Two more games

RMD-ALD, 12/23/2006

1.Nc3 Nf6 2.e4 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Bb4 5.d4 {5.O-O O-O 6.d3 (C49)} Nxe4 6.Bxc6 {6.Qd3, Paulsen Louis - Morphy Paul, New York 1857; 6.O-O Bxc3 (6...Nxc3 7.bxc3 Bxc3, Smejkalova Martina - Simlova Jana, Czech Republic 2001) 7.bxc3 a6, Pearson Alexandra - Sakthivel Gaya, Sydney 2002} dxc6 7.Nxe5 O-O 8.O-O Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bd6 10.Qd3 Qh4 11.Nf3 Qf6 12.Ng5 Qh6 13.g3 Bh3 14.Nxh3 Qxh3 15.Re1 Rfe8 16.Bd2 Re7 17.Rxe7 Bxe7 18.Re1 Qd7 19.Kg2 Re8 20.h3 Bd6 21.Re4 Rxe4 22.Qxe4 Be7 23.Qf4 Qd5+ 24.Kh2 Bd6 25.Qg4 h5 26.Qc8+ Kh7 27.Qxb7 h4 28.Bf4 Bxf4 29.gxf4 Qxa2 30.Qb3 Qxb3 31.cxb3 Kg6 32.Kg2 Kf5 33.Kf3 f6 34.Ke3 g5 35.fxg5 fxg5 36.f3 a6? {36...a5!=} 37.b4 c5 38.d5? {38.dxc5! +/-} cxb4 39.cxb4 Ke5 40.Kd3 Kf4 41.Kd4 Kxf3 42.Kc5 g4 43.Kc6 gxh3 44.Kxc7 h2 45.d6 h1Q 46.d7 Qc1+ 47.Kb7 {47.Kd6} Qd2 48.Kc8 Qxd7+ 49.Kxd7 h3 0-1

RMD-ALD, 12/26/2006

1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.O-O d6 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bd7 10.b3 Ne5 11.Be2 Rc8 12.Qd2 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.a4 Ne4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.a5 Bc6 17.a6 b6 18.c4 Bc5 19.Rfc1 Ba8 20.b4 Bxd4 21.Qxd4 Qxd4 22.Bxd4 Nc6 23.Bc3 Rfd8 24.h3 Nd4 25.Bg4 f5 26.Bxd4 fxg4 27.Be3 gxh3 28.Kh2 hxg2 29.Kxg2 Bc6 30.b5 Be8 31.Kg3 Rd3 32.Kf4 Bg6 33.c5 bxc5 34.Rxc5 Rf8+ 35.Ke5 Rf5+ 36.Ke6 Rxc5? {36...Rf6+! -/+} 37.Bxc5 Rc3 38.Bxa7 Rc7 39.b6 Bf7+ 40.Ke5 Re7+ 41.Kf4 Bd5 42.b7 Bxb7 43.Bc5 Rf7+ 44.Ke3 Bxa6 45.Rxa6 g6 46.Ra8+ Kg7 47.Ra7 Rxa7 48.Bxa7 Kf6 49.Kxe4 g5 50.Kf3 h5 51.Bb6 Kf5 52.Bd8 g4+ 53.Kg3 Kg6 54.Kh4 Kh6 55.Bg5+ Kg6 56.Be3 Kf5 57.Kxh5 1-0

One of my games

Haven't posted one in a while. In fact, it's been exactly one year since my last post.

RMD-ALD, 12/23/2006

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Bb4+ {3...c5 (A46/4); 3...d5 (D02/16)} 4.c3 Be7 5.e3 {5.Nbd2} O-O 6.Bd3 c5 7.O-O Nc6 8.Ne5 Nd5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bg3 cxd4 11.cxd4 Qb6 12.b3 Nb4 13.Nc3 Nxd3 14.Qxd3 Rd8 15.Na4 Qa5 16.Qc3 Qxc3 17.Nxc3 d5 18.f3 c5 19.Nb5 cxd4 20.Nxd4 Bf6 21.Rfd1 Ba6 22.Rac1 Rac8 23.Nc6 Re8 24.Nxa7 Ra8 25.Nc6 Bb5 26.Nb4 Be7 27.Nxd5 exd5 28.Rxd5 Ba6 29.a4 Bf6 30.e4 h6 31.e5 Be7 32.f4 Rab8 33.Rb1 Rec8 34.Be1 Bc5+ 35.Bf2 Bxf2+ 36.Kxf2 Bc4 37.Rd2 Bxb3? {37...Rxb3} 38.Rdb2 Rc3 39.a5 Ra8 40.Ra1 Rc2+ 41.Rxc2 Bxc2 42.g3 Kf8 43.Ke3 Ke7 44.Kd4 Ke6 45.Kc5 Kf5 46.Kb6 Kg4 47.Kb7 Be4+ 48.Kb6 Kh3 49.Ra2 Bg2 50.a6 Kxh2 51.g4 Kg3 52.f5 Bd5 53.Ra4 Kh4 54.Kc5 Bf3 55.e6 fxe6 56.fxe6 Bxg4 57.e7 Kg5 58.Kd6 Bh5 59.a7 Be8 60.Ra5+ Kf6 61.Kc7 Kxe7 62.Kb7 Rd8 63.a8Q Rxa8 64.Rxa8 Bf7 65.Kb6 Kf6 66.Kc5 g5 67.Ra1 g4 68.Rf1+ Kg6 69.Kd4 h5 70.Ke3 Bd5 71.Kf2? {71.Kf4!=} Kg5 72.Kg1 h4 73.Kh2 Be6 74.Rf8 g3+ 75.Kg2 Kg4 76.Rf6 h3+ 77.Kg1 Bd5? {I thought there was a win here as I was playing the game, but I couldn't find it. The winning move was 77...h2+! 78.Kg2 (78.Kh1? Bd5+ 79.Rf3 Bxf3#) Bd5+ 79.Kf1 h1Q+ with mate to follow. - ALD} 78.Rg6+ Kf3 79.Rf6+ Ke2 80.Rh6 {Of course not 80.Rf5?? h2# or 80.Rg6?? h2#} h2+ 81.Rxh2+ gxh2+ 82.Kxh2 Draw

Top Six Tournaments Of All Time

#1 Vienna 1882
#2 Linares 1993
#3 Nottingham 1936
#4 AVRO 1938
#5 Linares 1992
#6 Wijk aan Zee 2001

All six of these tournaments featured the players rated 1-8 at the time.

David Bronstein, RIP

Bronstein tied a match against Botvinnik for the world championship 12-12 in 1951.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3525

Tal Memorial 2006

An amazingly strong tournament - ten players rated 2698 or higher. Won by Aronian, Leko and Ponomariov with 5.5 out of 9.

http://www.russiachess.org/eng/content/view/12/71/

Essent 2006

Mamedyarov and Polgar are the winners.

Top Ten Games of Informant 95

1.	DREEV, A. - BAREEV, E.	329	7	10	2	9	8	9	2	-	47
2.	VOLOKITIN, A. - NAKAMURA, H.	198	8	3	-	5	10	10	10	-	46
3.	BACROT, E. - RUBLEVSKY, S.	127	9	8	4	8	7	-	-	10	46
4.	BRUZON, L. - CARLSEN, M.	105	10	5	-	3	3	3	9	8	41
5.	GALKIN, A. - YEMELIN, V.	177	6	4	10	7	4	2	6	-	39
6.	GRISCHUK, A. - KAMSKY, G.	253	-	9	-	6	9	8	-	7	39
7.	DREEV, A. - MINASIAN, ART.	56	4	-	-	10	5	5	5	2	31
8.	VAN WELY, L. - RADJABOV, T.	405	-	7	9	4	6	1	-	-	27
9.	JOBAVA, BA. - BELIAVSKY, A.	367	-	-	6	-	2	-	7	-	15
10.	NI HUA - MCHEDLISHVILI, M.	376	-	-	5	1	-	7	-	-	13

It's interesting that not one of the ten winners is from among the top 15 players in the world. Grischuk is the highest ranked player on this list.

By contrast, the nine best games of Informant 54 (nothing special about this issue, just had it handy) consisted of 3 Kasparov wins (#1), 2 Karpov wins (#2), 1 Short win (#4), 1 Anand win (#5) and 2 Kamsky wins (=#7). And the losers were equally impressive: Kasparov once, Karpov twice, Short three times, Gelfand (#6), Shirov (=#7), Bareev (#11).

That is what I expect to see as the best games in Informant - fighting chess by the best players in the world. That's what made these guys not just the highest rated, but the best. Nowadays, the highest rated players are just not producing any interesting games. That's why Kasparov and Karpov were the kings of chess, and these guys are just schmucks. No wonder interest in professional chess is waning so drastically even as the number of players is increasing.

Topalov having a tough time

Only one draw in three games in the first half at Essent.

Long Live the King!

Kramnik undisputed champion!

Kramnik wins tiebreak 2-1 with one draw.

