March 2007
Monthly Archive
Tue 13 Mar 2007
Morozevich’s determined play overcomes Ivanchuk. Svidler registers his first win of the tournament with an elegant win over Leko.
Ivanchuk – Morozevich
Ivanchuk reprises the Scotch Game, the opening that almost secured him a win against Leko in the first round. Morozevich is the master of old openings, and its no surprise he emerges from the opening with an edge. Morozevich uses his edge to open queenside lines against the castled White king. Ivanchuk scrambles to secure the queenside. With a delicate knight manoeuvre, Morozevich aims his major pieces at the White king as the minor pieces disappear off the board. The pressure down the a-file gets transformed into a position where Black has strong passed pawns on the kingside. A small combination sees Black give up the two rooks for a queen, and Ivanchuk throws in the towel.
Leko – Svidler
In a standard Najdorf position Leko employs the unusual move 11. Qe1 vacating a square that can be used by a harassed White knight. Svidler has a tiny nagging edge thanks to the tangled position of White’s pieces. Leko’s manoeuvre to win a pawn opens his own position to great danger, and Svidler with the initiative builds strong pressure in the centre with his two bishops. Svidler’s combination of passed pawn and queenside pressure forces major weaknesses in Leko’s position, which collapses shortly thereafter.
Topalov – Carlsen
Topalov employs a symmetrical English – an interesting choice against the youngster. Carlsen gets an open and free position, and his minor pieces entice Topalov to retreat his queen far out on the kingside. The queen emerges deep in the heart of Black’s queenside, but Carlsen calmly forces a repetition of position and a draw.
Anand – Aronian
Anand prefers to avoid Aronian’s Marshall as the game heads into a typical anti-Marshall Ruy Lopez. Aronian’s queenside expansion ratchets open the a-file, and one set of rooks disappear. Aronian consolidates and the position is equal. A draw agreed.
Thu 8 Mar 2007
Carlsen’s grip crushes Ivanchuk. Aronian and Leko engage in an exciting struggle, so to do Svidler and Topalov.
Carlsen – Ivanchuk
Carlsen employs the Classical Exchange against Ivanchuk’s Grunfeld. Carlsen emerges with a clear advantage, even when both pairs of rooks are swapped off. He locks down on the dark-squares around Ivanchuk’s king. Ivanchuk’s queen is too far away from the kingside, and he can only meekly fend off White’s threats only to walk into a nasty pin on the queenside. Carlsen exploits the pin by a central advance, and wins material, which he easily converts into a win.
Morozevich – Anand
Morozevich unveils an unusual twist in a Queen’s Indian, and its enough to emerge from the opening with a tiny edge in the resulting Catalan-like structure. After Anand defuses an emerging initiative from Morozevich the game settles down into a solid middlegame where neither side can make much progress, so by repetition of position both players are satisfied with a draw.
Aronian – Leko
Leko offers a Modern Benoni, but Aronian opts for a Symmetrical English set-up. The position slides into a Maroczy bind territory, with Aronian striking first with a 16. c5 thrust to seize an advantage. Leko defends and takes over the initiative on the queenside, forcing a series of retreats from Aronian. Leko builds up a dominating position with a clear advantage. Aronian’s tenacious defence reduces Leko’s edge and winning chances. The double rook endgame brings a draw.
Svidler – Topalov
Svidler avoids the miscue that landed him in trouble against the same opponent in Corus 2007. Topalov builds up an initiative on the queenside against Svidler’s king. Svidler defends cautiously and regains the initiative, forcing Topalov into a series of exchanges that hasten the endgame. Svidler sacrifices a knight to open up Topalov’s king and forces a perpetual to settle the draw.
Tue 6 Mar 2007
Anand wins a masterful strategic game against Carlsen. Ivanchuk sacrifices a piece which is good enough to force a draw. Leko and Topalov emerge equal in a hard-fought draw.
Anand – Carlsen
Carlsen adopts the Chigorin Closed Ruy Lopez, and Anand plays the position perfectly. Carlsen runs into a little trouble on the c-file, forcing his knight into an awkward retreat to the corner. Just when Carlsen has the queenside under control, Anand switches to a kingside attack, throwing Carlsen off balance. With a weakened kingside, Carlsen can’t prevent Anand installing a knight on e6, dominating Black’s position. Anand builds his kingside attack by feinting a threat to occupy the c-file, and Carlsen is forced to concede a protected passed pawn in the centre, and after a few more deft moves by Anand, Carlsen surrenders.
Aronian – Morozevich
Aronian employs the aggressive 7… g4 against Morozevich’s Semi-Slav and creates a complicated position. After a flurry of tactics and exchanges, the position simplifies into a four piece ending, which neither side has a strong enough advantage to achieve more than a draw.
Ivanchuk – Svidler
Ivanchuk gives the 8. h3 anti-Marshall a spin and builds a solid quiet position. This gives Svidler time to recombine his pieces and gains some play sacrificing a pawn with a thematic … d5 thrust. Ivanchuk surprises his opponent by sacrificing a piece for an attack. The piece is good enough for a draw, but Ivanchuk presses on since he has potential winning chances. After a clever manoeuvre, Ivanchuk forces the win of a piece, and this allows Svidler a perpetual check.
