh2+ 34.Kf1+-] 33.Kf1 Qh3+ 34.Ke2 Re5 35.Rc7 Rc8?? [35...Qh5 36.Qxh5 Rxh5 37.Be4 Re5 38.Kd3+-] 36.Bf5! Rxf5 37.Rxc8+ Kh7 38.Rh1 10 Again, what else can we say about Topalov? He is on a hot streak and he wins with just about any position. He now has the sole lead with 3.5/4. He was so close to a 4/4 start. The key question is can he continue to sustain this level of play? If he can, he will be unstoppable. I am not sure what was the purpose of Adams' move 16...b5? That simply allowed Topalov to open up the position. The final blow in an already bad position was 35...Rc8?? It does not look like Adams is in good form at all. There are still 10 games left to play. He still has a chance to turn things around for a respectable finish. Morozevich 0 1 Svidler 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 Bg7 4.e4 00 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3 a6 7.Nge2 c6 8.Qd2 b5 9.h4 h5 10.Bh6 e5 11.000 Nbd7 12.Kb1 Qe7 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Nc1 Bb7 15.Nb3 Rac8 16.a3 Qd8 17.dxe5 dxe5 18.g4 bxc4 19.Bxc4 Nb6 20.Qg5 Qc7 21.Be2 c5 22.Na5 Rb8 23.gxh5 Nxh5 24.Nxb7 f6 25.Nxc5 Qxc5 26.Qg1 Qc6 27.Rc1 Qb7 28.Rh2 Kh7 29.Bf1 Nf4 30.Rhc2 Ne6 31.Nd5? [31.Qg4 Nd4 32.Rg2 Qf7 33.Bxa6+-] 31...Nxd5 32.exd5 Qxd5 33.Bc4 Qd7?! [33...Qd6+=] 34.Bxe6? [34.Qg4! f5 35.Bxe6 Qxe6 36.Qg5±] 34...Qxe6 35.Qa7+ Kh6 36.Rc7 Rh8 37.Qe3+ Kh5 38.R1c6 Qf5+ 39.Ka1 Rbc8 40.Rxc8 Rxc8 41.Rxa6 Rd8 42.Qe2 Qf4 43.Ra7 Kh6 44.Rc7 Rd2 45.Qe1? [45.Qe4+=] 45...Rd3 46.Ka2 Qxf3 47.Qc1+ Kh5 48.a4?! [48.Rh7+ Kg4 49.Qc4+ Rd4 50.Qe6+ Qf5 51.Qc6] 48...Qd5+ 49.Rc4?? [49.Qc4 Qxc4+ 50.Rxc4] 49...e4 50.b3 Rd2+ 51.Ka3 Qd6+ 52.Rc5+ f5 53.Qg1 Kxh4 54.a5 Rc2 55.b4 Qd3+ 01 Morozevich is not playing well at all. He actually lost a pawn up endgame. There were plenty of minor errors but the a few such as 45. Qe1?, 48. a4?, 49. Rc4?? really stood out. Svidler has been playing very steadily and he is now in clear second. This sets up a very interesting match up in round 5 when he will have white against Topalov. The fighting spirit has been very high so far. Unfortunately, the level of play is not up to the World Championship level. There have been plenty of errors by a number of players. This will all come down to tough battle of nerves among the participants.
Tomorrow (Sunday) will be a needed day-off
for the players. Round 5 will resume on Monday.