Player	Rating	R1	R2	R3	R4	Tot.
Veselin Topalov	2813	½	0	1	0	1.5
Vladimir Kramnik	2743	½	1	0	1	2.5

Analysis by GM Marin

Topalov-Kramnik Game 1
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 O-O 10. e4 Bg6 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 Re8 15. Ne1 Rc8 16. f4 Bxe1 17. Rxe1 Bg6 18. Bf1 Rc2 19. b3 Qa5 20. Bb5 Rd8 21. Re2 Rcc8 22. Bd2 Qb6 23. Rf2 a6 24. Bf1 Rc6 25. b4 Rc2 26. b5 a5 27. Bc3 Rxf2 28. Qxf2 Qa7 29. Qd2 Ra8 30. Rc1 Nb6 31. Bb2 Nxa4 32. Ba3 h6 33. h3 Be4 34. Kh2 Nb6 35. Bc5 a4 36. Ra1 Nc4 37. Bxc4 b6 38. Qe3 Rc8 39. Bf1 bxc5 40. dxc5 Qxc5 41. Qxc5 Rxc5 42. b6 Rc6 43. b7 Rb6 44. Ba6 d4 45. Rxa4 Bxb7 46. Bxb7 Rxb7 47. Rxd4 1/2-1/2

Kramnik-Topalov Game 2
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. b3 O-O 8. Be2 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Bb2 Re8 11. Rad1 Qe7 12. Rfe1 Rac8 13. Bd3 e5 14. e4 dxc4 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Bf1 g6 17. Qd2 Rcd8 18. Qg5 a6 19. h3 exd4 20. Nxd4 Qe5 21. Qxe5 Nxe5 22. Nc2 g5 23. Bc1 h6 24. Be3 c5 25. f3 Bf8 26. Bf2 Bc8 27. Ne3 Be6 28. Ned5 Bxd5 29. exd5 Ned7 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 31. a4 b4 32. Ne4 Nxe4 33. fxe4 Nf6 34. d6 Nxe4 35. d7 Rd8 36. Bxa6 f5 37. a5 Bg7 38. Bc4+ Kf8 39. a6 Nxf2 40. Kxf2 Bd4+ 41. Rxd4 cxd4 42. a7 Ke7 43. Bd5 Kxd7 44. a8=Q Rxa8 45. Bxa8 1-0

Topalov-Kramnik Game 3
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. O-O Bd6 9. g3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Nb6 11. Be2 O-O 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. e4 e5 14. f4 exd4 15. Qxd4 Qe7 16. Kg2 Bc5 17. Qd3 Rad8 18. Qc2 Bd4 19. e5 Nfd5 20. Rf3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 Bc5 22. Bd2 Rd7 23. Re1 Rfd8 24. Bd3 Qe6 25. Bc1 f5 26. Qe2 Kf8 27. Rd1 Qe7 28. h4 Rd5 29. Qc2 Nc4 30. Rh1 Na3 31. Qe2 Qd7 32. Rd1 b5 33. g4 fxg4 34. Rg3 Ke7 35. f5 gxf5 36. Bg5+ Ke8 37. e6 Qd6 38. Bxf5 Rxd1 39. Bg6+ Kf8 40. e7+ Qxe7 41. Bxe7+ Bxe7 42. Bd3 Ra1 43. Qb2 Rd1 44. Qe2 Ra1 45. Qxg4 Rxa2+ 46. Kh3 Bf6 47. Qe6 Rd2 48. Bg6 R2d7 49. Rf3 b4 50. h5 1-0

Kramnik-Topalov Game 4
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O Be7 10. e4 b4 11. e5 bxc3 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. bxc3 c5 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Bb5+ Kf8 16. Qxd8+ Rxd8 17. Ba3 Rc8 18. Nd4 Be7 19. Rfd1 a6 20. Bf1 Na4 21. Rab1 Be4 22. Rb3 Bxa3 23. Rxa3 Nc5 24. Nb3 Ke7 25. Rd4 Bg6 26. c4 Rc6 27. Nxc5 Rxc5 28. Rxa6 Rb8 29. Rd1 Rb2 30. Ra7+ Kf6 31. Ra1 Rf5 32. f3 Re5 33. Ra3 Rc2 34. Rb3 Ra5 35. a4 Ke7 36. Rb5 Ra7 37. a5 Kd6 38. a6 Kc7 39. c5 Rc3 40. Raa5 Rc1 41. Rb3 Kc6 42. Rb6+ Kc7 43. Kf2 Rc2+ 44. Ke3 Rxc5 45. Rb7+ 1-0

Match Ends 6-6

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. g3 Nbd7 9. Bd2 Bb4 10. Qb3 Bxc3 11. Bxc3 Ne4 12. Bg2 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 f5 14. O-O Qe7 15. cxd5 exd5 16. b4 Nf6 17. Rfc1 Ne4 18. Qb2 O-O 19. b5 Rac8 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Qe2 g5 22. Rab1 Qd7 23. Rc2 Rf6 24. Rbc1 g4 25. Rb2 Rh6 26. Qa6 Rc7 27. Rb8+ Kh7 28. Qa3 Rb7 29. Qf8 Rxb8 30. Qxb8 Qf7 31. Qc8 Qh5 32. Kf1 Nd2+ 33. Ke1 Nc4 34. Bf1 Rf6 35. Bxc4 dxc4 36. Rxc4 Qxh2 37. Ke2 Qh1 38. Rc5 Qb1 39. Qa6 Qb2+ 40. Kf1 Qb1+ 41. Ke2 Qb2+ 42. Kf1 Rh6 43. Qd3 g6 44. Qb3 Rh1+ 45. Kg2 Rh2+ 46. Kxh2 Qxf2+ 47. Kh1 Qf1+ 1/2-1/2

Analysis by GM Marin
Analysis by GM Belov

It's worth noting that Kramnik overperformed relative to his rating...

Player	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Tot.	Perf.
Veselin Topalov	2813	0	0	½	½	(1)	½	½	1	1	0	½	½	6.0	2702
Vladimir Kramnik	2743	1	1	½	½	(0)	½	½	0	0	1	½	½	6.0	2844

I still think he might smoke Topalov in the tiebreak, making any talk of lawsuits moot. Tomorrow might see a new (?) world champion.

Game 11 Drawn

It all comes down to the last game.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Rb1 Nbd7 9. c5 a5 10. a3 e5 11. b4 axb4 12. axb4 Qc7 13. f4 exf4 14. exf4 Be7 15. Be2 Nf8 16. O-O Ne6 17. g3 Qd7 18. Qd3 Ne4 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxd4+ 21. Qxd4 Nxd4 22. Bc4 O-O 23. Kg2 Ra4 24. Rd1 Rd8 25. Be3 Bf6 26. g4 Kf8 27. Bf2 Ne6 28. Rxd8+ Bxd8 29. f5 gxf5 30. gxf5 Nf4+ 31. Kf3 Nh5 32. Rb3 Bc7 33. h4 Nf6 34. Bd3 Nd7 35. Be4 Ne5+ 36. Kg2 Ra2 37. Bb1 Rd2 38. Kf1 Ng4 39. Bg1 Bh2 40. Ke1 Rd5 41. Bf2 Ke7 42. h5 Nxf2 43. Kxf2 Kf6 44. Kf3 Rd4 45. b5 Rc4 46. bxc6 bxc6 47. Rb6 Rxc5 48. Be4 Kg5 49. Rxc6 Ra5 50. Rb6 Ra3+ 51. Kg2 Bc7 52. Rb7 Rc3 53. Kf2 Kxh5 54. Bd5 f6 55. Ke2 Kg4 56. Be4 Kf4 57. Bd3 Rc5 58. Rb4+ Kg3 59. Rc4 Re5+ 60. Re4 Ra5 61. Re3+ Kg2 62. Be4+ Kh2 63. Rb3 Ra2+ 64. Kd3 Bf4 65. Kc4 Re2 66. Kd5 1/2-1/2

Analysis by GM Belov
Analysis by GM Marin

From a sporting point of view, Topalov needs to win this last game. Otherwise the free point will taint his victory. A drawn match will lead to a moral victory for Kramnik, even if he loses the tiebreak.

Should the decision of FIDE regarding the fifth game have any influence on the awarding of the World Championship title, with Mr Topalov receiving the title after being granted a free point for the unplayed game, Mr Kramnik declares unequivocally: “I will not recognize Mr Topalov as World Champion under these conditions, and I will take legal action against FIDE at the end of the World Championship.”

Kramnik wins, Match at 5-5

Third decisive result in a row.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Bf4 Nbd7 9. Qc2 a5 10. Rd1 Nh5 11. Bc1 b5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. e4 dxe4 14. Qxe4 Rb8 15. Qe2 Nhf6 16. Bf4 Rb6 17. Ne5 Nd5 18. Bxd5 exd5 19. Nc3 Nf6 20. Nxb5 Ba6 21. a4 Ne4 22. Rdc1 Qe8 23. Rc7 Bd8 24. Ra7 f6 25. Nd7 Rf7 26. Nxb6 Rxa7 27. Nxd5 Rd7 28. Ndc3 Rxd4 29. Re1 f5 30. Qc2 Rb4 31. Nd5 Rxb5 32. axb5 Qxb5 33. Nc7 Qc4 34. Qd1 Bxc7 35. Qd7 h6 36. Qxc7 Qb4 37. Qb8+ Qxb8 38. Bxb8 Nd2 39. Ra1 g5 40. f4 Nb3 41. Ra3 Bc4 42. Bc7 g4 43. Bxa5 1-0

