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

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 4

Leko and Kamsky are through to the finals (over Gurevich 3.5-0.5 and Bacrot 3.5-0.5, respectively)
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 3-1
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 3-1
Rublevsky ahead of Ponomariov, 2.5-1.5
Adams ahead of Shirov, 2.5-1.5
Aronian ahead of Carlsen again, 2.5-1.5
Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 2-2

Bacrot,E (2709) - Kamsky,G (2705) [E08]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Bf4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 a5 10.Rd1 Ne4 11.Nc3 f5 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Nd6 14.Bxd6 Bxd6 15.e3 Rb8 16.c5 Bc7 17.f4 Bd7 18.a3 Be8 19.b4 b5 20.cxb6 Bxb6 21.Na4 axb4 22.axb4 Rf7 23.Qc3 Rfb7 24.Bf1 g5 25.Ba6 Rg7 26.Rd2 h5 27.Rg2 Bc7 28.Nc5 Qf6 29.Bf1 Bd6 30.fxg5 Rxg5 31.Ra7 e5 32.dxe5 Bxe5 33.Qb3 h4 34.gxh4 Rxg2+ 35.Bxg2 Qxh4 36.Nd3 Bxh2+ 37.Kf1 Qc4 38.Qa3 Bg6 39.Bf3 f4 0-1

Gurevich,M (2635) - Leko,P (2738) [E32]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 Nd5 14.Bf2 c5 15.e4 Ne7 16.Ne2 f5 17.Ng3 fxe4 18.fxe4 cxd4 19.Bxd4 Rac8 20.Rd1 Rfd8 21.Bc3 Ng6 22.Bb5 Nc5 23.0-0 Ba6 24.Bxa6 Nxa6 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26.b4 Nc7 27.a4 b5 28.a5 Ne8 29.Ne2 e5 30.Rc1 Nf6 31.Ng3 h5 32.h3 a6 33.Kh2 Rc8 34.Bd2 Rxc1 35.Bxc1 h4 36.Nf5 Nxe4 37.g3 hxg3+ 38.Nxg3 Nxg3 39.Kxg3 Kf7 40.Kg4 Ne7 0-1

Malakhov,V (2679) - Grischuk,A (2717) [D43]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 dxc4 5.Qa4+ c6 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 Nbd7 8.e4 b4 9.Na4 Qa5 10.b3 c5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.e5 Ne4 13.Be3 Rd8 14.0-0 a6 15.Rac1 Be7 16.Qc2 0-0 17.Bd3 cxd4 18.Bxe4 Rc8 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Qd3 Rxc1 21.Bxc1 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Kxh7 23.Re1 Kg8 24.Qg3 f6 25.exf6 Rxf6 26.Qd3 Qd5 27.Qe4 Qxe4 28.Rxe4 e5 29.Nb2 Rc6 30.Nc4 Nb6 31.Rxe5 Bf6 32.Ra5 Nxc4 33.bxc4 Rxc4 34.Bf4 d3 35.g3 Rc2 36.Rd5 Rxa2 37.Rxd3 Ra3 0-1

Bareev,E (2643) - Polgar,Ju (2727) [E19]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 c5 10.Rd1 d6 11.b3 Nd7 12.Bb2 Nf6 13.d5 exd5 14.cxd5 Re8 15.e4 Bf8 16.Nd2 b5 17.a4 b4 18.Qc2 g6 19.a5 Ba6 20.Bf1 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 Bh6 22.f4 Bg7 23.Rfe1 Qd7 24.Nc4 Nh5 25.Rad1 Bxb2 26.Qxb2 Ng7 27.Qg2 Rad8 28.g4 f6 29.h3 g5 30.fxg5 fxg5 31.e5 dxe5 32.d6 Qf7 33.Qd5 e4 34.Qxg5 Qf3 35.Qd5+ Re6 36.Re3 Rdxd6 37.Rxf3 Rxd5 38.Rxd5 exf3 39.Kf2 Re2+ 40.Kxf3 Rc2 41.Rd8+ Kf7 42.Rd7+ Kg6 43.Rxa7 Ne6 44.Ke4 Nd4 45.h4 Rh2 46.a6 Nxb3 47.Kd5 Kf6 48.Rxh7 Ra2 49.a7 Nc1 50.Ne5 Rd2+ 51.Kxc5 Ra2 52.Nd7+ Kg6 53.Nf8+ Kf6 54.Kxb4 1-0