Round 3 (September 30)
Round 3 Summary - A totally decisive day An incredible round three! The players have outdone themselves to bring the thrill to the fans. All four games were decisive. J. Polgar 1 - 0 Kasimdzhanov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.g4 e5 8.Nf5 g6 9.g5 gxf5 10.exf5 d5 11.Qf3 d4 12.000 Nbd7 13.Bxd4 exd4 14.Rxd4 Bg7 15.Rg1 Kf8 16.Qe3 Qe7 17.Qd2 h6 [17...Rg8 is an interesting move.] 18.gxf6χ Nxf6 19.Rd8+ Ne8 20.Bb5 [20.Rxe8+ Qxe8 21.Qd6+ Qe7 22.Qxe7+ Kxe7 23.Rxg7³] 20...axb5 21.Re1 b4?? [21...Be5 22.f4 Bf6 23.Rxe7 Bxe7 24.Qd4 f6 25.Nxb5 Bxd8 26.Qxd8 Rh7 27.Nd6 Re7 28.Nxe8 Rd7 29.Qxf6+ Kxe8 30.Qh8+ Kf7 31.Qh7+ Kf8 32.Qxh6+ Kg8 33.Qg5+ Rg7 34.Qd8+ Kf7±] 22.Nb5?? [22.Rxe8+! Kxe8 23.Rxe7+ Kxe7 24.Nd5++-] 22...Bxb2+?? [22...Be5 23.Kb1 Kg7+] 23.Kxb2 Qf6+ 24.Qd4 Kg7 25.Rexe8 Rxe8 26.Rxe8 Qxd4+ 27.Nxd4 Kf6 28.f4 b6 29.Rd8 Bb7 30.Rxa8 Bxa8 31.Kb3 Bd5+ 32.Kxb4 Bxa2 33.Kb5 Bb1 34.c3 Ke7 35.Kxb6 Kd6 36.c4 Bd3 37.c5+ Kd5 38.Nc6 Ke4 39.Ne7 Bc2 40.c6 Ba4 41.c7 Bd7 42.Kc5 10 Judit played with her typical all out aggressive style. At one point, she sacrificed a few pieces for heavy developmental initiatives. Judit defeated Anand in a very famous game some years ago with 13. Bd2. This time, she opted for 13. Bxd4. She achieved an overwhelming position. All of a sudden, after a blunder by Kasim on move 21 with b4?, Judit blundered herself on the next move by playing 22. Nb5?? instead of winning move 22. Rxe8+. Kasim failed to capitalize with 22 Be5. After that, Judit played brilliantly to earn her first win. That brought her back to an even score. Svidler 1 - 0 Leko 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.00 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 00 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 Re8 10.a4 h6 11.Nc3 b4 12.Nd5 Na5 13.Ba2 Bc5 14.Bd2 Bxd5 15.Bxd5= Nxd5 16.exd5 Qf6 17.c3 bxc3 18.Bxc3 Qb6 19.Rxe5 Bxf2+ 20.Kh1 d6? [20...f6=] 21.Rxe8+ Rxe8 22.b4 Nb7² 23.Ra2 Bg3 24.Re2 Rd8 [24...Rf8 25.Nd4±] 25.Nd4+- a5 26.Nc6 Rf8 27.Bd4 Qa6 28.b5 Qa8 29.Re7 Be5 30.Nxe5 dxe5 31.Bxe5+- Black's position is completely hopeless 10 This does not seem to be Lekos tournament. He seems to be out of form. The major mistake of the game for Leko was on move 20 with d6? This pawn move blocked his own Queen from being able to swing over to the Kingside. In addition, it took away the ideal spot for his Knight on d6. Svidler played well to capitalize on Lekos error. With this win, Svidler vaulted into clear third, only half point behind the leaders. Anand 1 - 0 Adams 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.00 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 00 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16.d5 Nd7 17.Ra3 c4= 18.axb5 axb5 19.Nd4 Qb6 20.Nf5 Ne5 [20...g6χ] 21.Rg3 g6 22.Nf3 Ned3 23.Qd2 Bxd5 [23...Nxe1 24.Nxe1 Ra1 25.Nxh6+ Bxh6 26.Qxh6 Re5 27.Bd2 Rxb1 28.Bxb4 (28.Rxg6+ fxg6 29.Qxg6+ Kf8 30.Bxb4 Ke7+) 28...Rxb2 29.Rxg6+ fxg6 30.Qxg6+ Kh8 31.Qh6+=] 24.Nxh6+ Bxh6 25.Qxh6 Qxf2+ 26.Kh2 Nxe1 27.Nh4 Ned3?? [27...Ra7 28.exd5 Nbd3 29.Nxg6 Qxg3+ 30.Kxg3 fxg6χ] 28.Nxg6 Qxg3+ 29.Kxg3 fxg6 30.Qxg6+ Kf8 31.Qf6+ Kg8 32.Bh6 10 Anand played very aggressively on the White side of the Ruy Lopez. Adams actually defended very well. The game was very exciting until a decisive blunder by Mickey on move 27 with Ned3. 