Dortmund Round 6

Kramnik,V (2772) - Naiditsch,A (2654) [E04]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (6), 30.06.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Qa4 Nd7 7.Qxc4 Nb6 8.Qb5 a6 9.Qd3 e5 10.Nxe5 Nb4 11.Qd1 Qxd4 12.Qxd4 Nc2+ 13.Kd1 Nxd4 14.Be3 Nf5 15.Bxb6 cxb6 16.Nc3 Bc5 17.e3 0–0 18.Ke2 Re8 19.Nd3 Rb8 20.Rhc1 Be6 21.Bd5 Bd7 22.Ne4 Bf8 23.Rc7 Rbd8 24.Nc3 Nd4+ 25.Kd2 Be6 26.exd4 Bxd5 27.Nxd5 Rxd5 28.Rxb7 b5 29.a4 Rxd4 30.axb5 Red8 31.bxa6 Rxd3+ 32.Ke1 Re8+ (32...R3d4 33.a7 Rb4 - Fritz) 33.Kf1 Rdd8 34.a7 Ra8 35.b4 Re7 36.Rxe7 Bxe7 37.b5 Bc5 38.Rc1 Bd4 39.Rc4 Bxa7 40.Ra4 Rb8 41.Rxa7 Kf8 42.Ra5 Ke7 43.Ke2 Rb6 44.Kd3 Rd6+ 45.Kc4 Rd2 46.b6 Kd6 47.Rb5 Rc2+ 48.Kd4 1–0

Gelfand,B (2733) - Leko,P (2738) [D47]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (6), 30.06.2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bd6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Ne2 a6 11.e4 e5 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 c5 14.d5 c4 15.Bc2 Nc5 16.Nd2 g5 17.Bg3 Nh5 18.b3 cxb3 19.Nxb3 Bg4 20.Qd2 Rc8 21.Nxc5 Rxc5 22.f3 Nxg3 23.Nxg3 Bd7 24.Nf5 Bxf5 25.exf5 Kg7 26.Be4 Qb6 27.Kh1 b4 28.Qd1 Rfc8 29.Qa4 Kf6 30.Rab1 Ra5 31.Qd7 Qc7 32.Qxc7 Rxc7 33.Rf2 Ra3 34.g4 Rcc3 35.Rfb2 a5 36.Rb3 a4 37.Rxc3 Rxc3 38.Kg2 Bc5 39.Kf1 b3 40.axb3 a3 41.Ra1 Rxb3 42.Ra2 Rc3 43.Ke2 Ke7 44.Kd1 Bd4 45.Kd2 f6 46.Bd3 Kd6 47.Be4 Kc5 48.h3 Kd6 49.Kd1 Bc5 50.Rc2 Rb3 51.Ra2 Bb4 52.Kc2 Re3 53.Kb1 Re1+ 54.Kc2 Re3 55.Kb1 Kc5 56.Rc2+ Bc3 57.Ka2 Kb4 58.Rc1 Re2+ 59.Bc2 Rd2 60.Rb1+ Kc4 61.Rc1 Kb4 62.Rb1+ Bb2 63.Be4 Ka4 64.Rd1 Rf2 65.Kb1 Kb3 0–1

Standings:
Kramnik - 4½
Alekseev, Anand, Leko - 3½
Mamedyarov - 3
Carlsen - 2½
Gelfand - 2
Naiditsch - 1½

Dortmund Round 5

All games drawn.