Aronian,L (2759) - Carlsen,M (2693) [E14]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 b6 5.a3 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Bb7 7.e3 0-0 8.b4 d5 9.Bb2 Nbd7 10.Bd3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 c5 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.Rfc1 cxd4 15.Nxd4 h6 16.Ba6 Bxa6 17.Qxa6 Rxc1+ 18.Rxc1 Nb8 19.Qc4 Rd8 20.h3 Ne8 21.b5 Rd5 22.Qe2 Rc5 23.Rd1 Rc8 24.Qf3 Rd8 25.Rc1 Nd6 26.a4 e5 27.Nf5 Nxf5 28.Qxf5 f6 29.Qe4 Qf7 30.Ba3 Kh8 31.Kh2 Kg8 32.Bd6 Qd7 33.Bc7 Rf8 34.Rc2 Re8 35.Rc4 Qf7 36.Bd6 Rd8 37.Rc7 Nd7 38.Qc6 Qe6 39.Rxa7 Kf7 40.Qxb6 1-0

Shirov,A (2699) - Adams,Mi (2734) [E17]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d5 exd5 8.Nh4 c6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nf5 Nc7 11.e4 d5 12.Nc3 Bf6 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Bf4 Nd7 16.Nd6 Ba6 17.Qxd5 Bxf1 18.Kxf1 Rb8 19.Rd1 Nc5 20.Nxf7 Rxf7 21.b4 Qxd5 22.Bxd5 Rd8 23.bxc5 bxc5 24.Be3? Kh8 25.Bxf7 Rxd1+ 26.Ke2 Rd7 27.Bb3 Bd4 28.Bf4 Re7+ 29.Kf1 g6 30.Bh6 Rc7 31.Bf4 Rc6 32.Bd5 Rb6 33.Bb3 Rc6 34.Bd5 Rb6 35.Bb3 c4 36.Bxc4 Rb2 37.h4 Rxf2+ 38.Ke1 Rc2 39.Bb3 Rh2 40.a4 Kg7 0-1

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 3

Leko ahead of Gurevich, 2.5-0.5
Kamsky ahead of Bacrot, 2.5-0.5
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 2-1
Rublevsky ahead of Ponomariov, 2-1
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 2-1
Carlsen pulls even with Aronian, 1.5-1.5
Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 1.5-1.5
Shirov-Adams, 1.5-1.5

Leko,P (2738) - Gurevich,M (2635) [C11]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Ne2 Qb6 11.Bxc5 Nxc5 12.Ned4 Ne4 13.Qe3 b4 14.Bd3 Bb7 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rae1 Nxd4 17.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 18.Nxd4 g6 19.Ra1 a5 20.a3 Nc5 21.axb4 axb4 22.Kf2 Rfc8 23.g4 b3 24.Ke3 bxc2 25.Rxa8 Rxa8 26.Bxc2 Kf8 27.Rc1 Rc8 28.Ra1 Ra8 29.Rxa8+ Bxa8 30.b4 Na6 31.b5 Nc5 32.Nb3 Nd7 33.Kd4 Ke7 34.Nc5 Nb6 35.h4 Kd8 36.Bd3 Ke7 37.Be2 Kd8 38.Bf1 Ke7 39.Bd3 Kd8 40.Bc2 Ke7 41.Bd1 Kd8 42.Be2 Ke7 43.g5 Kd8 44.h5 Ke7 45.h6 Kd8 46.Bd3 Ke7 47.Bc2 Kf8 48.Nd3 Nd7 49.Nf2 Ke7 50.Ng4 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Bacrot,E (2709) [C88]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.c3 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.d3 Qd6 12.Nbd2 Rad8 13.Ne4 Qd7 14.a4 Kh8 15.axb5 axb5 16.d4 exd4 17.cxd4 f6 18.Nc3 Ncb4 19.Qe2 Bd6 20.Qxb5 Nxc3 21.Qxd7 Rxd7 22.bxc3 Nd3 23.Rd1 Nxc1 24.Raxc1 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Bf4 26.Ra1 Rd6 27.c4 Rb6 28.Rd3 g6 29.c5 Rb5 30.Bc4 Rb4 31.Be6 Rd8 32.d5 Kg7 33.d6 cxd6 34.c6 d5 35.Ra7+ Kh6 36.c7 1-0