27 Ra7 would have been very interesting. Vishy obviously did not need too many inaccuracies to fully capitalize on it. He finished the game with a very nice combination to earn a share of the lead. Morozevich 0 - 1 Topalov 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.00 Nf6 6.e5 dxe5 7.Nxe5 Qc8 8.Qf3 e6 9.d3 Be7 10.Nc3 00 11.Bf4 Nfd7 12.Nc4 Nc6 13.Rae1 Nd4 14.Qd1 Qc6= 15.a4 b6 16.Re3 f6 17.Rh3 Rf7 18.Be3 Rd8 19.Re1 Nf8 20.b3 a6 21.Ne2 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.Nd2 Qc7 24.c4 Nc6 25.cxb5 Nb4 26.Qb1 Nxd3 27.Rd1 Nb4 28.Nc4 Nd5 29.Bd2 Qb8 30.Ba5 Rd7 31.b6 Bd8 32.Rhd3 Nxb6 33.Bxb6 Rxd3 34.Qxd3 Bxb6³ 35.Qe3 Bc7 36.g3 Qb5 37.h4?! Qc6΅ 38.f4 Rd7 39.Re1 Bd8 40.Nc3 Be7 41.Ne4 Rd4 42.Nf2 Qd5 43.Nb6 Qb7 44.Nc4 f5 45.Kf1 Bf6+ 46.Ke2 Rd7 47.Qf3 Qb4 48.Rd1 Bd4 49.g4 h6 50.h5 Qb8 51.Rd2 Rf7 52.g5 hxg5 53.fxg5 Qh2 54.Kd3 Qh4 55.g6 Ra7 56.Nd1 Qg5 57.Nc3 Qg1 58.Rd1 Qh2 59.Nb5 Rd7 60.Nxd4 Qa2 61.Nd2 Qb2 62.Ke2 Qxd4 63.Qe3 Qd6 64.Qf3? The final blow [64.Rh1+] 64...Qh2+ 65.Ke1 Rd4 66.Qb7 Rd7 67.Qf3 Rd5 68.Nf1 Re5+ 69.Ne3 f4 70.Rd3 Qg1+ 71.Kd2 fxe3+ 72.Rxe3 Qxe3+ 73.Qxe3 Rxe3 74.Kxe3 Nd7 01 What can we say about Topalov? He is Mr. Excitement. He is the Energizer Bunny. He can beat you with brut force. He can grind you to death which is the case against Morozevich. It is amazing to me that with just a tiny bit of luck yesterday, he could have been 3-0 against opponents with an average rating of 2750+!! Morozevich needs to do a lot better to bring himself back into contention. After three rounds, it has been the Topalov Anand show, the top seeds of the tournament. Svidler is a surprised third and the biggest shock of the tournament so far is the -2 performance of Peter Leko. There are still 11 games left and I am sure there will be many more shocking results. Overall, the fighting spirit has been very high as 50% of the games are decisive so far.
Kasimdzhanov 1/2 - 1/2 Svidler 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 00 6.Be3 b6 7.Qd2 Bb7 8.e5 Ng4 9.000 c5 10.dxc5 bxc5 [10...Qc8 11.cxd6 exd6 12.exd6 Bxc3 13.bxc3±; 10...Nxe3 11.Qxe3 bxc5 12.Bc4±] 11.Bxc5 Qa5 12.Ba3 dxe5 13.Nd5 Qxd2+ 14.Rxd2 Bxd5 15.Rxd5 Ne3 [15...Bh6=] 16.Rd2 Nc6 17.Bb5 Rfc8 18.Bxc6 Rxc6 19.Nxe5 Bxe5 20.fxe5 Nc4 21.Bxe7 [21.Rd3 Nxe5 22.Rd5 Re6 23.Rhd1] 21...Nxd2 22.Kxd2 Rb8 23.Kc1 Rc4 24.Bd6 ½½ Svidler employed a seldom used line 6...b6. On move 10, Black played an unusual 10... bxc5. Even though there were some tense moments, the game ended with the least drama among the four games today. This is a solid and uneventful start for both of them. Adams 1/2 - 1/2 Polgar 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Bd3 b5 8.Nxc6 Qxc6 9.e5 Bb4 10.00 f5 [10...Bxc3 11.bxc3 Bb7 12.Qg4 Ne7 13.Bd4] 11.Be2 Bb7 12.Bh5+ g6 13.Bf3 Qc8 14.Bd2 Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Ne7 16.Bb4 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Nd5 18.c3 Qc4 19.Rfd1 Qg4 20.Qd3 [20.Qxg4 fxg4 21.Bd6 h5 22.Rd4±] 20...Kf7 21.h3 Qf4 22.Qe2 [22.Bd6±] 22...Qc4 23.Qf3 a5 24.Bd6 [24.Rd4 Qc6 25.Bd6+-] 24...a4 25.Rd4 Qc6 26.Rad1 h6 27.R1d3± Kg7 28.Kh2 Rac8 29.Qg3 Kh7 30.Qh4 Rhg8 31.Rg3 g5 32.Qh5 Rg7 33.Qd1 Nf4 