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Topalov and Anand lead Corus at the first rest day. Topalov disposes of van Wely in a typically aggressive affair. Gelfand presses Bacrot and reaps a full point. Kamsky walks into a mating trap after defending tenaciously. Kamsky blunders after a long tenacious defence against Aronian.

van Wely – Topalov

Topalov sacrifices the exchange out of the opening and gains the two bishops (following in the tracks of John van der Wiel in 1999 Dutch Championships). He manoeuvres his minor pieces into very active positions around the heart of the White position. Van Wely struggles to develop his light-squared bishop, and when he does, Topalov’s pieces are already bearing down on the White king. Black regains the exchange and retains the initiative. Van Wely succumbs to the pressure.

Bacrot – Gelfand

Bacrot finds himself on the receiving end of a Gelfand powerplay right out of a Queen’s Gambit Slav. Gelfand’s uncastled king looks untouchable, and Gelfand slowly nurses a tiny advantage. His rooks start to dominate, doubling up on the d-file, and Bacrot suddenly finds himself in a spot of trouble, and invests an exchange to dig himself out. After that, Gelfand’s rooks and king impose themselves enough forcing Bacrot to resign.

Kamsky – Aronian

Aronian gets a big edge out of an exchange Ruy Lopez after Kamsky’s insipid play reaps no rewards. Kamsky defends doggedly, and draws the game into a Queen and bishops on same colours ending. Aronian still pressing hard. Kamsky blunders on move 72 which loses his queen.

Sokolov – Anand

Short draw right out of a Queen’s Gambit Accepted.

Adams – Karjakin

Adams quickly got a definite edge out of a positional Sicilian Najdorf, but the position petered out towards equality.

Leko – Ivanchuk

Leko played the unusual looking 8.Qe2 from a Classical French which gives Black immediate equality. He builds toward a d4-d5 pawn push. Leko gets an edge but Ivanchuk quickly snuffles it out. Draw agreed shortly thereafter.

Mamedyarov – Tiviakov

Mamedyarov miscues in the middle game against Tiviakov’s Nimzo-Indian and finds himself a piece for two pawns down. He manages to get both rooks on the seventh rank forcing a perpetual check.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: Topalov joins Anand at the top
• TWIC: Corus, Wijk aan Zee Round 4
• ChessNinja: Corus 2006 r4
• ChessBase: Topalov wins, joins Anand in the lead

Anand leads after catching Ivanchuk off balance. Karjakin beats Kamsky in a neat game. Gelfand powers past Adams, and Topalov cleans up a pawn endgame after a Bacrot blunder.

Ivanchuk – Anand

From a symmetrical position out of an English opening Ivanchuk gets an advantage and is tempted by a partially poisoned a-pawn that sucks in his bishop. As Ivanchuk battles to extricate the bishop, Anand centralised his pieces and pushes the White queen out of the centre. A blunder from Ivanchuk invites Anand to break into the kingside with a mating attack.

Karjakin – Kamsky

Kamsky’s unusual 4… a6 allows Karjakin to adopt a Maroczy bind. Kamsky’s hedgehog formation is a little passive, allowing White a free hand to build up his position. After due preparation Karjakin breaks into Black’s position with 24.c5 where Whites active knight reduces Black to shuffling his rook on the back rank. Kamsky can’t avoid a decisive entry of the White rook on the seventh rank, so resigns.

Gelfand – Adams

Adams emerges from the Black side of a Catalan with a tiny disadvantage. Gelfand’s intricate sequence of moves throws him on further on the back foot. Gelfand gets a nice position with his queen strongly placed on d4. Reluctant to exchange queens, Adams tucks it safely out of the way on e8. Gelfand’s centralised queen allows him to generate threats on both sides of the board, and Adams finds himself powerless to prevent the loss of a pawn. Gelfand mops up with a strong kingside attack.

Aronian – Leko

Leko’s Queen’s Indian gives him a solid position out of the opening, and uses the activity of his minor pieces to blunt White’s attacking options. Peace concluded by a threefold repetition of pieces.