Carlsen,M (2693) - Aronian,L (2759) [A30]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.d4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be4 11.Ne5 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 0-0 13.e4 Qc8 14.Qg4 Bf6 15.Nf3 Kh8 16.h4 Nc6 17.Bg5 cxd4 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.cxd4 e5 20.Qxc8 Raxc8 21.d5 Na5 22.h5 Nc4 23.Nh4 Nd6 24.h6 Rc3 25.Rac1 Rfc8 26.Rxc3 Rxc3 27.Nf5 Nxf5 28.exf5 Kg8 29.Re4 Kf8 30.Rg4 Rc7 31.Rg7 b5 32.Rxh7 Kg8 33.Rg7+ Kh8 34.d6 Rd7 35.Kf3 b4 36.Ke4 Rxd6 37.Rxf7 Ra6 38.g4 Kg8 39.h7+ Kh8 40.g5 fxg5 41.f6 1-0

Ponomariov,R (2717) - Rublevsky,S (2680) [B46]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.Na4 0-0 11.c4 Bb7 12.e5 Nd7 13.Bf4 Nb6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nc3 Nd7 16.Rad1 Nc5 17.Bb1 a5 18.Rfe1 g6 19.Be3 Ba6 20.Qd2 Rb8 21.Bd4 Rb4 22.Qe3 Nd7 23.a3 Rb7 24.f4 Bc4 25.Rd2 Nb8 26.Bd3 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 Nd7 28.Na4 Qb8 29.Rc1 Rc8 30.Rdc2 Rbc7 31.Rxc7 Rxc7 32.Rxc7 Qxc7 33.Qc3 Qb7 34.Kf2 Qb5 35.Qc2 Nb8 36.Nc3 Qb7 37.Ne2 Nc6 38.Bc5 Qb5 39.Bxe7 Nxe7 40.Qc3 h5 41.Nd4 Qb6 42.Ke2 Nf5 43.Nxf5 gxf5 44.b4 axb4 45.axb4 Qa6+ 46.Ke3 Qa7+ 47.Qd4 Qa3+ 48.Kf2 h4 49.Qb6 Qb2+ 50.Ke1 Qc1+ 51.Ke2 Qc4+ 52.Kd1 Qf1+ 53.Kc2 Qc4+ 54.Kd1 Qf1+ 55.Kc2 Qxf4 56.Qd8+ Kh7 57.Qe7 Qxe5 58.Qxf7+ Kh6 59.b5 Qe2+ 60.Kc3 Qc4+ 61.Kd2 d4 62.Qf8+ Kg6 63.Qg8+ Kh5 64.Qe8+ Kg5 65.Qd8+ Kg4 66.b6 Qc3+ 67.Kd1 Qd3+ 68.Kc1 Qf1+ 69.Kb2 Qxg2+ 70.Kb3 Qf3+ 71.Kc4 Qc3+ 72.Kb5 Qb3+ 73.Ka6 Qa3+ 74.Kb5 Qb2+ 75.Ka6 Qa2+ 76.Kb5 Qe2+ 77.Kc5 Qc2+ 78.Kd6 d3 79.b7 d2 80.Kxe6 Qe4+ 81.Kf6 Qc6+ 82.Ke5 Qxb7 83.h3+ Kxh3 84.Qd3+ Kh2 85.Qxd2+ Qg2 86.Qd1 Qf2 87.Kf6 f4 88.Kf5 f3 89.Kg4 Qg3+ 90.Kh5 f2 91.Qf1 Qf3+ 92.Kh6 Qg2 0-1

