Corus 2007, Round 9 – Ponomariov blugeons Karjakin. Anand and Shirov win.

Anand plays Motylev’s three pawn sacrifice in the Poisoned Pawn Sicilian, and wins against van Wely. Ponomariov wastes no time bludgeoning through to Karjakin’s king. Shirov’s tactical power clocks up his first win in this tournament against Navara. Aronian comfortably holds Topalov to a draw.

Anand – van Wely

Van Wely follows Anand’s game against Motylev from earlier in the tournament, and Anand repeats Motylev’s three pawn sacrifice. Van Wely follows Anand’s recommendation of giving up the exchange to defuse the immediate threats. But van Wely fails to play accurately, and Anand gains the advantage which grows to very promising proportions. Van Wely blunders a piece under the pressure, and resigns.

Ponomariov – Karjakin

Ponomariov’s aggressive play against Karjakin’s Najdorf gives him a thematic edge, and he uses the advantage to speed up his kingside pawn storm. Karjakin retreats into his shell giving Ponomariov a free hand to stir up threats against the Black king. An exchange sacrifices blows open Black’s defence, and the black king is dragged to his demise.

Carlsen – Radjabov

Radjabov’s aggressiveness in the Kalashnikov Sicilian prevents Carlsen from gaining any edge, and a quick draw ensues.

Svidler – Kramnik

In a main line Petroff Svidler’s edge is neutralised by Kramnik, and a short draw is agreed.

Aronian – Topalov

The game is balanced from an English Four Knights, and both sides create threats. But the game remains balanced right up to where the players split the points.

Navara – Shirov

Navara emerges with a King’s Indian Attack position against Shirov’s Slav set-up. Karjakin stumbles into a tactical pin and loses a pawn, and Navara’s desperado allows Shirov to call on his phenomenal tactical abilities. Shirov’s pieces dominate, pushing White into retreating back behind his pawns, and White resigns when is queen is decoyed from protecting the kingside.

Tiviakov – Motylev

Tiviakov’s King’s Indian Attack makes no impression on Motylev’s Caro Kann. Neither player emerges with the advantage as the game slowly edges through the hours. The players agree to a draw once time control is reached.

This entry was posted in Anand, Aronian, Carlsen, Chess, Corus, Karjakin, Kramnik, Motylev, Navara, Ponomariov, Radjabov, Shirov, Svidler, Tiviakov, Topalov, van Wely. Bookmark the permalink.

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