34.h4 Rh8 35.Kg1 Kg8 36.b3 axb3 37.axb3 Rhh7 38.h5 Rh8 39.Ba3 Kh7 40.Bc1 Nd5 41.c4 bxc4 42.bxc4 Nb6 43.Rd6 Qa4 44.Qxa4 Nxa4 45.Ra3 Nc5 46.Ra7 Rc8 47.Be3 f4 48.Bxc5 [Rxc5 49.Rdxd7 Rxd7 50.Rxd7+ Kg8 51.Re7 Rxe5 52.f3] ½½ Once again, my sister did not have a very good game right out of the opening. However, she defended extremely well to hold off Mickey Adams throughout the entire game. Even though his position looked very good, he did not find a clear way to score a full point. I am puzzled to why he offered a draw on move 48. There was still some play left as White was still a little better. Leko 1/2 - 1/2 Morozevich 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 00 9.g4 Nc6 10.000 Nd7 11.h4 Nde5 12.Qf2 Bd7 13.Kb1 Na5 [13...b5; 13...Qc7] 14.g5 Nec4 15.Bc1 b5 16.f4 b4 17.Nce2 Qb6 18.Rh2 d5 19.exd5 Bc5 [19...exd5 20.f5 Bd6 21.Nf4] 20.Qf3 [20.dxe6 Bxe6 21.f5 Na3+ 22.bxa3 bxa3+ 23.Ka1 Rab8] 20...Rad8 21.Nb3 Nxb3 22.axb3 Ne3 23.Bxe3 Bxe3 24.Rd3 Bc5 25.dxe6 Bxe6 26.Nc1 g6 27.Bh3 f5 28.gxf6 Bf7 29.f5 Bd4 30.fxg6 hxg6 31.Qg4 Bxf6 32.Re2 a5 33.Re4 Kg7 34.Qg3 Rh8 35.Bf5 Rh5 36.Rxd8 Qxd8 37.Be6 Bxh4 38.Qg2 Be8 39.Rg4 Re5 40.Bc4 Re1 41.Bd3 Qf6 42.Qd2 Qf2 43.Be2 Bf6 44.Rc4 Qg3 45.Rc7+ Qxc7 46.Qxe1 g5 47.Nd3 Bg6 48.Qg1 Qe7 49.Bg4 Qe4 50.Qg3 Bf7 51.Qh3 Bd5 52.Bf5 Qh4 [52...Qh1+ 53.Qxh1 Bxh1+] 53.Qe3 Qd4 54.Qg3 Bf7 55.Qg2 Qd5 56.Be4 Qe6 57.Nc5 Qd6 58.Nd3 Be6 59.Qh1 Qd4 60.Qh7+ Kf8 61.Bf5 Bf7 62.Qh6+ Ke7 63.Qh2 Qd6 64.Qh7 Qb8 65.Bg4= Kf8 66.Qh6+ Ke7 67.Qh7 Kf8 68.Qh6+ Ke7 ½½ This was a classic Sicilian game. White went all out on the Kingside while Black tried to counter attack on the Queenside. The game went back and forth and both players took chances to try to win. Neither player seemed to make any real bad move. Watching this game is like a two heavyweight boxers standing in the middle of the ring pounding on each other the entire 15 rounds. But at the final bell, the battle ended up as a hard fought draw. Topalov 1/2 1/2 Anand 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Ne5 Nfd7 10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.Nd2 0-0 12.0-0 Rc8 13.e4 c5 14.exd5 exd5 15.dxc5 dxc4 16.c6 cxb3 17.Re1 b2 18.Bxb2 Nc5 19.Nc4 Bxc4 20.Qg4 Bg5 21.Qxc4 Nd3 22.Ba3 Nxe1 23.Rxe1 Re8 24.Rxe8+ Qxe8 25.Bd5 h5 26.Kg2 Be7 27.Bb2 Bf6 28.Bc1 Qe7 29.Be3 Rc7 30.h4 Be5 31.Qd3 Bd6 32.Bg5 Qe8 33.Qf3 b5 34.Be3 Qe5 35.Qd1 Qe8 36.Qxh5 Rxc6 37.Bxa7 Ra6 38.Bd4 Bf8 39.Be5 b4 40.Qf5 g6 41.Qf4 Qe7 42.Bd4 Ra5 43.Qf3 Bg7 44.Bb6 Rb5 45.Be3 Bc3 46.Bg5 Qa7 47.Qd3 Rb6 48.Be3 Qa6 49.Bxf7+ Kxf7 50.Qd7+ Kf8 51.Qd8+ Kf7 52.Qc7+ Kg8 53.Qxb6 Qxa2 54.Qxg6+ Kh8 55.Qc6 Qf7 56.g4 Bg7 57.h5 b3 58.Qe4 b2 59.h6 Bf6 60.Bd4 Kg8 61.Bxf6 Qxf6 62.Kg3 Qb6 63.Qc4+ Kh7 64.g5 Qg6 65.Qc7+ Kg8 66.Qb8+ Kf7 67.Qb7+ Kf8 68.Qb8+ Kf7 69.Qb3+ Kf8 70.Qf3+ Ke7 71.Qe3+ Kd7 72.Qd4+ Ke6 73.Qxb2 Qxg5+ 74.Kf3 Qh5+ 75.Ke4 Qf5+ 76.Ke3 Qg5+ 77.f4 Qg3+ 78.Ke4 Qe1+ 79.Kf3 Qf1+ 80.Kg3 Qg1+ 81.Qg2 Qb1 82.Qc6+ Kf7 83.Qd7+ Kf6 84.Qg7+ Ke6 85.Qe5+ Kf7 86.Qh5+ Kf6 87.Qg5+ Kf7 88.Qh5+ Kf6 89.Qh4+ Kf7 90.h7 Qe1+ 91.Kg4 Qd1+ 92.Kg5 Qd8+ 93.Kh5 Qd5+ 94.Qg5 Qh1+ 95.Qh4 Qd5+ 96.Kg4 Qd1+ 97.Kg3 Qe1+ Game drawn ½-½ This is the game of the tournament so far. However, I am not going into details with this game. This is what a World Championship is all about. For