Topalov – Bacrot

Topalov choses a quiet sideline of the Petroff and gains nothing except a white king castled queenside. After Black defuses the pressure on his king the game heads into a queen and pawns ending. Topalov plays actively on the queenside and Bacrot blunders and exchanges into a lost pawn ending.

Tiviakov – van Wely

Van Wely quickly establishes a equality out of a c3 Sicilian. Quick draw.

Mamemdyarov – Sokolov

Mamemdyarov quickly gets the upper hand out of a Queens Gambit, and wins a very hot pawn. Sokolov manages to get enough compensation for the pawn and the game drifts into a repetition of position.

Related Resources

• CorusChess: A new leader
• TWIC: Corus Round 3

Ivanchuk takes the lead after winning a long game against Sokolov. Topalov crashes to a loss against Michael Adams. Bacrot outplays Tiviakov, and Kamsky bounces back with a smooth win over Gelfand. Aronian holds Anand to a draw.

Adams – Topalov

Topalov plays into his favoured Scheveningen, revisiting the scene of his opening disaster against Adams in the FIDE World Cup. He emerges unscathed, but is a little overzealous in obtaining counterplay. After incautiously closing the centre, Topalov falls victim to a thematic f5 pawn break. Adams smashes into Topalov’s position with a thematic knight sacrifice on d5 which sends Black reeling. After a few clever moves (Qd2, h3 and c3) Adams is completely on top of the position. His attack is so great Topalov has to ditch material to see it off. Adams is typically clinical in the ending.

Leko – Karjakin

Karjakin revisits the Najdorf position he lost to Anand yesterday, this time he’s Black facing Leko. Leko deviates with 14.h4 and gets a solid position. Karjakin gets the thematic …d5 break in, and instead of acquiesing immediately for a draw, Leko unleashes a prepared queen sacrifice that forces a liquidation of pieces into a quiet endgame. Draw agreed without much further action.

Anand – Aronian

Anand plays an anti-Marshall Ruy Lopez, and after the exchange of light-squared bishops his queen settles on the a2-f7 diagonal. After the thematic Nf3-h2-g4 manoeuvre and the exchange of this knight Black loses control of his d5-square and the dark squares on the kingside. White slowly builds pressure, and after a swop-down of pieces he is a pawn up in the rook and minor piece endgame. Some solid play from Aronian frustrates Anand into giving back a pawn in his effort to win, but this slides the balance of play Black’s way forcing Anand to liquidate into a drawn position.

Kamsky – Gelfand

Out of a Queen’s Gambit Slav, both sides have active minor pieces, but Kamsky makes his count first by a rapid minority attack on the queenside, which nets him an exchange. Slowly his advantage grows forcing Gelfand to eject into an ending of a rook and two minor pieces against a queen and minor piece. Kamsky uses his superior activity to force more material loss and eventual capitulation.

Bacrot – Tiviakov

Against the accelerated Dragon Bacrot adopts a Maroczy bind, which ties up the Black queenside. Tiviakov counters by breaking with …f5 but gets tied down defending the e7-pawn. White’s pawn-storm down the queenside forces a strong entry of the White minor pieces. This compels Tiviakov to ditch the exchange to stem the flood of activity, but to no avail. Bacrot enters the ending with an active rook against a bishop and secures the point.

van Wely – Mamedyarov

Out of a Kings Indian / Benoni set-up, Mamedyaro transposes into a Benko Gambit type position where he gets strong pressure on the White queenside. This quickly transposes into a major piece ending and into a drawn rook endgame.

Sokolov – Ivanchuk

Out of a typical Queen’s Indian Ivanchuk gets a lead in development thanks to the White king being stuck in the centre. He uses this advantage to get his rooks into play first, and then jettisons two pawns to increase his piece activity and gain the two bishops in the queenless middlegame. By trapping the White knight on the edge of the kingside Ivanchuk grabs back his two pawns leaving him with strongly centralised pieces, and a strong passed e-pawn. Gradually Ivanchuk advances the passed pawn locking down the White king and knight. Ivanchuk ditches his extra pawn to force an exchange of all the pieces leaving him in a winning pawn ending.