Analysis by GM Marin
Analysis by GM Belov

Topalov Wins Again

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. a3 Nbd7 9. g3 Be7 10. f4 dxc4 11. Bxc4 O-O 12. e4 b5 13. Be2 b4 14. axb4 Bxb4 15. Bf3 Qb6 16. O-O e5 17. Be3 Rad8 18. Na4 Qb8 19. Qc2 exf4 20. Bxf4 Qb7 21. Rad1 Rfe8 22. Bg5 Be7 23. Kh1 Nh7 24. Be3 Bg5 25. Bg1 Nhf8 26. h4 Be7 27. e5 Nb8 28. Nc3 Bb4 29. Qg2 Qc8 30. Rc1 Bxc3 31. bxc3 Ne6 32. Bg4 Qc7 33. Rcd1 Nd7 34. Qa2 Nb6 35. Rf3 Nf8 36. Rdf1 Re7 37. Be3 Nh7 38. Rxf7 Nd5 39. R7f3 1-0

Analysis by GM Belov
Analysis by GM Marin

Topalov's First Win, Match Now Even

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O b4 10. Na4 c5 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Bb5+ Ncd7 13. Ne5 Qc7 14. Qd4 Rd8 15. Bd2 Qa5 16. Bc6 Be7 17. Rfc1 Bxc6 18. Nxc6 Qxa4 19. Nxd8 Bxd8 20. Qxb4 Qxb4 21. Bxb4 Nd5 22. Bd6 f5 23. Rc8 N5b6 24. Rc6 Be7 25. Rd1 Kf7 26. Rc7 Ra8 27. Rb7 Ke8 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. Rc1 a5 30. Rc6 Nd5 31. h4 h6 32. a4 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Kf1 g4 35. Ke2 N5f6 36. b3 Ne8 37. f3 g3 38. Rc1 Nef6 39. f4 Kd6 40. Kf3 Nd5 41. Kxg3 Nc5 42. Rg7 Rb8 43. Ra7 Rg8+ 44. Kf3 Ne4 45. Ra6+ Ke7 46. Rxa5 Rg3+ 47. Ke2 Rxe3+ 48. Kf1 Rxb3 49. Ra7+ Kf6 50. Ra8 Nxf4 51. Ra1 Rb2 52. a5 Rf2+ 0-1

Analysis by GM Mihail Marin
Analysis by GM Vladimir Belov

Game 7 Drawn

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 c5 7. O-O a6 8. Bb3 cxd4 9. exd4 Nc6 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Re1 O-O 12. a4 Bd7 13. Ne5 Be8 14. Be3 Rc8 15. Rc1 Nb4 16. Qf3 Bc6 17. Qh3 Bd5 18. Nxd5 Nbxd5 19. Rcd1 Rc7 20. Bg5 Qc8 21. Qf3 Rd8 22. h4 h6 23. Bc1 Bb4 24. Rf1 Bd6 25. g3 b6 26. Qe2 Ne7 27. Rfe1 Bxe5 28. dxe5 Rxd1 29. Qxd1 Nfd5 30. Bd2 Rc5 31. Qg4 Nf5 32. Qe4 b5 33. h5 bxa4 34. Qxa4 Rb5 35. Rc1 Qb7 36. Bc2 Nb6 37. Qg4 Rxb2 38. Be4 Qd7 39. Be1 Nd5 40. Bd3 Nb4 41. Bf1 Nd3 42. Qd1 Nxe5 43. Qxd7 Nxd7 44. Rc8+ Kh7 45. Rc7 Rb1 46. Rxd7 Rxe1 47. Rxf7 a5 48. Kg2 Kg8 49. Ra7 Re5 50. g4 Nd6 51. Bd3 Kf8 52. Bg6 Rd5 53. f3 e5 54. Kf2 Rd2+ 55. Ke1 Rd5 56. Ke2 Rb5 57. Rd7 Rd5 58. Ra7 Rb5 59. Bd3 Rd5 60. Bg6 1/2-1/2

Analysis by GM Marin
Analysis by GM Belov

Game 6 Drawn

Game 5 is still a win to Topalov. Kramnik has agreed to continue the match (under protest of course). Kudos to him. When this match started, I was rooting for Topalov over Kramnik; that has definitely changed given his highly unsportsmanlike conduct.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 c5 8. e4 Bg6 9. Be3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxc4 a6 14. Ke2 Rg8 15. Rhd1 Rc8 16. b3 Bc5 17. a5 Ke7 18. Na4 Bb4 19. Nb6 Nxb6 20. Bxb6 f6 21. Rd3 Rc6 22. h4 Rgc8 23. g4 Bc5 24. Rad1 Bxb6 25. Rd7+ Kf8 26. axb6 Rxb6 27. R1d6 Rxd6 28. Rxd6 Rc6 29. Rxc6 bxc6 30. b4 e5 31. Bxa6 1/2-1/2

Analysis by GM Marin
Analysis by GM Inarkiev

Top US Chess Players

	Title	FIDE Rank	FIDE Rating	USCF Rank	USCF Rating
Kamsky, Gata	g	1	2705	1	2753
Onischuk, Alexander	g	2	2668	3	2702
Nakamura, Hikaru	g	3	2640	2	2709
Seirawan, Yasser	g	4	2638	N/A	N/A
Ibragimov, Ildar	g	5	2616	5	2682
Shulman, Yuri	g	6	2614	6	2679
Akobian, Varuzhan	g	7	2598	10	2654
Ehlvest, Jaan	g	8	2597	7	2666
Stripunsky, Alexander	g	8	2597	11	2650
Kaidanov, Gregory S	g	10	2595	4	2692
Ivanov, Alexander	g	11	2587	15	2640
Goldin, Alexander	g	12	2577	17	2613
Polgar, Zsuzsa	g	12	2577	21	2597
Shabalov, Alexander	g	14	2575	11	2650
Christiansen, Larry M	g	15	2572	8	2663
Gulko, Boris F	g	16	2570	9	2661
Novikov, Igor A	g	17	2568	11	2650
Benjamin, Joel	g	18	2565	14	2646
Finegold, Benjamin	m	19	2543	19	2603
Becerra Rivero, Julio	g	20	2542	18	2605
Perelshteyn, Eugene	g	21	2540	20	2601
De Firmian, Nick E	g	22	2539	25	2581
Kudrin, Sergey	g	23	2532	23	2592
Fishbein, Alexander	g	24	2529	16	2616
Yermolinsky, Alex	g	25	2520	22	2594
Dlugy, Maxim	g	26	2518	24	2586
Serper, Grigory	g	27	2513	26	2574
Gurevich, Dmitry	g	28	2510	27	2573

October 2006 Rating List

1	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2813	0	1975
2	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2779	0	1969
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2750	7	1975
	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2750	7	1976
5	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2747	10	1977
6	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2741	12	1969
	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2741	7	1982
	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2741	7	1979
9	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2735	18	1971
10	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2733	11	1968
11	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2729	10	1987
12	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	g	AZE	2728	12	1985
13	Navara, David	g	CZE	2725	22	1985
14	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2720	11	1972
15	Akopian, Vladimir	g	ARM	2713	0	1971
16	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2710	0	1976
	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2710	11	1983
18	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2705	1	1983
	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2705	9	1974
20	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2703	11	1983

More ridiculous news from Elista

World Championship Chess Dead?

Game 5 was not played today.

The start of the game was delayed to settle the controversy between the two sides. The game was started at 15:22. Topalov is sitting at the board, Kramnik's clock is running. Kramnik is in his restroom and is waiting for his toilet to be opened. It seems the game is not going to start unless the toilet is opened. Kramnik lost game five on time after 1 hour. Chief Arbiter Geurt Gijssen confirmed that Kramnik has forfeited the 5th game.

Here's the sequence of events that led up to this ridiculous scene...

Appeal of the Head of the Bulgarian Delegation (Danailov)

Apparently Danailov feels that Kramnik (get ready for this) has been going to the bathroom too many times during games. He claims 50 times a day, which is an exaggeration, but nonetheless it probably is "too many" times. But so what? My guess is that it's related to Kramnik's recent illness, and Kramnik feels under no obligation to explain. But Topalov implies cheating.

The bathroom is the only place without video surveillance. [...] We would like to once again remind you that the bathroom is the only place without video or audio surveillance.

Danailov's proposed solution?

To stop the use of the rest rooms and the adjacent bathrooms for both players. If a player needs to go to the bathroom, he can use the public bathroom, but only with permission from the Arbiter and accompanied by an assistant arbiter.

Decision of the Appeals Committee to the appeal of Danailov

The Appeals Committee decided: (a) To close both the toilets in the players’ rest rooms and to open another toilet that will be available only to the two players and (b) Not to accept the request of Danailov, to stop the use of the rest rooms by the players.

Apparently this turned out to be unacceptable to both Topalov's camp and Kramnik.

Open Letter of Kramnik to FIDE President Ilyumzhinov

The WCC Committee is clearly violating both the rules and regulations of the WCC match and the rights of Kramnik. [...] Therefore Kramnik requests to exchange the mentioned persons [Makropolous, Azmaiparashivili] immediately. [...] Our team does not trust the objectivity of the Appeals Committee anymore. [...] Kramnik will stop playing this match as long as FIDE is not ready to respect Kramnik’s rights.

Answer of the Head of the Bulgarian Delegation on the Decision of the Appeal Committee

The ruling in its present form is not satisfactory to us. [...] Topalov is outraged by the suspicious behavior of his opponent. [...] Topalov is willing to continue his participation in the match provided that measures to guarantee fair play are taken. If the match were to continue, the World Champion would refrain from shaking hands with Kramnik before the games.

Topalov will play "provided that blah blah blah" = Topalov will not play.