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 2

Aronian ahead of Carlsen, 1.5-0.5
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 1.5-0.5
Leko ahead of Gurevich, 1.5-0.5
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 1.5-0.5
Kamsky ahead of Bacrot, 1.5-0.5

Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 1-1
Shirov-Adams, 1-1
Rublevsky-Ponomariov, 1-1

Gurevich,M (2635) - Leko,P (2738) [E32]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (2), 28.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 Nd5 14.Bf2 c5 15.e4 Ne7 16.0-0-0 Rac8 17.Kb1 c4 18.Ne2 f5 19.exf5 Nxf5 20.Nc3 Nf6 21.Be2 Nd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.h4 b5 24.Rhf1 Rf7 25.Rc1 a5 26.Kc2 Ra7 27.Ra1 Rd7 28.Rfd1 Ne7 29.Be1 Nf5 30.Bf2 Rdc7 31.Kd2 Ne7 32.Re1 Kf7 33.Bd1 b4 34.axb4 axb4 35.Be2 c3+ 36.bxc3 bxc3+ 37.Kc2 Bb3+ 38.Kc1 Nd5 39.Ra3 Rb7 40.Bd3 Nb4 41.Be4 Bd5 42.Re3 c2 43.Rec3 Rxc3 44.Rxc3 Na2+ 45.Kxc2 Nxc3 46.Kxc3 Rb3+ 47.Kc2 Bc4 48.Bg3 Re3 49.Be5 Re2+ 50.Kc3 Bd5 51.Bxd5 exd5 52.g3 Re3+ 53.Kb4 g6 0-1

Bareev,E (2643) - Polgar,Ju (2727) [E15]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (2), 28.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c5 6.d5 exd5 7.cxd5 Bb7 8.Bg2 Nxd5 9.0-0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.Qf5 Nf6 12.e4 d6 13.e5 Qd7 14.Qxd7+ Nxd7 15.exd6 Bf6 16.Re1+ Kf8 17.Nc3 Nb4 18.Bg5 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Rd8 20.Bxf6 Nxf6 21.Re7 Nc2 22.Rd1 Nd4 23.Kg2 g6 24.Rxa7 Rxd6 25.Be2 Kg7 26.Bc4 Rd7 27.Rxd7 Nxd7 28.Re1 Kf8 29.a4 h5 30.Nd5 h4 31.g4 g5 32.Nc7 Nf6 33.h3 Kg7 34.Re5 Kh6 35.f4 Nh7 36.f5 Nc6 37.Rd5 Kg7 38.f6+ Kh6 39.Bb5 Nb4 40.Rd6 Rb8 41.Na6 Nxa6 42.Bxa6 Nf8 43.Bc4 Rb7 44.Kf3 Nd7 45.Ke4 Kg6 46.Bd3 c4 47.Bxc4 Nxf6+ 48.Kd4 Kg7 49.Bb5 Re7 50.Rxb6 Re4+ 51.Kd3 Rb4 52.Kc2 Nxg4 53.Kc3 Re4 54.hxg4 h3 55.Rd6 h2 56.Rd1 Rxg4 57.Rh1 Rg3+ 58.Kb4 Rg2 59.Kb3 g4 60.a5 g3 61.Bc6 Re2 62.a6 Re7 63.Ra1 Ra7 64.Bg2 1-0

Bacrot,E (2709) - Kamsky,G (2705) [A81]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (2), 28.05.2007
1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.b4 c6 6.c4 d5 7.Nbd2 Ne4 8.Bb2 a5 9.bxa5 Qxa5 10.0-0 0-0 11.a4 Be6 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Nb3 Qa6 14.Ne5 b6 15.Qd3 Nd7 16.a5 Rfc8 17.Qe3 bxa5 18.f3 Nef6 19.Nxa5 Qb6 20.Nd3 Bf7 21.Qd2 e5 22.Qb4 e4 23.Qxb6 Nxb6 24.Nc5 Nfd7 25.Nab3 Nxc5 26.Nxc5 Nc4 27.Bc3 Rxa1 28.Bxa1 Bf8 29.fxe4 dxe4 30.Bc3 Ne3 31.Ra1 Nc2 32.Rc1 Bxc5 33.dxc5 Bb3 34.e3 Rxc5 35.Bb2 Kf7 36.Kf2 Ke6 37.Bf1 Bd5 38.Be2 Rc6 39.Bd1 Nb4 0-1