Standings:
Kramnik - 3½
Alekseev, Anand - 3
Mamedyarov, Leko - 2½
Gelfand, Carlsen - 2
Naiditsch - 1½

Dortmund Round 4

Standings:
Kramnik - 3
Alekseev, Anand - 2½
Mamedyarov, Leko - 2
Gelfand, Carlsen - 1½
Naiditsch - 1

Kramnik,V (2772) - Carlsen,M (2693) [E06]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (4), 27.06.2007
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.e3 Nb4 12.Bxb4 Bxb4 13.a3 Be7 14.Nbd2 Rc8 15.b4 a5 16.Ne5 Nd5 17.Nb3 axb4 18.Na5 Ba8 19.Nac6 Bxc6 20.Nxc6 Qd7 21.Bxd5 exd5 22.axb4 Rfe8 23.Ra5 Bf8 24.Ne5 Qe6 25.Rxb5 Rb8 26.Rxb8 Rxb8 27.Qxc7 Bd6 28.Qa5 Bxb4 29.Rb1 Qd6 30.Qa4 1–0

Anand,V (2786) - Naiditsch,A (2654) [C78]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (4), 27.06.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.d4 Bb6 9.a4 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.axb5 axb5 12.Rxa8 Qxa8 13.d5 Na5 14.Bc2 c6 15.dxc6 Qxc6 16.Re1 h6 17.Qe2 0–0 18.Na3 Nc4 19.Nxc4 bxc4 20.g4 Bg6 21.Nh4 d5 22.exd5 Nxd5 23.Be4 Qc5 24.Bxd5 Qxd5 25.Qxe5 Qxe5 26.Rxe5 Bd3 27.Nf5 Ra8 28.Kg2 Ra5 29.Re8+ Kh7 30.Nd6 f6 31.Be3 Ra6 32.Nb5 Bxe3 33.Rxe3 Rb6 34.Nd4 Rxb2 35.Re7 h5 36.Ne6 hxg4 37.Rxg7+ Kh6 38.hxg4 Re2 39.Re7 Be4+ 40.Kg3 Rc2 41.Nf8 Bd3 42.f4 Rc1 43.Rf7 Rg1+ 44.Kh3 Rh1+ 45.Kg2 Be4+ 46.Kf2 Rh3 47.Ne6 Rf3+ 48.Ke2 Kg6 49.Rg7+ Kh6 50.f5 Rxc3 51.Rg6+ Kh7 52.Rxf6 Bf3+ 53.Kf2 Bxg4 54.Ng5+ Kg8 55.Rg6+ Kf8 56.Nh7+ Kf7 57.Rxg4 1–0

Dortmund Round 3

All games drawn - what a boring tournament

Dortmund Round 2

Kramnik,V (2772) - Gelfand,B (2733) [D45]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (2), 24.06.2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.e4 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Qxe4 c5 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Qa5+ 12.Ke2 Kxe7 13.g3 cxd4 14.Bg2 Nf6 15.Qxd4 Rd8 16.Qf4 Bd7 17.Ne5 Be8 18.Rhd1 Qb6 19.b3 Rxd1 20.Rxd1 Rd8 21.Rxd8 Qxd8 22.Bxb7 Qa5 23.Qe3 Qxa2+ 24.Kf1 Qa5 25.Bf3 Qb6 26.c5 Bb5+ 27.Kg2 Qc7 28.c6 a6 29.Qc5+ Ke8 30.b4 Nd5 31.Bxd5 exd5 32.Qxd5 Kf8 33.f3 f6 34.Nd7+ Ke7 35.Qg8 Kd6 36.Nc5 Qe7 37.Qc8 Bxc6 38.Qxa6 Qe3 39.Qd3+ Qxd3 40.Nxd3 Be8 41.Kf2 Kd5 42.Nf4+ Kc4 43.Ne6 Kxb4 44.Nxg7 Bf7 45.Nf5 Kc5 46.Nh6 Bb3 47.Ng4 f5 48.Nf6 h6 49.Ke3 Kd6 50.Kf4 Ke6 51.Ng8 Bc2 52.Nxh6 Kf6 53.g4 fxg4 54.fxg4 Kg6 55.Nf5 Bd3 56.h4 Be2 57.h5+ Kh7 58.Kg5 Bd3 59.Kh4 Kg8 60.Nd6 Kg7 61.g5 Bc2 62.Nc4 1-0