Not shaking hands? Wow! Time travel back to Karpov-Korchnoi 1981 ... except that back then Korchnoi's family was being held in Karpov's USSR. Hell, even Fischer and Spassky shook hands.

Open Letter of Ilyumzhinov to Kramnik

Open Letter #2 of Kramnik

FIDE President decision to postpone Game of 30 September

There will be no game tomorrow. The next game is rescheduled for October 1. No word on whether that would be game 5 or game 6.

Ilyumzhinov Interview

Now of course, the players and organizer have an actual match-related problem on their hands, Kramnik's technical loss. So before the two sides can negotiate toilets or anything else, they have to work out whether the score of the match is 3-1 or 3-2. I don't see them getting them over this stumbling block. I think the match is dead.

I continue to be appalled at the state of professional chess. Not even Fischer about his most petulant never behaved like this. This match has been 4 years in the planning, and it's going to be cancelled ... over Kramnik's use of the toilet!? Add to this the fiasco over the 2007 candidates cycle, and I don't think world championship will ever recover.

Once again chess has shot itself in the foot; who will want to sponsor a top-level chess match if the whole thing can grind to a halt over a dispute about a toilet? - GM Nunn

What a freakin' joke

I am of course speaking about FIDE. It was announced back in January that the 16 candidates were to meet in two rounds of matches. I was skeptical even back then. Sure enough. Less than a month before these matches were supposed to have started, FIDE tells us that "there were difficulties in organising the Candidate matches" and that the challenger will instead be determined by a round robin tournament including all the candidates. One more punch line: in April 2007.

How can there be professional chess players if they can't plan for even the most basic components of world championship competition?

(In related news, the Masters Golf Tournament will take place in Seattle in December and Wimbledon will be played in France this year.)

Game 4 Drawn

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. a3 {9.0-0 is considered to be the main line, 9.e4 is also popular} b4 10. Ne4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 bxa3 12. O-O Bd6 13. b3 Nf6 14. Nd2 {New. Pogorelov-Vera, Spain 2006, went 14.Bd3} Qc7 15. Bf3!? Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Bd6 17. Nc4 Be7 18. Bxa3 O-O 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Ra5 Rfd8 21. Kg1 c5 22. Rxc5 Ne4 23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Qg4 Bd3 25. Ra1 {It's unclear why Veselin declines the natural 25.Rc1} Rac8 26. Raa5 Rb8 27. Qd1 {27.Ne5 gives nothing) Be4 28. Qa1 Rb7 29. Nd2 Bg6 30. Qc3 h6 {White has very picturesque position, but Kramnik has no weakness} 31. Ra6 Kh7 32. Nc4 Be4 33. f3 Bd5 34. Nd2 Rdb8 35. Qd3+ f5 36. Rc3 Qh4 37. Ra1 Qg3 38. Qc2 Rf7 39. Rf1 Qg6 40. Qd3 Qg3 41. Rfc1 Rfb7 42. Qc2 Qg5 43. Ra1 Qf6 44. Qd3 Rd7 45. Ra4 Rbd8 46. Rc5 Kg8 47. Nc4 Bxc4 48. Raxc4 f4 49. Rc6 fxe3 50. Qxe3 Rxd4 51. Rxe6 Qh4 52. Rxd4 Qxd4 53. Re8+ Kh7 54. Qxd4 1/2-1/2

Analysis by GM Marin
Analysis by GM Inarkiev

Game 3 Drawn

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bd7 7. Qxc4 Na5 8. Qd3 c5 9. O-O Bc6 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bc5 12. Rd1 Bxg2 {Risky move} 13.Qb5+ Nd7 14. Kxg2 a6 15. Qd3 Rc8 {New. Seems to be invented at the board. Tkachev-Solezhenkin, France 2000, continued 15....Qd3. 15...Nf6!? is worth mentioning.} 16. Bg5 Be7 {16…Qg5? 17.Ne6! Qe7 18.Ng7 Kd8 19.Nd5 Qd6 20.b4} 17. Bxe7 {17.Ne4!? Bg5? 18.Nd6 Kf8 (18…Ke7? 19.Nc8 Qc8 20.Qa3! Qc5 21.Qc5 Nc5 22.b4) 19.Nc8 Qc8 20.Nf3 or 17....0-0? 18.Ne6 fe 19.Be7 Qe7 20.Qd7} Qxe7 18. Rac1 Nc4 {18…0-0? 19.Ne6!} 19. Na4 b5 20. b3 O-O 21. bxc4 bxa4 22. Nc6 Rxc6 23. Qxd7 Qc5 24.Rc3 g6 25. Rb1 h5 26. Rb7 e5 27. e4 Rf6 28. Rc2 Qa3 29. Qd1 Rd6 30.Rd2 Rfd8 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 Qxa2 33. Qf3 Rf8 34. Qd3 a3 {35.Rb3? f5!} 35. Rb3 f5 36. Qxa6 Qxb3 37. Qxg6+ Kh8 38. Qh6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

Analysis by GM Mihail Marin
Analysis by GM Ernesto Inarkiev

Kramnik 2, Topalov 0

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Qe2 Bg6 10. e4 O-O 11. Bd3 Bh5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qe3 Bg6 15. Ng5 {Petrosian - Smyslov, Bar 1980, continued 15.Bg6} Re8 16. f4 Bxd3 {Pelletier-Deviatkin, Moscow 2003, continued 16...Rc8} 17. Qxd3 f5 18. Be3 Nf8 19. Kh1 Rc8 20. g4 Qd7 21. Rg1 Be7 22. Nf3 Rc4 23. Rg2 fxg4 24. Rxg4 Rxa4 25. Rag1 g6 26. h4 Rb4 27. h5 Qb5 28. Qc2 Rxb2 29. hxg6 h5 30. g7 hxg4 31. gxf8Q+ Bxf8 32. Qg6+ {What a mistake! White misses 33.Rg4! Bg7 34.Qc7!, cause on 34...Qf1 there is 35.Ng1.} Bg7 33. f5 Re7 34. f6 Qe2 35. Qxg4 Rf7 36. Rc1 Rc2 37. Rxc2 Qd1+ 38. Kg2 Qxc2+ 39. Kg3 Qe4 40. Bf4 Qf5 41. Qxf5 exf5 42. Bg5 a5 43. Kf4 a4 44. Kxf5 a3 45. Bc1 Bf8 46. e6 Rc7 47. Bxa3 Bxa3 48. Ke5 Rc1 49. Ng5 Rf1 50. e7 Re1+ 51. Kxd5 Bxe7 52. fxe7 Rxe7 53. Kd6

53....Re1? {53...Re3! wins because after 54.d5 Kf8 55.Kd7 b5 56.Ne6+ Kg8 57.d6 b4 58.Nc5 the rook controls b3 and is therefore ready to support the b-pawn without wasting a tempo. Then the continuation 58...Kf7 59.Kc6 Rc3 60.Kb5 b3 61.Na4 Rc2 62.d7 Ke7 leads to a clear win. - Nunn} 54. d5 Kf8 55. Ne6+ Ke8? {55....Kd7! still draws} 56. Nc7+ Kd8 57. Ne6+ Kc8 58. Ke7 Rh1 59. Ng5 b5 60. d6 Rd1 61. Ne6 b4 62. Nc5 Re1+ 63. Kf6 Re3 0-1

Analysis by GM Ernesto Inarkiev
Analysis by GM Mihail Marin

Kramnik 1, Topalov 0

I am not surprised.

Kramnik (2743) - Topalov (2813) [E04]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 7.Qc2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2!? c6 9.a4 b5 10.axb5 cxb5 11.Qg5 0-0 12.Qxb5 Ba6 13.Qa4 Qb6 14.0-0 Qxb2 15.Nbd2 Bb5 16.Nxc4 Bxa4 17.Nxb2 Bb5 18.Ne5 Ra7 19.Bf3 Nbd7 20.Nec4 Rb8 21.Rfb1 g5 22.e3 g4 23.Bd1 Bc6 24.Rc1 Be4 25.Na4 Rb4 26.Nd6 Bf3!? 27.Bxf3 gxf3 28.Nc8 Ra8 29.Ne7+ Kg7 30.Nc6 Rb3 31.Nc5 Rb5 32.h3 Nxc5 33.Rxc5 Rb2 34.Rg5+ Kh6 35.Rgxa5 Rxa5 36.Nxa5 Ne4 37.Rf1 Nd2 38.Rc1 Ne4 39.Rf1 f6 40.Nc6 Nd2 41.Rd1 Ne4 42.Rf1 Kg6 [With such a perfect coordination of pieces (R + N + P), Topalov correctly assumes that he can play for a win without too much risk. He might have also thought that even if White would hold a draw, it would useful to take the psychological initiative from the very first game of the match. However, he might have underestimated the strength of the enemy knight, which, in spite of being cut off his colleagues, is able to restrict Black's activity by attacking the enemy pawns from behind.]

43.Nd8 Rb6 44.Rc1 h5 45.Ra1 h4 46.gxh4 Kh5 47.Ra2 Kxh4 48.Kh2 Kh5 49.Rc2 Kh6 50.Ra2 Kg6 51.Rc2 Kf5 52.Ra2 Rb5 53.Nc6 Rb7 54.Ra5+ Kg6 55.Ra2 Kh5.

