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Anand and Topalov finish joint first with 9/13. Anand takes the title on a tie break. He is the first player to win the event five times. Both played at an amazing level and certainly justified their rankings as the top two players. Karjakin is a big revelation – his performance reminded me of Topalov’s first Linares tournament – losing some brilliancies, but playing all-round excellent chess.

Aronian was slightly disappointing – until the last round annihilation of Sokolov. Michael Adams is a surprise third place finisher. Its always great to see Ivanchuk back in the thick of things – he is such a great character.

Kamsky is probably disappointed with his result. His opening repertoire got smashed to pieces. The tenacity that took him close to two World Championships in the same cycle is still there. Kamsky needs to spend some time catching up with the latest opening theory – perhaps replace the anaemic Sicilian Kan with the Sveshnikov. Kamsky was a formidable opponent eight years ago – it would be awesome if he could reach that playing strength again.

Anand produces a positional gem against Gelfand. Ivanchuk manoeuvres a win out of a two minor piece endgame against Karjakin. Tiviakov finally wins a game – against Kamsky. Aronian uncorks an fantastic improvement in an awesome demolition of Sokolov. Topalov settles for a draw with Leko.

Ivanchuk – Karjakin

The Classical English results in a mass exchange of pieces. Ivanchuk emerges with two bishops and a slight edge. With a minority attack against Black’s queenside pawn Ivanchuk gets a rook to the seventh rank severely constricting Black’s activity. This leads to the win of a pawn. Karjakin forces both rooks to be exchanged, and doggedly defends the endgame a pawn down. Ivanchuk’s creeping moves inexorably gain the advantage, and after a long session of minor piece manoeuvring, Ivanchuk plays the decisive pawn break.

Anand – Gelfand

Gelfand gets it a little wrong on the Black side of a Sicilian Najdorf. Anand smashes through with an positional exchange sacrifice that holds the Black king in the centre. Black’s pawn structure is nonexistent, and he struggles to hold his position again. Anand slowly improves his position without conceding to Black any counterplay. In an extraordinary middle-game Anand prepares his position while Gelfand ditches material to get some activity – the game is static until the second time control when Anand makes the final decisive central pawn break. An awesome positional performance by Anand.

Kamsky – Tiviakov

Tiviakov repeats the Scandanavian Defence, and gets a decent position. He pickpockets one of Kamsky’s pawns, and Kamsky struggles to find compensation. Tiviakov consolidates and brushes off Kamsky’s attack.

Aronian – Sokolov

Aronian uncorks a massive improvement on his game against Gelfand – in a brutal variation of the Queen’s Gambit Slav variation (looks to be a Gelfand pet-line). Sacrificing an exchange nets him a very strong passed pawn which constricts Black’s rooks. Aronian coordinates the material threats, queening threats and mating threats into a beautiful position.

Leko – Topalov

Leko play a quiet side-line of the Sicilian Najdorf. Topalov engineers a thematic breakthrough on the queenside, forcing Leko to jettison a pawn. But Leko fights back reducing the game to a bishop and rook endgame and pushes through to a repetition of position.

Adams – Mamedyarov

Adams gets an edge in an Archangel Ruy Lopez, but starts to drift a little, giving Mamedyarov the chance to swop down into a balanced position. Draw agreed.

Bacrot – van Wely

Van Wely equalises in a trench-like Queen’s Gambit. Bacrot engineers a kingside breakthrough, but van Wely has more than enough resources to deflect White’s initiative. After a torturous middlegame peace is finally declared.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: Anand and Topalov share first in A, Motylev and Carlsen in B, Atalik on top in C!
• ChessBase: Corus R13: Anand and Topalov win Wijk
• TWIC: Corus Wijk aan Zee 2006, Round 13

Kamsky levers himself off the bottom of the tournament table with a win against a self-destructing Mamedyarov – the only decisive game of the round. Ivanchuk burgles Gelfand, but misses out on the full point. Topalov walks into an Anand opening preparation, and a short draw ensues.