Alekseev,Evgeny (2679) - Mamedyarov,S (2757) [B85]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (2), 24.06.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 d6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Be3 Bd7 9.a4 Be7 10.f4 0-0 11.Nb3 Rc8 12.a5 Nb4 13.Bf3 e5 14.Rf2 Qc7 15.Rd2 Be6 16.Bb6 Qb8 17.f5 Bxb3 18.cxb3 Nd7 19.Be3 b5 20.axb6 Nxb6 21.Kh1 Rc6 22.Be2 Qb7 23.Bf1 Rfc8 24.Qg4 Nd7 25.Bc4 Nf6 26.Qf3 h6 27.Bf2 Rxc4 28.bxc4 Rxc4 29.Bh4 Rd4 30.Rad1 Nc6 31.Bxf6 Bxf6 32.Nd5 Bg5 33.Rxd4 Nxd4 34.Qa3 Qc6 35.Qc3 Qb5 36.b4 Qe2 37.Qd3 Qa2 38.Rf1 h5 39.g3 f6 40.Kg1 h4 41.Rf2 Qa1+ 42.Kg2 Kh7 43.gxh4 Bf4 44.Kh3 Kh8 45.Ne7 1-0

Standings:
Kramnik, Alekseev - 1½
Mamedyarov, Anand, Carlsen, Leko - 1
Gelfand, Naiditsch - ½

Dortmund Round 1

Mamedyarov (2757) - Naiditsch (2654) [C58]
Sparkassen GM Dortmund GER (1), 23.06.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Be2 Nxd5 8.d4 Be7 9.Nf3 exd4 10.Qxd4 Nf6 11.0-0 Nc6 12.Qc4 0-0 13.Rd1 Qe8 14.Nc3 Be6 15.Qf4 Rc8 16.a3 a6 17.h3 Bd6 18.Qh4 Ne7 19.Bd3 Bf5 20.Bg5 Bxd3 21.Rxd3 Ng6 22.Qd4 Nd7 23.Re1 Nde5 24.Nxe5 Bxe5 25.Qd5 Qc6 26.Qxc6 bxc6 27.Na4 f6 28.Be3 Rfd8 29.Red1 Rd6 30.b3 Rcd8 31.Nc5 Rxd3 32.Nxd3 Bc3 33.Kf1 Kf8 34.Ke2 Ke8 35.Nc5 Rxd1 36.Kxd1 a5 37.Ne6 Ne7 38.Nxg7+ Kf7 39.Nh5 Nd5 40.Nf4 Bb2 41.Nxd5 cxd5 42.a4 c6 43.Ke2 Be5 44.Bb6 1-0

The other three games were drawn.

WCC Cycle Changed AGAIN!!!!!

Back in March, FIDE said the world championship cycle would not change until 2015 (yeah, right). Well, it barely lasted three months. TWO huge wrinkles are being introduced.

First...

According to the regulations if GM Kramnik wins the WCC tournament in Mexico City 2007, a match between GM Kramnik and GM Topalov, the current and the previous world champions, will take place in 2008. In that case, the winner of the Kramnik-Topalov match will play against the winner of the 2007 World Cup.

The best explanation of the situation is provided by Mig Greengard...

If Kramnik wins Mexico, Topalov gets a direct world championship rematch in 2008. The winner is world champion and plays the winner of the 2007 World Cup (WCh challenger) the 2009.

If Kramnik doesn't win Mexico, a new match is created from thin air, demoting the World Cup winner from WCh challenger to semifinalist. The semi-final matches would then be Topalov against the winner of the 2007 World Cup and Kramnik against the winner of Mexico. The winners of these two matches would then play for the world championship.

When [FIDE] couldn't come up with a way to put Topalov into the cycle, they put him on top of it giving him the exact same post-Mexico rights as Kramnik. If Kramnik wins Mexico, they are both finalists. If Kramnik doesn't win, they are both semifinalists.

Second... (and of more lasting importance)

The challenger each cycle will no longer be the winner of the World Cup; the challenger will be determined by a match between the winner of the World Cup and the winner of a set of Grand Prix tournaments. This picture from ChessBase attempts to explain it.