56.d5! e5 57.Ra4 f5? [Probably surprised by the unexpected course of events, Topalov fails to find his last saving possibility, consisting of 57...Nxf2 58.Kg3 e4 and if 59.Kxf2 then 59...Rb2+ with perpetual.] 58.Nxe5 Rb2 59.Nd3 The rest is easy. 59...Rb7 60.Rd4 Rb6 61.d6 Nxd6 62.Kg3 Ne4+ 63.Kxf3 Kg5 64.h4+ Kf6 65.Rd5 Nc3 66.Rd8 Rb1 67.Rf8+ Ke6 68.Nf4+ Ke5 69.Re8+ Kf6 70.Nh5+ Kg6 71.Ng3 Rb2 72.h5+ Kf7 73.Re5 Nd1 74.Ne2 Kf6 75.Rd5 1-0

Analysis by GM Ernesto Inarkiev
Analysis by GM Mihail Marin

ChessTheatre

ChessTheatre is a free program to view and publish PGN chess databases. You can use it to view your chess games on your own PC, but also share them with others on the internet by using the integrated publishing function. (I have not used it so cannot provide a review.)

http://www.dgtprojects.com/chesstheatre.htm

Kramnik and Svidler win Dortmund

SB K S A L G N A J Perf
------------------------------------------------
1: Kramnik 2743 4.5 14.50 X = = 1 = = = 1 2818
2: Svidler 2742 4.5 13.50 = X = = = = 1 1 2818
3: Adams 2732 4.0 14.00 = = X = 1 = = = 2768
4: Leko 2738 4.0 12.50 0 = = X = 1 1 = 2767
5: Gelfand 2729 4.0 11.75 = = 0 = X = 1 1 2768
6: Naiditsch 2664 3.5 11.00 = = = 0 = X = 1 2728
7: Aronian 2761 2.0 = 0 = 0 0 = X = 2556
8: Jobava 2651 1.5 0 0 = = 0 0 = X 2499

July 1 FIDE Rating List

1 Topalov, Veselin 2813 (broadened the gap with Anand from 1 point to 34 points)
2 Anand, Viswanathan 2779
3 Aronian, Levon 2761
4 Kramnik, Vladimir 2743
5 Svidler, Peter 2742
6 Leko, Peter 2738
7 Ivanchuk, Vassily 2734
8 Adams, Michael 2732
9 Morozevich, Alexander 2731
10 Gelfand, Boris 2729
11 Radjabov, Teimour 2728
12 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2722 (added 23 points and climbed 7 slots)
13 Ponomariov, Ruslan 2721
14 Navara, David 2719 (new 2700 club member, added 61 rating points and climbed 36 slots)
15 Shirov, Alexei 2716
16 Akopian, Vladimir 2713
17 Polgar, Judit 2710
18 Grischuk, Alexander 2709
19 Bacrot, Etienne 2707

Ratings of World Championship Players

An interesting observation from the FIDE rating lists immediately prior to each world championship match since ratings were started in 1970.

July 1972 Rating List
1 Fischer Robert 2785
2 Spassky Boris 2660

May 1974 Rating List
1 Fischer Robert 2780
2 Karpov Anatoly 2700
3 Kortchnoi Viktor 2670

January 1978 Rating List
1 Karpov Anatoly 2725
2 Kortchnoi Viktor 2665

July 1981 Rating List
1 Karpov Anatoly 2690
2 Kortchnoi Viktor 2650 (tied with Portisch)

July 1984 Rating List
1 Kasparov Gary 2715
2 Karpov Anatoly 2705

July 1985 Rating List
1 Karpov Anatoly 2720
2 Kasparov Gary 2700

July 1986 Rating List
1 Kasparov Gary 2740
2 Karpov Anatoly 2705

July 1987 Rating List
1 Kasparov Gary 2740
2 Karpov Anatoly 2700

July 1990 Rating List
1 Kasparov Gary 2800
2 Karpov Anatoly 2730

All seems right with the world. Every championship match from 1972 to 1990 was played between the #1 and #2 rated players in the world, and the Candidates Final in 1974 was between the #2 and #3 players. Now things seem to get somewhat confused starting with the 1993 match.

July 1993 Rating List
1 Kasparov, Gary 2815
2 Karpov Anatoly 2760
10 Short Nigel 2665

July 1995 Rating List
1 Kasparov Gary 2795
2 Karpov Anatoly 2775
6 Anand Viswanathan 2725

Not offering this as being of any value, just something to think about.

USCF Website Not Up Yet

The live date for the new website was moved back to June 30th. Not an encouraging sign for the quality of the site.

Player Plaza

www.PlayerPlaza.com is a new online gaming marketplace where individuals can challenge each other in head-to-head competition for fun or money. Check it out.

Changes in Chess Life

Just got this month's Chess Life magazine. There are a lot of changes; I'm still trying to absorb some of them and decide how I feel about them. First of all, the graphic layout of the magazine was completely revamped. I'm not sure if it's better or not; I tend to be rather conservative and have not adjusted to the change yet, but I think it actually might look better now.

On a more substantive note, there were a number of content changes. Daniel Lucas's editor's note states that the goal was to reduce the number of columns in order to make space for more feature articles.

The biggest change is that the Larry Evans Q&A column is gone. I didn't think it was great, but it was one of the first things I turned to in the magazine because it did not require me to break out the board in order to read it. (And I once got an opening question published in his column.) I'm sorry to see it go. It will been replaced (starting June 15) with an online Q&A discussion thread on www.uschess.org led by Joel Benjamin.

The key crackers column (which I haven't glanced at more than once or twice in twenty years of getting Chess Life) is gone. No loss there. The correspondence chess column "Check is in the Mail" is gone. I occasionally read those games, but there was nothing particularly fascinating about those games that I can't get by reading games elsewhere in the magazine.

Michael Rohde's "Game of the Month" column is gone, but now there's "Polgar's Pick", so that's a net wash. Susan Polgar's analysis of Onishuk-Shulman was good, but I'm not sure why the change in name. I have fond memories of Gligoric's "Game of the Month" column in the 1970s, but I guess they were trying to stress that it's Susan's column. There seems to be some interest in pushing the women in chess theme; next month's issue "will be a celebration of women's chess in America."

The columns by Soltis (Chess to Enjoy), Benko (Endgame Lab) and Alburt (Back to Basics) are all still there. Pandolfini's Solitaire Chess has been substantially reformatted; I read that column and I definitely think the new format is easier to use.

Overall, the changes in the magazine seem to be neutral to slightly positive, but if they are expecting great things from the new format they will probably be sadly disappointed. Possibly of more importance to the USCF will be the changes they are rolling out on www.uschess.org on June 15th. Hopefully, those are the solid improvements that the website desperately needs rather than a mixed bag of tweaks like the changes to the magazine.

Olympiad Final Round

Men:

Results this round:

• Armenia (which went into this round 2.5 points ahead), made four quick draws against Hungary, securing Gold less than an hour after the start of round.
• China beat the Netherlands 2.5:1.5 to take Silver
• Russia lost to Israel 1:3 causing them to drop out of the top three slots
• The USA beat Norway 3.5:0.5, to draw even with Israel

Standings:
Armenia - Gold
China - Silver
USA - Bronze (on tiebreak over Israel)

Interesting facts:

• Armenia was the only undefeated team +10 =3
• #1 seed Russia ended up in 6th place, losing four matches (to France, the USA, Israel and the Netherlands)
• #2 seed India ended up in 30th place with a record of +6 -4 =3
• Sierra Leone and Somalia ended up not fielding teams
• Israel was fourth (losing on tiebreak to the USA), and Hungary was fifth

Women:

Results this round:
The results in this round did not change any of the standings.

• Ukraine (which went into this round 2 points ahead), made three quick draws against Armenia
• Russia beat India 2:1
• China beat Belarus 2.5:0.5

Standings:
Ukraine - Gold
Russia - Silver
China - Bronze

Interesting facts:

• Ukraine was the only undefeated team +12 =1
• #1 seed Russia ended up in second place due to their loss to Ukraine. Had they won that match, they would have taken the gold by a half point
• The USA, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Georgia tied for fourth place, but they were 3 points behind China
• Afghanistan, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia and Sudan ended up not playing

Olympiad Round 12

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia drew France 2:2
China defeated the Czech Republic 3:1
Russia defeated Cuba 3:1
Israel defeated the USA 2.5:1.5

Standings:
Armenia - 34
China - 31.5
Russia - 31

Women:

Results this round:
Ukraine defeated India 2.5:0.5
Russia drew France 1.5:1.5
China drew the USA 1.5:1.5

Standings:
Ukraine - 28
Russia - 26
China - 25

USA-Russia Match

Kamsky (USA) - Kramnik (Russia)
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c6 4. e3 Qb6 5. Qc1 Bf5 6. c4 e6 7. Nc3Nbd7 8. c5 Qd8 9. Be2 Be7 10. h3 Ne4 11. O-O g5 12. Be5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5Bf6 14. Nxe4 Bxe4 15. Qc3 Bg7 16. b4 O-O 17. b5 cxb5 18. Bxb5 Qc7 19.Rac1 f6 20. Nd7 Rfd8 21. c6 bxc6 22. Qxc6 Qxc6 23. Bxc6 Rac8 24. Bb5Bg6 25. Nc5 Rd6 26. a4 Bf8 27. Na6 Rc2 28. Rxc2 Bxc2 29. Nc5 e5 30.Rc1 Bf5 31. g4 Bg6 32. Nd7 Be8 33. Nxf8 Bxb5 34. axb5 Kxf8 35. dxe5fxe5 36. Rc7 d4 37. exd4 exd4 38. Kf1 d3 39. Ke1 Rd5 40. Rxa7 Rxb5 41.Rxh7 Rb1+ 42. Kd2 Rf1 43. Kxd3 Rxf2 44. Ke4 Rf4+ 45. Ke5 Rf3 46. Ke6Kg8 47. Rh5 Kf8 48. Rxg5 Rxh3 49. Kf6 Ra3 50. Kg6 Kg8 1/2-1/2