those who were not fans of Topalov before, many have fully converted now. As I said before the round, Topalov has no understanding of the draw concept. He will go for the win in just about any position. Even after the sacrifice to give Topalov a Bishop pair versus a Rook and a Bishop, it did not seem that he had much. But Topalov kept on grinding. It was clear that Topalov was pushing for the win. Yes, both sides made a number of inaccuracies. But this is what human chess is all about. Mistakes do happen. But no one can ever say that they did not fight. This is why these two are tied at the top of the rating chart. Thank you guys for an incredibly entertaining battle. You are true champions!
Round 1 (September 28)
A somewhat uneventful Petroff draw at the end! Neither side really wanted to try anything when there are still plenty left to play for. I understand that it is not easy for White to try to go for the win in the final position due to blacks active Bishop pair. However, why not at least play on a little further? Blacks a6 and c6 pawns are quite ugly. This is a World Championship. If you dont at least try to win in such a position as white, when would you try to go for the win at all? Morozevich 1/2 - 1/2 Kasimdzhanov The final position was a dead draw but at least there were some minor actions. Kasim seemed to equalize as Black quite effortlessly. Neither side was really in danger of losing at any time. It is a fairly decent start for Kasim with Black. Back to the drawing board for Morozevich to get a better edge with White next time. J. Polgar 0 - 1 Anand As I said before the round, it would be a fairly peaceful game unless Judit decides to make an issue as White. She did! She made an issue out of it and was severely punished for castling to the Queenside. Her Kingside attack was stopped stone cold before any real fireworks. Anand cautiously put out all the fire on the Kingside then launched his own deadly counter attack on the Queenside against Judits unsafe King. This certainly was a disappointing start for my sister but there are still 13 games left. Leko 0 - 1 Topalov Just like in Judits game, Leko decided to make an early issue. He also castled on the Queenside. However, his position looked good and he had excellent chances to win. On move 17, he could have played 17. f4 which would have lead to an even better position for White even though there was nothing really wrong with 17. Kb1. All of a sudden, Leko made a number of inaccuracies starting with 20.Nf5?! [20.Nb6 Rb8 (20...Qxb6 21.Nxe6! Qxf2 22.Nc7#) 21.Bg3 Rd8 22.Nb3±] 20...g5 21.Bg3 Rc8 22.Qd4?! Rg8 23.c3? Rd8 24.Qxd8+ Qxd8 25.Rxd8+ Kxd8 26.Ne3 Bc6 27.Nb6 bxc3 28.bxc3 Bg7 29.Bxf4? [10.Kc2 Kc7 and Black is better] 30...gxf4 31.Nd1 Bb5+. The Bishop pair was simply too powerful and Topalov easily converted the position to a full point. This has to be a very painful loss for Leko. So what is the moral of round 1? In this caliber of play, you cannot make too many inaccuracies. In addition, if you live by the sword, be prepared to die by the sword. Bishop pair is powerful and don't forget one of the basic of chess: King safety is a must even for 2700+ players!
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