Leko – Topalov
Leko’s pet 7. Nf3 system is again tested against Topalov’s Najdorf. Topalov plays a strange 11… Rc8?!, but gains some initiative on the kingside. Leko engineers a queenside pawn advance, which threatens to break through. Topalov gains an edge in the race of wing attacks, but Leko neutralises the advantage in a double rook and minor piece endgame, producing a hard-fought draw.
Sun 4 Mar 2007
Topalov survives a scare against Ivanchuk. Morozevich smashes Leko with a brutal attack. A day off for Carlsen and Aronian. Anand has to fight for a draw.
Topalov – Ivanchuk
Topalov plays a little passively in a Sicilian Paulsen/Kan, but gradually builds up a kingside attack. Ivanchuk calmly neutralises the attack before it gains any momentum and comes away with a strong grip on the centre. That grip slowly weakens Topalov’s position, and his king is exposed. Topalov gets into an awkward pin with his knight which allows Ivanchuk to grab the initiative in the complicated endgame. Ivanchuk forces the win of a pawn, and Topalov is in desperate trouble. Topalov puts up a stubborn defence and eventually claws himself into a position where Ivanchuk has nothing better than a draw by repetition.
Morozevich – Leko
Morozevich unleashes a side-line of the Queen’s Indian Defence compelling Leko to head into a Benoni-like position. Leko tries to unbundle his cramped position, but incautiously allows and then accepts a typical h-file exchange sacrifice. The sacrifice smashes Leko’s kingside pawn structure, and Morozevich goes on the offensive. He calmly brings all his pieces into the attack, and gets his knight into e6 with a clever manoeuvre. Suddenly Leko’s position is demolishes with a series of blows. Leko lashes out hoping for a perpetual, but Morozevich clinically wipes away all resistance.
Carlsen – Aronian
Both players follow Topalov-Leko from round 3, and Carlsen deviates with 27. Bf1 which concludes a draw by repetition of position.
Svidler – Anand
Anand equalises out of a Petroff, and accepts a smashed queenside for the two bishops. Anand sacrifices a pawn to activate his pieces, and Svidler doesn’t seize the moment to increase his advantage. Anand comfortably holds the endgame.
Sat 3 Mar 2007
Morozevich has a tough struggle to secure a draw against Carlsen. Leko and Ivanchuk show some fighting spirit. The rest of the field take the day off.
Morozevich – Carlsen
Morozevich adopts an ancient variation out of an Open Ruy Lopez, allowing Carlsen to remove White’s potent light-squared bishop for the cost of a pawn. Morozevich returns the pawn, and Carlsen gradually takes over the initiative. Carlsen makes a slip in a complicated position, and both sides settle for the draw.
Leko – Ivanchuk
Ivanchuk adopts a Rubinstein French which gives Leko a slight edge. Ivanchuk sacrifices a pawn to free his position and hasten the endgame. Ivanchuk regains his pawn and simplifies into a drawn pawn endgame.
Anand – Topalov
In a Najdorf Sicilian Topalov avoids the … Be6 that got him into deep trouble against Ivanchuk earlier in the tournament. Topalov equalises comfortably, and a draw is agreed.
Aronian – Svidler
Aronian plays an eclectic variation of the Grunfeld that prevents Svidler from pursuing the typical strategic objectives of the opening. And a draw is declared very early on.
Sat 3 Mar 2007
Anand fends off a Leko initiative, and sacrifices an exchange to liquidate into a very promising endgame. Ivanchuk grounds down Aronian in a positional contest. Topalov has a slice of luck against Morozevich. Svidler’s little flurry of activity registers a draw.
Leko – Anand
Anand’s rapid queenside expansion against Leko’s Catalan looks risky as Leko builds up a comfortable advantage. Anand defends tenaciously, and gradually takes over the initiative with a strong centralisation of his pieces. In the double rooks and bishops middle game, Anand is on top. Anand sacrifices an exchange to hasten the endgame where his queenside pawns are very strong. Leko resigns knowing Anand’s queenside pawns are virtually unstoppable.
Ivanchuk – Aronian
Aronian gets a solid Queen’s Gambit position from his Ragozin defence. Ivanchuk lands Aronian with an isolated pawn and proceeds to build up pressure. Aronian jettisons the weak pawn in an attempt to gain compensation, but Ivanchuk remorselessly increases his advantage, and grounds Aronian’s position right down.
Topalov – Morozevich
Topalov is a little unsure on the white side of a Classical French. Morozevich plays a thematic pawn sacrifice with 9… g5?! to break up White’s kingside. Black’s initiative is bolstered with a typical (but risky) French knight-sacrifice to remove White’s pawn centre. Morozevich regains his sacrificed material with a forced knight manoeuvre, leaving him a pawn up, but allowing Topalov to take over the initiative late in the middle game. With Morozevich’s king stuck in the centre and his queenside undeveloped, Topalov has ample compensation for his pawn. Morozevich blunders just before time control.
Svidler – Carlsen
Carlsen adopts an Accelerated Dragon against Svidler’s unusual move-order. Carlsen accepts an isolated d-pawn and the two bishops. Svidler builds up an advantage on the queenside, but heads straight for a draw.