Svidler (Russia) - Onischuk (USA)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 Re8 10. Nc3 h6 11. a3 Bc5 12. Ba2 Nd4 13. Be3 d614. b4 Bb6 15. Bxd4 exd4 16. Ne2 d5 17. e5 Nd7 18. Nf4 Nf8 19. c3 dxc320. d4 a5 21. Qc2 Ne6 22. Nxe6 Rxe6 23. Qxc3 g6 24. Bb1 axb4 25. axb4Rxa1 26. Qxa1 Qf8 27. Qb2 Bc8 28. Re3 Re8 29. h4 Kh8 30. h5 g5 31. Nd2Bg4 32. Nf1 Bxh5 33. Ng3 Bg6 34. Nf5 Re6 35. Rf3 Bh7 36. Bd3 Qe8 37.g4 Qc6 38. Qd2 Kg8 39. Kg2 Kf8 40. Ng3 Be4 41. Bxe4 dxe4 42. Re3 Qd543. Nf5 Rxe5 44. Kg1 Rxf5 45. gxf5 Qxf5 46. Qc2 Bxd4 47. Rxe4 Bxf2+48. Kg2 Kg7 49. Qc3+ Kg6 50. Re5 Qf4 51. Qd3+ Kf6 52. Re4 Qf5 53. Qc3+Kg6 54. Re5 Qf4 55. Qd3+ Kf6 56. Re4 Qf5 57. Qc3+ Kg6 1/2-1/2

Nakamura (USA) - Grischuk (Russia)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. g4 h68. h3 b5 9. a3 Bb7 10. Bg2 Nbd7 11. Qe2 Rc8 12. O-O Nc5 13. Bd2 e5 14.Nb3 Be7 15. f4 Ne6 16. f5 Nd4 17. Qd3 O-O 18. Rfe1 Nd7 19. Be3 Nc5 20.Nxc5 dxc5 21. Nd5 Bh4 22. Rf1 c4 23. Qd1 Bxd5 24. exd5 Bg5 25. Bf2 c326. b3 Bd2 27. Be4 Re8 28. f6 gxf6 29. Bh4 Bg5 30. Bg3 Rc5 31. h4 Be3+32. Kh2 Bd2 33. g5 f5 34. Qh5 Qd6 35. Bxf5 Nxf5 36. Rxf5 Qg6 37. Qg4h5 38. Qe4 Rxd5 39. Raf1 Rd4 40. Qb7 Bf4 41. Rf6 Qxc2+ 42. Kh3 Rf8 43.g6 fxg6?? (43....Bxg3!-+) 44. Bxf4 exf4 45. Rxf8+ Kxf8 46. Qb8+ Ke7 47. Qe5+ Kf7 48.Qxd4 Qf5+ 49. Kh2 1-0

Bareev (Russia) - Kaidanov (USA)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 Ne4 6. Qd3 Qa5 7. Qxe4Bxc3+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Nxd2 O-O 10. dxc5 Qxc5 11. Bg2 Nc6 12. O-O b613. Qf4 Ba6 14. Rac1 Rab8 15. Rfd1 Qe7 16. Ne4 f5 17. Nd6 e5 18. Qe3Rf6 19. Nb5 Rc8 20. Qd2 e4 21. Nd6 Rb8 22. b4 Nd8 23. Qd5+ Qe6 24. g4g6 25. gxf5 gxf5 26. f3 exf3 27. Qxf3 Nf7 28. Qf4 Rg6 29. Nxf7 Kxf730. Qxb8 Rxg2+ 31. Kxg2 Qxe2+ 32. Kg1 Qe3+ 33. Kf1 Qf3+ 34. Kg1 Qe3+ 35. Kf1 1/2-1/2

Olympiad Round 11

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia defeated the Czech Republic 3:1
France defeated China 2.5:1.5
USA defeated Russia 2.5:1.5

Standings:
Armenia - 32
China, France - 28.5
Russia, USA - 28

Women:

Results this round:
Ukraine defeated Bulgaria 2.5:0.5
Russia defeated Georgia 2:1
China defeated Greece 3:0

Standings:
Ukraine - 25.5
Russia - 24.5
China - 23.5

Olympiad Round 10

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia beat China 2½:1½.
France and USA tied 2-2.
Russia beat Ukraine 3-1.
Czech Republic beat Slovenia 3½:½.

Standings:
Armenia - 29
China - 27
Russia, Czech Republic - 26.5

It has no impact on the standings, but it is worth noting that there are four undefeated teams so far:
Armenia (+9 =1)
USA (+7 =3)
Czech Republic, France (+6 =4)

Women:

Results this round:
Ukraine beat Georgia 2-1.
Russia beat Bulgaria 2-1.
China beat Armenia 2-1, avenging the men's team.

Standings:
Ukraine - 23 (Has won all ten of its matches.)
Russia - 22.5
China - 20.5

Olympiad Round 9

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia beat Ukraine 2½:1½.
France beat Russia 2½:1½.
China beat Georgia 4-0.
USA and the Czech Republic tied 2-2.

Standings:
Armenia - 26.5
China - 25.5
France - 24

Women:

Results this round:
Ukraine beat USA 2½-½.
Russia and China tied 1½:1½.
Georgia beat Hungary 2½:½.

Standings:
Ukraine - 21
Russia - 20.5
Georgia - 19

Olympiad Round 9

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia beat Ukraine 2½:1½.
France beat Russia 2½:1½.
China beat Georgia 4-0.
USA and the Czech Republic tied 2-2.

Standings:
Armenia - 26.5
China - 25.5
France - 24

Women:

Results this round:
Ukraine beat USA 2½-½.
Russia and China tied 1½:1½.
Georgia beat Hungary 2½:½.

Standings:
Ukraine - 21
Russia - 20.5
Georgia - 19

Olympiad Round 8

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia beat Cuba 3-1 to increase their lead to two points.
Russia drew with the Czech Republic 2-2.
Ukraine beat Sweden 3-1.
China beat the Phillipines 3½:½.
Georgia beat Uzbekistan 2½:1½.
USA beat Denmark 3-1.
France beat the Netherlands 3-1.

Standings:
Armenia - 24
Russia, Ukraine - 22
China, Georgia, USA, France - 21.5

Women:

Results this round:
Russia and USA tied 1½:1½.
Ukraine beat Hungary 2-1.
China beat Latvia 3-0.

Standings:
Russia - 19
Ukraine - 18.5
USA, China - 17

Olympiad Round 7

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia beat The Netherlands 3-1.
Russia beat Belarus 3-1.
Cuba beat Indonesia 3½:½ to climb in the standings.

Standings:
Armenia - 21
Russia - 20
Cuba - 19.5

Women:

Results this round:
Russia skunked Slovakia 3-0.
Ukraine beat Romania 2½:½.
Cuba beat India 2½: ½ to climb in the standings.

Standings:
Russia - 17.5
Ukraine - 16.5
USA - 15.5

Olympiad Round 6

Men:

Results this round:
Armenia beat Uzbekistan 2.5:1.5 to take first.
The Netherlands upset Russia 2.5:1.5 to leap ahead of them in the standings.
Belarus beat Span 3-1 to join Russian in third.

Standings:
Armenia - 18
Netherlands - 17.5
Russia, Belarus - 17

Women:

Results this round:
Russia beat Hungary 2-1 making them fall in the standings.
Slovakia beat Lithuania 3-0 to jump into the gap.

Standings:
Russia - 14.5
Ukraine - 14
Slovakia - 13.5

Spassky over Karpov, 1.5-0.5

The time control was 15 minutes + a 3 second increment per move.

Karpov (2672) - Spassky (2548) [E11]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Nc3 0-0 7.e3 Qe7 8.Rc1 Rd8 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Qc2 c6 11.Bd3 Bg4 12.Ne5 Bh5 13.Qb3 Bg6 14.Be2 a5 15.a3 Na6 16.0-0 Bf5 17.Qb6 Qc7 18.Na4 Ne8 19.Rc3 Nd6 20.Qxc7 Nxc7 21.Nb6 Ra7 22.g4 Be6 23.Rfc1 Ncb5 24.Rc5 f6 25.Nd3 Bf7 26.R5c2 Nc7 27.Nc5 Ne6 28.Nca4 g5 29.f3 Kg7 30.Kf2 h5 31.h3 Rh8 32.Bf1 hxg4 33.hxg4 Nc8 34.Bd3 Nxb6 35.Nxb6 Nc7 36.Kg3 Na8 37.Na4 Nc7 38.Bf5 Nb5 39.Nc5 Nd6 40.e4 a4 41.Re2 dxe4 42.fxe4 Nb5 43.Rd2 Rd8 44.Rcd1 b6 45.Ne6+ Bxe6 46.Bxe6 Re7 47.d5 c5 48.Kf3 Nd4+ 49.Rxd4 cxd4 50.Bf5 Rc7 51.Rxd4 b5 52.Ke3 Rc4 53.Rd1 Rc2 54.e5 Rc5 55.exf6+ Kxf6 56.d6 Ke5 57.d7 Rd5 58.Rc1 Kd6 59.Rc8 Ke7 60.Rc6 R8xd7 61.Bxd7 Kxd7 62.Rb6 ½-½

Spassky (2548) - Karpov (2672) [B17]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.h3 Bf5 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.0-0 Be7 11.c4 0-0 12.b3 c5 13.Bb2 cxd4 14.Rfd1 Qa5 15.Bxd4 Rfd8 16.Qe2 Qf5 17.Rd3 Qe4 18.Qxe4 Nxe4 19.Rad1 Kf8 20.Kf1 f6 21.Be3 Rxd3 22.Rxd3 Ke8 23.Nd2 Nxd2+ 24.Rxd2 a6 25.Ke2 Rd8 26.Rxd8+ Kxd8 27.c5 Kd7 28.Kd3 Bd8 29.b4 Bc7 30.Kc4 h5 31.a4 Be5 32.b5 axb5+ 33.axb5 Kc7 34.g4 hxg4 35.hxg4 Kd7 36.f4 Bb2 37.f5 e5 38.Kd5 Ba3 39.g5 fxg5 40.Bxg5 Bb2 41.Bh4 1-0

Olympiad Round 5

Men:

Results this round:
Uzbekistan and The Netherlands drew 2-2.
Armenia and Russia drew 2-2.