Candidates Final Matches Tiebreaks

Grischuk over Rublevsky in tiebreak, 2-0 with one draw

So Aronian (#5 - 2759), Leko (#8 - 2738), Gelfand (#11 - 2733) and Grischuk (#16 - 2717) will be joining Anand (#1 - 2786), Svidler (#9 - 2736) and Morozevich (#4 - 2762) as well as defending World Champion Kramnik (#2 - 2772) to play for the title in Mexico City in September 2007 in a double-round-robin tournament.

(From the top five, only Topalov will be missing due to losing the world championship match to Kramnik last year.)

Candidates Final Matches Round 6

Aronian in (3.5-2.5); Shirov out
Grischuk and Rublevsky in tiebreaks, 3-3

Shirov,A (2699) - Aronian,L (2759) [C88]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (6), 12.06.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.d3 d6 9.c3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Nc6 12.Nf1 Re8 13.a3 h6 14.b4 Be6 15.Ng3 d5 16.exd5 Qxd5 17.Be3 Rac8 18.Nd2 Nb8 19.Nge4 Nbd7 20.Bb3 Qxd3 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Qf3 cxb4 23.axb4 Nxe4 24.Nxe4 Nf6 25.Nxf6+ Bxf6 26.Rxa6 Qxc3 27.Rb1 ½-½

Candidates Final Matches Round 5

Leko over the bar (3.5-1.5); Bareev out
Gelfand over the bar (3.5-1.5); Kamsky out
Aronian-Shirov, 3-2
Grischuk-Rublevsky, 2.5-2.5

Greengard points out something interesting that I had overlooked - Leko is the only one of the four candidates who played in San Luis 05 who will be playing in the 2007 world championship. Adams, Polgar and Kasimdzhanov were all eliminated in the first round of matches.

Kamsky,G (2705) - Gelfand,B (2733) [B52]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (5), 11.06.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 0-0 10.f3 Rc8 11.b3 d5! 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 e6 14.Bh6 exd5 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.c5 [This had been played just once before. Most games go 16.Nb5 with equal play. - Marin] 16...Na6 17.Nc2 [This is a novelty maintaining equality. After 17.Qd2 Nxc5 Black was a pawn up in Kovalevskaya-Kosintseva, Krasnoturinsk 2005. - Marin] 17...Nxc5 18.Qd4+ f6 19.Ne3 Ne6 20.Qh4? [Kamsky will never get even a faint shadow of compensation for the pawn. 20.Qxd5 would have most probably led to a draw. - Marin] 20...Rc5 21.Rad1 d4 22.Ng4 Rf8 23.Rfe1 Rh5 24.Qg3 Rd5 25.Rd2 Qd6 26.Qh4 h5 27.Nf2 g5 28.Qe4 Re5 29.Qb1 Rxe1+ 30.Qxe1 Rd8 31.g3 Nc5 32.Qe2 a5 33.Qb5 b6 34.a3 Qe6 35.Rb2 d3 36.b4 axb4 37.axb4 Nb3 38.Qa4 Nd4 39.Kg2 Nc2 40.Rxc2 dxc2 41.Qxc2 g4 42.fxg4 hxg4 43.Kg1 Rd4 44.Qc7+ Kg6 45.Qc2+ f5 46.Qc3 Rc4 47.Qd2 Kh7 48.h3 gxh3 49.Nxh3 Qc6 50.Qe3 Rc1+ 51.Kf2 Qc2+ 52.Kf3 Rf1+ 53.Nf2 Rxf2+! [With mate on e4 to follow. - Marin] 0-1

Leko,P (2738) - Bareev,E (2643) [B19]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (5), 11.06.2007
1.e4 c6 [Quite a risky move. Not from purely chess point of view, of course, but from the perspective of the unfavourable score. It seems like if Bareev had not prepared any "emergency case" openings for this match. In a game where he desperately needs to win, he sticks to his ultra-solid repertoire. - Marin; Bareev dully plays his usual Caro-Kann't in a must-win situation with black. - Greengard] 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.0-0-0 Be7 13.Ne4 Qb6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.g4 c5 16.Bc3 0-0-0 17.dxc5 Qxc5 18.Bd4 Qc6 19.Rhe1 Rhe8 [Having completed his development, Bareev offered to his opponent a draw - and the qualification for Mexico. - Marin; This draw looks straight out of a meaningless team competition, not an elimination game for the right to go to the world championship. Pathetic. Maybe a leopard can't change its spots, but what the hell? If it's all or nothing you spray-paint some stripes on your raggedy leopard ass and go out like a tiger.] 1/2-1/2