Topalov – Anand

Anand improved on Sokolov’s play against Topalov in round 7 in an Archangel Ruy Lopez. Topalov declined a piece sacrifice, and after a mass of exchanges there was nothing else to play for.

Mamedyarov – Kamsky

Kamsky gets a tiny edge on the Black side of a Schlecter Grunfeld, and grabs a hot pawn. He defends stubbornly and eeks his way to another pawn. Then Mamedyarov self-destructs.

Gelfand – Ivanchuk

Gelfand gets burgled in the early middle game, losing a piece to some ingenious Ivanchuk manoeuvring. Ivanchuk misses a quick win, and his great advantage erodes through the endgame until Gelfand eventually pulls a miracle and gets into a drawn rook and pawn endgame.

Karjakin – Aronian

Karjakin gets a good advantage on the White side of a Closed Ruy Lopez, but fails to capitalise on it. Draw agreed a few moves later.

Sokolov – Bacrot

A Queen’s Gambit Slav rapidly dissolves into a balanced rook, bishop and pawns endgame. Draw.

Tiviakov – Leko

Tiviakov essays a Guico Pianissimo against Leko and emerges with a slight initiative. A draw is agreed when Leko drains that initiative down to nothing.

van Wely – Adams

van Wely wins a pawn in a Queen’s Indian, but Adams has the initiative. Through some crafty manoeuvres, van Wely retains the extra pawn right the way through to the endgame, but Adams’ bishop proves stronger than van Wely’s knight, and he secures a draw.

Related Resources

• ChessNinja: Corus 2006 r12
• CorusChess: A peacful day – status quo remains
• TWIC: Corus Wijk aan Zee 2006, Round 12

Topalov and Anand have tense games that eventually lead to draws. Leko is efficient against Mamedyarov. Kamsky pulls off a clever swindle against van Wely. Topalov is held by Ivanchuk in a tense game. Anand is surprised out of the opening by a devious Tiviakov. Karjakin outplays Sokolov.

Karjakin – Sokolov

The Open Ruy Lopez enters the middle-game in a dead heat, but Karjakin eventually manages to get a tiny advantage. He translates this to the win of Black’s two central pawns, and converts the resulting Queen, bishop and pawns endgame.

Leko – Mamedyarov

Another Steinitz Ruy Lopez, but Leko emerges with a slight edge and ties up the Black queenside. Mamedyarov ditches the exchange to get some play, but Leko retains control of his position. Leko creates threats on both sides of the board which nets him an outside passed pawn. Mamedyarov resigns facing the onslaught of two White queens.

Kamsky – van Wely

Van Wely plays into a Scheveningen Sicilian. Kamsky builds up a nice edge locking the Black queenside by posting a bishop on b6, but van Wely battles hard and the advantage swings to Black, but he misses the strongest line and equality results. Van Wely is compelled to sacrifice his queen for a rook and minor piece, and gets a pleasant position pressurising Kamsky’s king. Kamsky finds a diabolical trap, which van Wely falls into, which gives Kamsky a mating attack.

Aronian – Gelfand

Aronian attempts to improve on the earlier Bacrot – Gelfand game in a Queen’s Gambit Slav, but a draw agreed seven moves later, where Black has a better position.

Ivanchuk – Topalov

Topalov gets some dangerous centre pawns right out of the Black side of a Nimzo-Indian, but the position is equal. Ivanchuk gets a little carried away with his initiative and misses an important zwischenzug. In the rook and pawns ending, Topalov takes over the initiative and his queenside pawns push right through the middle of the board. But Ivanchuk holds.

Anand – Tiviakov

Tiviakov surprised Anand with the Scandanavian Defence, and quickly gets an edge. Anand fights hard, and equalises thanks to the Black king being stuck in the centre. Tiviakov holds his position together, and holds the resulting bishop and pawns endgame.