Standings:
Russia, Armenia - 15.5
Netherlands - 15
Uzbekistan - 14.5

Women:

Results this round:
Ukraine upset Russia 2-1, but is still 1/2 point behind.
Hungary defeated China 2½:½ to take over third place.
USA and Bulgaria drew 1½:1½.

Standings:
Russia - 12.5
Ukraine - 12
Hungary - 11.5

Olympiad Round 4

Men:

Results this round:
Russia beat China, 3-1.
The Netherlands beat Greece, 3-1.
Uzbekistan and Ukraine tied 2-2.
Armenia beat Norway, 4-0.

Standings:
Russia, Armenia - 13.5
Netherlands - 13
Uzbekistan - 12.5

Women:

Standings:
Russia - 11.5
Ukraine - 10
USA, China, Bulgaria - 9.5

Olympiad Round 3

Men:
Russia, China, Uzbekistan - 10.5
Greece, Ukraine, Netherlands - 10
Bulgaria, Armenia, Spain, Norway, Brazil, Iceland - 9.5

Women:
Lithuania - 9
Russia, China - 8.5
Romania, Ukraine - 8

Olympiad Round 2

MEN:
Russia - 8
Poland, Greece, Serbia & Montenegro, Germany - 7.5
Netherlands, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Iceland, Turkey, Slovakia, Vietnam, China, Australia - 7

WOMEN:
China, Lithuania, France, Latvia - 6
Russia, Hungary, Poland, Italy-A, Romania, Mongolia, Israel - 5.5
Cuba, Ecuador, Ukraine, USA, Germany, Georgia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Mexico - 5

Olympiad Round 1

Men's teams with a score of 4-0
Albania, Andora, Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy-B, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Paraguay, Phillipines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, Vietnam

Women's teams with a score of 3-0
Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy-A, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

M-Tel Round 10

Topalov wins with last round victory over Bacrot.

Topalov-Bacrot
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. c5 Nbd7 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bd2 Nhf6 8.Rc1 e5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. Na4 Nxe5 12. Bc3 f6 13. Nb6 Rb8 14.Nxc8 Rxc8 15. g3 Qd7 16. h4 Qf7 17. Bh3 Nd7 18. b4 Rd8 19. f4 Be7 20. h5 g621. Qb3 Rg8 22. e4 gxh5 23. exd5 cxd5 24. Kf2 h4 25. Bxd7+ Rxd7 26. Rxh4 d427. Qxf7+ Kxf7 28. Bd2 Rg7 29. Rh5 Bf8 30. c6 bxc6 31. Rxc6 d3 32. Rxa6 Kg833. Rh1 Rde7 34. Kf3 Re2 35. Rd1 h5 36. Rxf6 h4 37. gxh4 Rgg2 38. Be3 Be739. Ra6 Rxa2 40. b5 Rab2 41. Rxd3 Bxh4 42. Rd7 1-0

Ponomariov-Anand and Svidler-Kamsky were drawn.

An incredibly hard-fought tournament; each player lost at least twice. And 1st-4th were only a 1/2 point apart each.

M-Tel Round 9

Anand-Svidler
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a4 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. Nbd2 Bc8 13. Nf1 Bd7 14. Ne3 bxa415. Nd2 Rb8 16. c3 Bb5 17. Nf5 Ne8 18. Nc4 Nb3 19. Bxb3 axb3 20. Qxb3 Bf621. Qd1 g6 22. Nfe3 Nc7 23. Nd2 Bg5 24. c4 Bxe3 25. Rxe3 Bc6 26. Nf1 f5 27.exf5 gxf5 28. Rg3+ Kh8 29. f4 Qf6 30. Qh5 Rg8 31. fxe5 dxe5 32. Bg5 Qe6 33.Re1 Rxb2 34. Nh2 f4 35. Rg4 Qf5 36. Qh6 Rg6 37. Rxe5 Rb1+ 38. Kf2 Rb2+ 39.Kg1 Rb1+ 40. Kf2 Rb2+ 1/2-1/2

Bacrot-Ponomariov
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Bg2 Bd6 8.O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Bf4 Qe7 11. Re1 Rfe8 12. Rc1 c6 13. Qc2 Bb4 14. Bg5h6 15. Bd2 c5 16. a3 Bxc3 17. Bxc3 Ne4 18. dxc5 bxc5 19. Nd2 f5 20. b4 Nb621. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Bh3 Bc8 23. bxc5 Qxc5 24. Bb2 Qe7 25. f3 exf3 26. Qb3+Be6 27. Qxf3 Nc4 28. Bd4 Rad8 29. Qf2 Nd2 30. Qf4 Rxd4 31. Qxd4 Nb3 32. Qb4Qxb4 33. axb4 Nxc1 34. Rxc1 Rb8 35. Rc7 Rxb4 36. Rxa7 Kf8 37. Kf2 h5 38.Bg2 h4 39. Ra8+ Kf7 40. Ra7+ Kf6 41. Ra6 hxg3+ 42. hxg3 Ke5 43. Ra5+ Kf644. Ra6 Ke5 45. Ra5+ 1/2-1/2

Kamsky-Topalov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8.Nb3 Be7 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Bd3 b5 12. Rhe1 Bb7 13. Qh3 b4 14.Nb1 e5 15. N1d2 a5 16. Kb1 a4 17. Nc1 O-O 18. Ne2 Rfc8 19. Ng3 g6 20. Nc4Ba6 21. b3 axb3 22. cxb3 Nc5 23. Ne2 Nfxe4 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. Bxe4 Nxe4 26.Nb6 Qa7 27. Nxa8 Rxa8 28. a4 Bxe2 29. Rc1 Qf2 0-1

M-Tel Round 8

Topalov-Ponomariov
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.a4 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nbd2 Nd7 13.Nf1 Nb6 14.Bd2 b4 15.c3 bxc3 16.Bxc3 Nc6 17.a5 Nc8 18.Ne3 N8a7 19.Nf5 Bc8 20.Nd2 Rb8 21.f4 Bxf5 22.exf5 exf4 23.Qg4 Nd4 24.Ne4 Nab5 25.Bd2 Nc2 26.Bxf4 Kh8 27.Qh5 Nxe1 28.Rxe1 Qxa5 29.Ra1 Rbd8 30.f6 gxf6 31.Kh2 d5 32.Nxf6 Bxf6 33.d4 Qxa2 34.Rxa2 Nxd4 35.b4 Ne6 36.Be5 Bg7 37.bxc5 Rc8 38.Bd6 Rfd8 39.Ra5 Kg8 40.Rxa6 Rd7 41.Qxd5 Bf8 42.Qf3 Bxd6+ 43.cxd6 Rcd8 44.Qd5 Ng7 45.Ra8 Ne6 46.Rxd8+ Rxd8 47.g4 h6 48.h4 Rb8 49.Kg3 Re8 50.Kf3 Nf8 51.Qd2 Kg7 52.Qd4+ Kg8 53.Qf6 Re6 54.Qe7 Kg7 55.Qc7 Kg8 56.d7 Nxd7 57.Qxd7 Kg7 58.Qd4+ Kg8 59.Kf4 Rg6 60.Kf5 Re6 61.Qd7 Rg6 62.h5 Rg5+ 63.Kf6 Kh8 64.Qe8+ Rg8 65.Kxf7 1-0

Svidler-Bacrot and Kamsky-Anand were drawn.