Candidates Final Matches Round 4

Leko-Bareev, 3-1
Aronian-Shirov, 2.5-1.5
Gelfand-Kamsky, 2.5-1.5
Grischuk-Rublevsky, 2-2

Rublevsky-Grischuk
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 Qf6 6. Qf3 bxc6 7. Qg3 h5 8. h4 Nh6 9. f3 d5 10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Bd2 dxe4 12. O-O-O e3 13. Bxe3 Bxc3 14. bxc3 O-O 15. Qg5 Nf5 16. Qxf6 gxf6 17. Bf4 Be6 18. Ba6 Nd6 19. Bxd6 cxd6 20. Rxd6 Rab8 21. Rxc6 Bxa2 22. Kd2 Rfd8+ 23. Bd3 Be6 24. Ra1 Rd7 25. Rc5 f5 26. Ke3 Re7 27. Kf4 Rb2 28. g3 Kg7 29. Kg5 Rd7 30. Ra3 Rb1 31. Rca5 Re1 32. Rxa7 Rd8 33. Ra1 Re5 34. R1a5 Re1 35. Bxf5 Bd5 36. Kf4 Rf1 37. Be4 Bxe4 38. Kxe4 Re1+ 39. Kf4 Rc8 40. Rg5+ Kf6 41. Ra6+ Ke7 42. Re5+ Rxe5 43. Kxe5 Rxc3 44. Ke4 Rxc2 45. Ra5 Rc4+ 46. Kd3 Rc1 47. Rxh5 Rg1 48. g4 Rh1 49. Re5+ Kf6 50. Rf5+ Kg7 51. h5 Re1 52. Rf4 Ra1 53. Ke3 Ra3+ 54. Kf2 Ra2+ 55. Kg3 Ra1 56. Rf5 Rh1 57. Kf4 Rh3 58. Kg5 Rh1 59. f4 Rh2 60. Rd5 Ra2 61. h6+ Kg8 62. Rd8+ Kh7 63. Rd7 Kg8 64. h7+ Kh8 65. Rxf7 Ra7 66. Rf8+ 1-0

Candidates Final Matches Round 3

Leko-Bareev, 2.5-0.5
Aronian-Shirov, 2-1
Grischuk-Rublevsky, 2-1
Gelfand-Kamsky, 2-1