Adams – Bacrot

Another one of those Petroffs – Adams mimics Topalov’s choice of variation, but doesn’t allow his light-squared bishop to be snapped off by Black’s passing knight. Adams maintains an edge, but Bacrot defends actively and solidly.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: Topalov maintains lead
• TWIC: Corus Wijk aan Zee 2006, Round 11
• ChessBase: Karjakin, Leko, Kamsky win, Carlsen loses

Topalov leads alone thanks to an awesome demolition of Aronian. Leko falls to van Wely’s bishop pair. Topalov’s two exchange sacrifices blow Aronian out of the water. Bacrot overcomes Kamsky’s resistance.

Topalov – Aronian

Topalov surprises Aronian by opening with his queen’s pawn. In the ensuing Queen’s Indian, Aronian equalises. Topalov’s expansion in the centre leads to an Aronian push-back which entices Topalov to close the centre. An unexpected exchange sacrifice from Topalov leads to a position where Topalov has compensation in the form of two connected passed pawns. One of those passed pawns reaches the seventh rank, and a second exchange sacrifice from Topalov sees the other passed pawn join its companion. His two bishops and active king dominate Aronian’s two rooks.

van Wely – Leko

Leko equalises out of a Classical Nimzo-Indian, but van Wely keeps up the pressure in the queenless middlegame. Van Wely nurtures his tiny advantage, thanks to his bishop pair. As the pieces are exchanged off, van Wely’s bishops get stronger and stronger. He breaks up black’s kingside pawn structure with a pawn sacrifice. Black can’t hold back the threats from the two White bishops.

Sokolov – Adams

Adams has a comfortable position on the black side of a Classical Queen’s Indian. A pawn sacrifice secures Sokolov the bishop pair, but Black has sufficient resources to steer the game into a balanced rook and pawns ending.

Mamedyarov – Anand

A Queen’s Indian sees Anand equalise comfortable. Draw agreed when the heavy pieces are exchanged.

Gelfand – Karjakin

An Open Catalan sees a short draw after a repetition of position.

Tiviakov – Ivanchuk

Both players emerge from a Ruy Lopez with solid positions. Tiviakov’s attempt to pursue the advantage is neutralised, and the pieces start to come off. After some active play in the knight and pawns endgame, Tiviakov concludes by a perpetual check.

Bacrot – Kamsky

Kamsky tries the Sicilian Kan again, but Bacrot avoids the testing Maroczy bind opting instead for active piece play. In a tactical exchange sees Bacrot win two pawns. Kamsky battles hard and wins back a pawn, but in the queen ending, White’s more active queen and king combine to force the loss of Kamsky’s passed pawn.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: Topalov – king of the hill
• TWIC: Corus Wijk aan Zee 2006, Round 10
• ChessBase: Topalov back in the lead
• ChessNinja: Corus 2006 r10

Topalov and Anand are now one point ahead of Gelfand and Adams. Topalov counter-attacks Karjakin and wins. Anand’s novelty exchange sacrifice is enough to gain the point against van Wely. Gelfand snare’s Sokolov. Adams overpowers Kamsky.

Anand – van Wely

Anand sacrifices an exchange out of the opening of a Sicilian Sveshnikov, and exchanges queens. This gives him an advanced passed pawn. The middlegame shows that van Wely’s rooks are constricted by the passed pawn, and soon he has to give back the exchange. Anand gets his remaining rook on the seventh rank which secures him the point.

Aronian – Tiviakov

Tiviakov gets a solid position and equality out of a Queen’s Indian. In a balanced game Aronian is content to swap down into an equally balanced endgame. Drawn.

Gelfand – Sokolov

Sokolov manages to equalise on the Black side of a Semi-Slav. Gelfand’s manoeuvring allows the Black queen to become active, but there’s a trap. Sokolov’s knight is stranded in no mans land, and is compelled to sacrifice itself rather than retreat into an ambush. Gelfand’s thrusts against the Black kind force a resignation.