M-Tel Round 7

Anand-Topalov
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 b5 8.Qd2 b4 9.Na4 Nbd7 10.c4 bxc3 11.Nxc3 Bb7 12.Be2 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.0-0 Qb8 16.Nf5 Qe5 17.Ng3 Bb4 18.Qxb4 Qxe3+ 19.Kh1 Rb8 20.Qd6 Rb6 21.Qc7 Rc6 22.Qb7 Rc2 23.Qxa6 0-0 24.b3 Ne5 25.Rae1 Qd2 26.Rd1 Qf4 27.Bb5 h5 28.Ne2 Qe3 29.a4 Rb2 30.Qd6 Rc8 31.Rde1 Nxf3 32.gxf3 Bxf3+ 33.Rxf3 Qxf3+ 34.Kg1 Qe3+ 35.Kf1 Qf3+ 36.Kg1 Qxb3 37.Qe5 Rd8 38.Qc3 Qxc3 39.Nxc3 h4 40.Re4 Rb3 41.Ne2 g5 42.Re5 Rd5 43.Rxd5 exd5 44.Bc6 Ra3 45.Nd4 Kg7 46.Bxd5 Rd3 47.Nf5+ Kf6 48.Be4 Rd1+ 49.Kg2 Rd2+ 50.Kf3 Rxh2 51.Ne3 Ra2 52.Bc6 Ra3 53.Kf2 Ra1 54.Bd7 Ke5 55.Kf3 Ra3 56.Kf2 Ke4 57.Bc6+ Kf4 58.Ng2+ Ke5 59.Ne3 Ra2+ 60.Kf3 f5 61.Bd7 h3 0-1

Ponomariov-Svidler
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.0-0 Qc7 7.Qe2 d6 8.c4 g6 9.Nc3 Bg7 10.Nf3 0-0 11.Bf4 Nc6 12.Rac1 Nd7 13.Qe3 Nce5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Be2 b6 16.Rfd1 Re8 17.Qd2 Nxc4 18.Bxc4 Qxc4 19.Qxd6 Bb7 20.Be5 Bxe5 21.Qxe5 Rad8 22.f3 b5 23.Kf2 Qc6 24.Ne2 Qb6+ 25.Rd4 Rd7 26.b4 Red8 27.Ke3 Rxd4 28.Nxd4 Rd6 29.Qf6 Rd7 30.Rc5 Qd6 31.g3 a5 32.a3 axb4 33.axb4 Qa6 34.Ne2 Qd6 35.Qc3 h5 36.Qd4 Qe7 37.Qe5 f6 38.Qb8+ Kg7 39.Nc3 e5 40.Nd5 Bxd5 41.exd5 f5 42.Qxb5 f4+ 43.Kf2 e4 44.fxe4 fxg3+ 45.hxg3 Qf6+ 46.Kg2 Qb2+ 47.Kh3 Rf7 48.Qd3 Qxb4 49.Qc3+ Qxc3 50.Rxc3 Re7 51.Rc4 Kf6 52.Kh4 Ke5 53.Rc6 1-0

Bacrot-Kamsky
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Qb6 5.c5 Qc7 6.g3 Bg4 7.Ne5 Be6 8.Bf4 Qc8 9.Bg2 g6 10.0-0 Bg7 11.b4 0-0 12.Re1 Nh5 13.e3 Nd7 14.Bf3 Nxf4 15.exf4 Nxe5 16.fxe5 f6 17.exf6 Bxf6 18.Bh1 g5 19.Qd2 Qd7 20.Re3 Bf5 21.Rae1 e6 22.Bg2 Qg7 23.Ne2 Kh8 24.Rd1 Rae8 25.Nc1 Re7 26.Nb3 h5 27.Qe2 h4 28.g4 Bg6 29.b5 e5 30.bxc6 bxc6 31.Re1 e4 32.Qd2 Be8 33.f3 exf3 34.Bxf3 Bd7 35.Bd1 Rxe3 36.Rxe3 Bd8 37.Rf3 Rxf3 38.Bxf3 Qg6 39.Bd1 h3 40.Qe3 Kg7 41.Qxh3 Qb1 42.Qf1 Be8 43.Qe2 Bg6 44.Kf2 Kf7 45.Nd2 Qxa2 46.Nf3 Qxe2+ 47.Kxe2 Bf6 48.Ba4 Be4 49.Bxc6 Ke6 50.Nd2 Bxd4 51.Nxe4 dxe4 52.Bxe4 Bxc5 1/2-1/2

M-Tel Round 6

Kamsky-Ponomariov
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.Nbd2 Rfe8 12.Nf1 Nd8 13.Ng3 Ne6 14.c3 c5 15.d4 exd4 16.cxd4 d5 17.e5 Ne4 18.Nf5 Bf8 19.Be3 Rac8 20.dxc5 N6xc5 21.N5d4 Nxb3 22.Qxb3 Nc5 23.Qd1 a5 24.Qb1 Ne4 25.Rd1 b4 26.axb4 Bxb4 27.Nc2 Qe7 28.Nxb4 Qxb4 29.Qa2 Ra8 30.Rd4 Qb5 31.Ra4 Bc6 32.Rxa5 Rxa5 33.Qxa5 Qxb2 34.Rc1 Ba8 35.Rc7 d4 36.e6 Qb1+ 37.Kh2 fxe6 38.Qh5 Nd6 39.Bxd4 Bxf3 40.Rxg7+ Kf8 41.Qh6 1-0

Anand-Bacrot
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.Qe1 Bf5 17.Nd2 h6 18.f3 Kg7 19.a4 Bxe4 20.fxe4 Rae8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Nf1 Qg4 23.Bc2 Re7 24.Bd2 Rfe8 25.e5 f6 26.h3 Qxh3 27.Qe4 Kh8 28.Ra6 fxe5 29.Rxc6 Rf8 30.Bd3 Ref7 31.Qg2 Qxg2+ 32.Kxg2 Rf6 33.dxe5 Bxe5 34.Rc5 Rd6 35.Be4 Rfd8 36.Rxb5 Bg7 37.Bc1 Nf6 38.Bf3 g4 39.Be2 Re8 40.Bc4 Rd1 41.Bf4 Ne4 42.Be2 Nxc3 43.Bxd1 Nxb5 44.Bxg4 Re1 45.Ne3 Nd4 46.Nc4 Rb1 47.Bd2 Nb3 48.Be3 Nd4 49.Bd2 Nb3 50.Be3 Nd4 1/2-1/2

Topalov-Svidler
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Qc7 11.Rc1 Rd8 12.Bf4 Qd7 13.d5 Na5 14.Bd3 b5 15.Rb1 a6 16.c4 e6 17.Bg5 Re8 18.Qd2 Nxc4 19.Bxc4 bxc4 20.d6 Bb7 21.Qe3 f6 22.Bh4 g5 23.Bg3 f5 24.Qxg5 Bxe4 25.Rb6 Qd8 26.Qxd8 Raxd8 27.Rd1 Rd7 28.f3 Bc2 29.Re1 Bd3 30.Rxa6 c3 31.Ra3 Bxe2 32.Rxe2 Rb8 33.Rb3 Rxb3 34.axb3 Kf7 35.Kf1 Rb7 36.Ra2 Bf6 37.Ke2 c4 38.b4 Rxb4 39.Ra7+ Kg6 40.Rc7 c2 41.Kd2 f4 42.Be1 Rb1 43.Rxc4 Rd1+ 44.Kxc2 Rxe1 45.Rxf4 Re2+ 46.Kd3 Re5 47.Rg4+ Kf7 48.Ra4 Rd5+ 49.Ke3 Rxd6 50.Ra7+ Kg6 51.Kf4 Rd4+ 52.Kg3 Bh4+ 53.Kh3 Bf2 54.g3 Rh4+ 55.Kxh4 Bxa7 56.Kh3 Kf5 57.Kg2 Be3 58.Kh3 Ke5 59.Kg4 Bg1 60.h4 Bf2 61.h5 h6 0-1

M-Tel Round 5

Topalov-Kamsky
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Nbd7 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 Nhf6 8.Rc1 g6 9.h3 Qc7 10.g3 Bg7 11.Bf4 Qd8 12.Bg2 Nh5 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bd2 0-0 15.e4 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Nhf6 17.Nc3 Re8 18.0-0 Nf8 19.Qb3 Ne6 20.Be3 Nc7 21.Ne5 Nfd5 22.Nxd5 Nxd5 23.Bd2 Bxe5 24.dxe5 h5 25.Rfe1 Qc7 26.e6 Bxe6 27.Rxe6 fxe6 28.Re1 Qd7 29.Qd3 Kh7 30.Re5 Nf6 31.Qe3 Kg7 32.Be4 Kf7 33.Bc2 Rad8 34.Qh6 Rg8 35.Ba5 Qd4 36.Bc3 Qc4 37.Bb3 Qd3 38.Bxe6+ Ke8 39.Kg2 Rf8 40.Qg7 Rd5 41.Bf5 Rf7 42.Rxe7+ 1-0

Ponomariov-Bacrot
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.Bc4 Qc8 13.b3 Nd7 14.Nf1 Bf6 15.Ne3 g6 16.Bb2 Bxc4 17.Nxc4 Re8 18.d4 exd4 19.Nxd4 Nce5 20.Nxe5 Bxe5 21.Rb1 Qb7 22.f3 Nf6 23.Qd2 c5 24.Nf5 Bxb2 25.Rxb2 Rbd8 26.Rbb1 Qc7 27.Qh6 Nh5 28.Ne3 Nf6 29.Nf5 Nh5 30.Rbd1 gxf5 31.Qxh5 fxe4 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Rd5 Re6 34.Rxe4 Rde8 35.Qh5 Qxa5 36.Qxh7 Qa1+ 37.Kf2 Rxe4 38.fxe4 Re6 39.Rd3 Rf6+ 40.Rf3 Rxf3+ 41.gxf3 Qc1 42.Kg3 Qxc2 43.Qh6+ Kg8 44.Qg5+ Kh7 45.Qh5+ Kg7 46.Qg5+ Kh7 47.Qh5+ 1/2-1/2

Svidler-Anand was a 38 move draw.