Leko,P (2738) - Bareev,E (2643) [B17]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (3), 08.06.2007
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 Bd6 8.Qe2 h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 Qc7 11.0-0 b6 12.Qg4 Kf8 13.Qh4 Bb7 14.Re1 Kg8 15.Qh3 Re8 16.c4 Nf6 17.Bd2 c5 18.d5 e5 19.Bc3 g6 20.Qh4 Kg7 21.Nd2 Qd8 22.Bc2 Bc8 23.Ba4 g5 24.Qg3 Nh5 25.Qf3 g4 26.Qd1 Re7 27.h3 Nf6 28.hxg4 Bxg4 29.f3 Bc8 30.Re3 Nh5 31.Qe1 f6 32.Qh4 Nf4 33.Ne4 Rf7 34.g3 Ng6 35.Qh5 Bb8 36.Bc2 f5 37.f4 Re8 38.Nf2 Rf6 39.Rae1 e4 40.Bxe4 fxe4 41.Nxe4 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Gelfand,B (2733) [D02]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (3), 08.06.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Bb5 cxd4 6.exd4 Qa5+ 7.Nc3 Bg4 8.0-0 e6 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Rc8 11.Rfd1 Be7 12.Bf1 0-0 13.Ne2 b5 14.c3 b4 15.Qd3 Qb6 16.cxb4 Nxb4 17.Qb3 Ne4 18.a3 Nc6 19.Qxb6 axb6 20.b4 g5 21.Be3 Nd6 22.Nc1 f5 23.Nb3 Nc4 24.b5 Nd8 25.a4 Nb7 26.Bc1 f4 27.Be2 Bb4 28.Ra2 Nbd6 29.Bd3 Ra8 30.Kf1 Nxb5 31.Rc2 Nbd6 32.Bd2 Rxa4 33.Bxb4 Rxb4 34.Nc1 Nf5 35.Bxf5 Rxf5 36.Nd3 Rb3 37.Ra2 Rf7 38.Ke2 Nd6 39.Rda1 Nb5 40.Kd2 Nxd4 41.Rc1 Rb5 42.Rc8+ Rf8 43.Rc7 Ra5 44.Rb2 Rf7 45.Rc8+ Kg7 46.Ne5 Rb7 47.h4 gxh4 48.Rb4 Ra2+ 49.Kd3 Nf5 50.Rxf4 Rba7 51.Rc3 R7a3 52.Rxa3 Rxa3+ 53.Ke2 b5 54.Rg4+ Kf6 55.Nd3 Ra8 56.Kd2 e5 57.Rb4 e4 58.Nc5 Rg8 0-1

Candidates Final Matches Round 2

Aronian-Shirov, 1.5-0.5
Leko-Bareev, 1.5-0.5
Grischuk-Rublevsky, 1.5-0.5
Kamsky-Gelfand, 1-1

Candidates Final Matches Round 1

Aronian over Shirov, 1-0
Leko over Bareev, 1-0
Grischuk over Rublevsky, 1-0
Kamsky and Gelfand drew, 0.5-0.5

Aronian,L (2759) - Shirov,A (2699) [D20]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.06.2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.0-0 Be6 7.Bxe6 fxe6 8.Qb3 Qd7 9.Qxb7 Rb8 10.Qa6 Nf6 11.Nbd2 Bd6 12.b3 0-0 13.Bb2 Bf4 14.g3 Bh6 15.Ba3 Nxe4 16.Bxf8 Nxd2 17.Nxd2 Bxd2 18.Ba3 Qd5 19.Qc4 Qxc4 20.bxc4 Ne5 21.Rab1 Rd8 22.c5 Nc4 23.Bc1 d3 24.Rb7 c6 25.Bxd2 Nxd2 26.Rd1 Ne4 27.f3 Nc3 28.Rd2 Nxa2 29.Rb3 Nc1 30.Rb1 Ne2+ 31.Kf2 e5 32.Ra1 Rd5 33.Rxa7 Rxc5 34.Rxd3 Nd4 35.Rd2 h6 36.f4 Nb5 37.Ra8+ Kh7 38.f5 Nd4 39.g4 Rc3 40.Rb2 h5 41.Rbb8 1-0

Leko,P (2738) - Bareev,E (2643) [B17]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.06.2007
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 Bd6 8.Qe2 h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 Qc7 11.0-0 b6 12.Qg4 Kf8 13.Re1 c5 14.c3 Bb7 15.Qh3 Rd8 16.Be4 Bxe4 17.Rxe4 Nf6 18.Re1 g6 19.b3 Kg7 20.dxc5 Bxc5 21.Bb2 Rd5 22.c4 Rh5 23.Qg3 Bd6 24.Ne5 Rd8 25.h3 Rf5 26.Re2 Bc5 27.Rf1 Kh7 28.Qh2 g5 29.Ng4 Bd6 30.g3 Nh5 31.Ne3 Bxg3 32.fxg3 Rxf1+ 33.Nxf1 Rd1 34.Re3 1-0