Related Resources

• TWIC: Corus, Wijk aan Zee, Round 2
• CorusChess: Report of Round 2

Anand wins in fine sacrificial style (and wins my vote as the game of the round). Topalov misses an immediate win, but still finishes Kamsky off in style. Aronian plays too ambitiously and loses to a steady Ivanchuk. Loek van Wely fails to convert a very promising position against Sokolov.

Karjakin – Anand

A typical Najdorf bloodbath where Black counters White’s aggressive kingside pawn storm with an equally aggressive queenside pawn storm. Anand uncorks a double piece sacrifice that leaves him with a very strong attack.

An inventive under-promotion by Karjakin, followed by a queen sacrifice fails to ward off Anand’s attack. Anand declines the queen sacrifice, disposing off one of his rooks, to finish off White in a neat mating finish. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all Anand preparation.

Topalov – Kamsky

Kamsky pulls of a surprise by playing the Scandanavian defence against Topalov’s 1.e4, this is typical of the re-emerging Kamsky, playing off-beat openings. And it makes sense. Kamsky has been out of top-flight chess for a number of years, and it will take him some time to catch up on all the chess opening theory that has happened in all that time. Rather than play into a prepared trap, Kamsky wisely avoids it by playing unusual lines, and delays the action until the middle-game.

But even in untopical lines, Kamsky finds aggressive, if risky, options. 8…g5 is a prime example. Topalov sacrifices two pawns to buy a some time to bring his rooks into play against Black’s uncastled position. Kamsky castles, but his king finds no respite from the White minor pieces. A horrible blunder, under pressure, with 16…c5??, but Topalov missed 17.Be5! and White’s attack is far too strong.

Topalov keeps building up the pressure and creates a strong passed pawn on d6. The advance of this pawn and White’s knights following burst into Black’s position for the decisive kingside attack.

Aronian – Ivanchuk

A solid Grunfeld Schlecter sees Ivanchuk establish a solid position. White leaves the opening with a tiny advantage in the queenless middlegame. He has the better pawn structure, and uses it to establish a space advantage on the kingside.

Ivanchuk regroups with an unusual knight manoeuvre which compels the White dark-squared bishop into playing the role of an overgrown pawn. White continues to press on the kingside and the e-file, slowly losing his grip on the initiative.

Aronian sacrifices a knight unsoundly which gives Black a big advantage. White’s passed pawn and rook on the seventh look very threatening, but Ivanchuk neutralises the threats. And just in time, his rook makes the decisive pentetration into the back of the White position, neutralising White’s passed pawn threats.

Mamedyarov – Bacrot

Mamedyrov got an edge very early on in the game sacrificing a pawn to stymy Black’s kingside development. Black gradually unravelled his kingside and White had nothing better than to draw by repetition.

van Wely – Sokolov

The battle of the Dutch Grandmasters went along the lines of a typical Queen’s Gamit Slav. White’s space advantage gave van Wely the initiative. Black’s typical thematic break …e5 failed to established equality as it weakened Black’s cover of the d-file. White forced his d-pawn through to d6 establishing an promising position.

Instead of regrouping first, van Wely opens up the b-file prematurely allowing Black some activity in that area. Black equalises and a repetition of position concludes a into a draw.

Gelfand – Leko

After a solid Catalan opening White has a tiny advantage in a technical middle-game, but Leko keeps the position under control. Gelfand misses a few tiny improvements to his piece activity but emerges with a definite advantage. A draw agreed before time control.

Tiviakov – Adams

Tiviakov avoids Adam’s Marshall Gamit in the Ruy Lopez by stepping into the Worrall Attack. Adams plays aggressively, getting …d5 in early. A rapid queenside expansion forces White into a series of equalising exchanges. White emerges from the opening with a weak extra pawn, Black getting some compensation in the centralisation of his rooks.

Tiviakov presses hard in the rook and pawn endgame, but he cannot make his extra pawn count.

Related Resources

• TWIC: Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006. Round 1
• Corus Chess: Report of Round 1
• rediff: Anand crushes Karjakin in first round
• ChessNinja: Corus 2006 r2
• ChessBase: Corus R1: Shock-and-awe victories by Anand and Topalov