Ivanchuk – Mamedyarov

Ivanchuk wins a pawn in a manoeuvre in a Ruy Lopez Steinitz, but Black gets a bit of activity in compensation. Black uses the activity to launch a kingside attack, and forces a repetition of position.

Kamsky – Adams

Adams overpowers Kamsky in the Queen’s Indian and gets an advantage early on. He builds on this advantage and turns it into a passed d-pawn, which advances causing confusion on Kamsky’s position. Kamsky unleashes a pawn storm aimed at Black’s king, but it doesn’t save him

Karjakin – Topalov

Karjakin emerges from a Sveshnikov Sicilian with a tiny advantage. He barricades Black’s central pawns which allows him to centralise his pieces and start creating threats against the Black king. He sacrifices a pawn, but Topalov turns the tables on the kingside which forces Karjakin to dispose of another pawn. In the ensuing complications Topalov wins the White queen for a rook and bishop, whilst retaining his kingside pressure. His queen and pawns prove too strong for Karjakin’s rooks.

Leko – Bacrot

Leko emerges from a Petroff with a slight advantage, but his lack-lustre play sees Bacrot equalise, exchanging into a balanced rook and pawn ending. Draw.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: PM visits, Anand and Topalov increase lead

Anand rejoins Topalov in the lead, Karjakin still half a point behind. Anand outplays Bacrot in an ending, pressuring Bacrot into a blunder. Aronian is too much for Mamedyarov to handle.

Bacrot – Anand

Bacrot handles Anand’s direct approach of the Queens Indian well, and emerges from the opening with a definite advantage. He bails out of a tacit draw by repetition, and continues building on his advantage. Anand’s piece play in the endgame is breathtaking, and soon he has the advantage. Bacrot cracks under the pressure and blunders, losing a piece.

Adams – Leko

Adams adopts the c3 Sicilian as White, Leko equalises comfortably. Leko finds the strong move …Qc4 which convinces Adams into a repetition of position. Short draw.

Mamedyarov – Aronian

Aronian emerges from a Queen’s Indian with hanging pawns, and wastes no time in using them to constrict White’s piece activity. His strongly centralised knights give him a definite edge. White is compelled to part with an exchange to remove one of the knights, leaving Black with a strong advantage. Aronian dominates the position with his two rooks, and enters a much better endgame which he converts.

Sokolov – Kamsky

An exchange variation of the Queen’s Gambit Slav sees a balanced position. Kamsky has White’s queenside activity well under control. A short draw.

Tiviakov – Karjakin

Another c3 Sicilian. Tiviakov boldly sacrifices a pawn to destroy Black’s centre, and gets a strong edge in the middle game targeting the multitude of weak Black pawns. Karjakin reduces his disadvantage with some good queenside activity. Tiviakov drifts a little. Game agreed a draw shortly thereafter.

Topalov – Gelfand

Topalov wheels out his unusual Petroff Defence variation and again, as against Bacrot, gets nothing from the opening. The game quickly moves to a balanced ending, but Topalov engineers some play to keep it interesting. Gelfand is up to the task, and meets Topalov head-on. Draw after a repetition of position.

van Wely – Ivanchuk

From a classical Nimzo-Indian Ivanchuk quickly offers an exchange of queens, and accepts a weakened kingside pawn structure. His middle game plan involving strongpointing the c4 square works out fairly well, and that gains him a small advantage. He turns that into a win of a pawn, which he quickly gives back to enter a very promising rook and pawn endgame. van Wely defends doggedly and actively. He sacrifices a pawn and forces Ivanchuk to conceed a draw by repetition of position.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: Musical chairs at the top
• TWIC: Corus Wijk aan Zee 2006, Round 8
• ChessBase: Corus R8: Anand catches Topalov