Grischuk,A (2717) - Rublevsky,S (2680) [B84]
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (1), 06.06.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 d6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Be3 Bd7 9.a4 Be7 10.f4 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 Bc6 12.b4 0-0 13.b5 Be8 14.e5 Qc7 15.b6 Qc6 16.Bf3 d5 17.Rae1 Nd7 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.Bxd5 Qc5 20.e6 Qxd4 21.Bxd4 Nf6 22.Bb3 Rd8 23.Bxf6 Bc5+ 24.Kh1 gxf6 25.e7 Bxe7 26.Rxe7 Bc6 27.Rc7 Rd2 28.Re1 Rf2 29.h3 Rxf4 30.Ree7 Rf1+ 31.Kh2 Rf2 32.Rxc6 bxc6 33.Rxf7 Rf4 34.c3 1-0

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Tiebreaks

Carlsen-Aronian went 2-2 (one win each and two draws) then Aronian won both blitz games to move on.

Gelfand over Kasimdzhanov, 2.5-0.5

Shirov over Adams, 2.5-0.5

Pairings for the Candidates Finals:

• Aronian-Shirov
• Leko-Bareev
• Rublevsky-Grischuk
• Gelfand-Kamsky

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 6

Bareev beats out Polgar, 3.5-2.5
Rublevsky beats out Ponomariov, 3.5-2.5
(Leko, Kamsky and Grischuk are already through to the finals.)

Shirov pulls out the win to draw with Adams, 3-3
Aronian-Carlsen ends in a draw, 3-3
Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand ends in a draw, 3-3
These three matches will go into playoffs.
(It's disappointing that all six games in Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand were drawn.)

Shirov,A (2699) - Adams,Mi (2734) [C43]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (6), 02.06.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.dxe5 Be7 6.0-0 Bg4 7.Bxe4 dxe4 8.Qxd8+ Bxd8 9.Nd4 0-0 10.Nc3 Nd7 11.h3 Bh5 12.e6 fxe6 13.Nxe6 Re8 14.Nxd8 Raxd8 15.Bg5 Nf6 16.Rfe1 Bg6 17.Rad1 Kf8 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Nd5 e3 20.Nxe3 c5 21.Kf1 Rd4 22.c3 Bd3+ 23.Kg1 Rd6 24.Rd2 b5 25.Nc2 Red8 26.Red1 Ke7 27.Ne1 Be4 28.Rxd6 Rxd6 29.Rxd6 Kxd6 30.Kf1 Kd5 31.Ke2 Bb1 32.a3 Kc4 33.Kd2 Be4 34.f3 Bg6 35.b4 Kb3 36.bxc5 Kxa3 37.c6 Ka4 38.g4 Be8 39.c7 Bd7 40.Nd3 Ka5 41.Nc5 Bc8 42.Ne4 Kb6 43.Nxf6 Kxc7 44.Nxh7 Kd6 45.h4 a5 46.h5 Ke7 47.Ng5 Bb7 48.h6 Kf6 49.f4 1-0

Rublevsky,S (2680) - Ponomariov,R (2717) [B16]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (6), 02.06.2007
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.c3 Qd5 7.Qb3 Nd7 8.Nf3 Nb6 9.c4 Qh5 10.Be2 Bg7 11.Be3 0-0 12.0-0 e5 13.Qc2 Bf5 14.Qd1 Bg4 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Qg6 17.Bh5 Qe4 18.Bf3 Qg6 19.Bh5 Qe4 ½-½

Bareev,E (2643) - Polgar,Ju (2727) [A46]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (6), 02.06.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 c5 6.c3 Na6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.a4 b4 11.Nc4 Qd8 12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.Qxb4 Rb8 14.Qa5 Qxa5 15.Nxa5 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Rxb2 17.Rfd1 Rc8 18.Be3 Kf8 19.Bd4 Rc2 20.Nb7 Nb3 21.Rab1 Nxd4 22.cxd4 d5 23.a5 g5 24.h3 h5 25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 R8c4 27.e3 Nd7 28.Kf1 Ra4 29.Rdc1 Rb4 30.a6 Nb6 31.Be2 Rxc1+ 32.Rxc1 Nc4 33.Bxc4 dxc4 34.Na5 Ra4 35.Nxc4 Rxa6 36.Ne5 Bd6 37.Rc8+ Ke7 38.Nc4 Bb4 39.Rc7+ Ke8 40.Rb7 Be7 41.Ke2 Ra2+ 42.Kd3 Rxf2 43.Rb8+ Kd7 44.Rb7+ Ke8 45.Rb8+ Kd7 46.Rb7+ Ke8 47.Ke4 ½-½

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 5

Grischuk draws to beat out Malakhov, 3.5-1.5
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 3-2
Rublevsky ahead of Ponomariov, 3-2
Adams ahead of Shirov, 3-2
Aronian-Carlsen even again, 2.5-2.5
Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 2.5-2.5
(Leko and Kamsky are already through to the finals)

Carlsen,M (2693) - Aronian,L (2759) [E12]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (5), 01.06.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qc2 Be7 8.e4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 0-0 10.Bd3 c5 11.0-0 Qc7 12.Qe2 Nd7 13.Bb2 c4 14.Bc2 b5 15.Bc1 a5 16.Rb1 Ba6 17.e5 b4 18.axb4 axb4 19.Bg5 Nb6 20.Qe4 g6 21.Qh4 Ra7 22.Bf6 Bxf6 23.exf6 Nd5 24.Be4 Qf4 25.Bxd5 Qxh4 26.Nxh4 exd5 27.Rxb4 Bc8 28.Rb6 Ra3 29.Rc1 Be6 30.Nf3 Rfa8 31.h4 h6 32.Ne5 Ra1 33.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 34.Kh2 Ra3 35.Rb8+ Kh7 36.f4 Rxc3 37.h5 gxh5 38.Rf8 Ra3 39.f5 Bxf5 40.Rxf7+ Kg8 41.Rg7+ Kf8 42.Rb7 Ra8 43.Kg3 Rd8 44.Kf4 Be4 45.g3 c3 46.Rf7+ Kg8 47.Rg7+ Kf8 48.Nd7+ Rxd7 49.Rxd7 1-0

Polgar,Ju (2727) - Bareev,E (2643) [B11]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (5), 01.06.2007
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.Be2 Nd7 7.d3 g6 8.0-0 Bg7 9.Bf4 Qb6 10.Nd1 Ngf6 11.a4 a5 12.g4 e5 13.Bd2 Nc5 14.g5 dxe4 15.dxe4 Nfd7 16.Bc4 0-0 17.h4 Ne6 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Qh3 Qd4 20.Nc3 Qxd2 21.Rad1 Qxc2 22.Rxd7 Qxb2 23.h5 gxh5 24.Qxe6+ Kh8 25.Rxg7 Kxg7 26.Qh6+ Kg8 27.g6 hxg6 28.Qxg6+ Kh8 29.Kh1 Rf4 30.Qxh5+ Kg8 31.Rg1+ Kf8 32.Qh8+ Kf7 33.Qg7+ 1-0

Grischuk,A (2717) - Malakhov,V (2679) [B61]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (5), 01.06.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 h6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Qa5 11.f4 Rc8 12.Kb1 Qc5 13.Qd3 f5 14.e5 Bg7 15.Be2 Be6 16.Qb5+ Qxb5 17.Bxb5+ Kf8 18.exd6 Bxc3 19.bxc3 exd6 20.Rxd6 Ke7 21.Rd3 a6 22.Ba4 Rc4 23.Rd4 Rxc3 24.Re1 b5 25.Bb3 Rhc8 26.Re5 h5 27.Rd2 R3c6 28.h4 Kf6 29.Kb2 Rg8 30.Re3 a5 31.g3 Rgc8 32.a3 a4 33.Bxe6 fxe6 34.Re5 Rc3 35.Rde2 Kf7 36.Rxb5 Rxg3 37.Rb7+ Kf6 38.Rh7 Rc6 39.Rh6+ Kf7 40.Rd2 Kg7 41.Rxh5 Rf3 42.Rd7+ Kg8 43.Rg5+ Kh8 ½-½