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 1

Aronian ahead of Carlsen, 1-0
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 1-0
Other matches even 1/2-1/2

Carlsen,M (2693) - Aronian,L (2759) [C84]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (1), 27.05.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.axb5 axb5 10.Nc3 0-0 11.h3 Nb4 12.Ne2 c5 13.Ng3 Be6 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.c3 Nc6 16.Re1 Qd7 17.d4 exd4 18.cxd4 c4 19.Bg5 h6 20.d5 exd5 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Qxd5+ Rf7 23.Qd2 Ne5 24.Nxe5 Bxe5 25.Ne2 Rbf8 26.Rf1 Rf3! 27.Ra3 (27.Qd5+ Kh8 28.Rad1) Rxa3 28.bxa3 Qc6 29.Nd4 Bxd4 30.Qxd4 Ra8 31.Ra1 c3 32.Qb4 Qc5 33.Qb3+ Kh8 34.Ra2 Ra4 35.Re2 Rxa3 36.Qd1 Ra8 0-1

Grischuk,A (2717) - Malakhov,V (2679) [B61]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (1), 27.05.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 h6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Bb5 Bc6 11.0-0 Bg7 12.Rad1 Kf8 13.Qd3 Qa5 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Ne2 f5 16.exf5 Qxa2 17.b3 Qa5 18.Qf3 Rc8 19.Ng3 Be5 20.c4 Bxg3 21.fxg3 Qe5 22.f6 exf6 23.Rde1 Qg5 24.h4 Qg6 25.Re4 h5 26.Rf4 Rh6 27.Kh2 c5 28.Qc3 Qg7 29.Qd2 Rd8 30.Qa5 Rd7 31.Qb5 Rd8 32.Qa5 Rd7 33.Qa4 Rd8 34.Qxa7 Qh8 35.Re1 Kg7 36.Qc7 Qf8 37.Re7 Ra8 38.Qxd6 Ra7 39.Rfe4 Rb7 40.Re3 Rxe7 41.Rxe7 Rg6 42.Qxc5 1-0

U.S. Championship

GM Alex Shabalov - New US Champion

2nd: GM Alex Onischuk

3rd place shared by GM Greg Kaidanov, GM Yury Shulman and GM Julio Becerra

Sofia Round 10

Topalov wins - He's three for three winning the M-Tel Masters in 2005, 2006 and 2007!

Here's the key game (the other two games were drawn):
Topalov,V (2772) - Sasikiran,K (2690) [E43]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 d5 8.a3 Bd6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.b4 Nbd7 11.b5 Ne4 12.Bb2 Re8 13.a4 Re6 14.Ne2 a5 15.Ba3 Rc8 16.Bxd6 cxd6 17.Rc1 Ndf6 18.h3 Re7 19.Qb3 h6 20.Rxc8 Qxc8 21.Rc1 Rc7 22.Rxc7 Qxc7 23.Qc2 Qe7 24.Qc1 g6 25.Nh2 Kg7 26.h4 Ne8 27.f3 N4f6 28.Nf1 h5 29.Nf4 Nd7 30.Qe1 Nf8 31.Qg3 Kh6 32.Nxh5 gxh5 33.Qg8 f5 34.Ng3 Ng7 35.Bxf5 Ng6 36.Bxg6 Kxg6 37.Nxh5 Qxe3+ 38.Kh2 Qe7?? (38...Qxd4) 39.Nf4+ Kf6 40.g4 Qf7 41.Qd8+ Qe7 42.Qg8 Qf7 43.Qd8+ Qe7 44.Qxe7+ Kxe7 45.Kg3 Ne6 46.Nxe6 Kxe6 47.f4 Bc8 48.f5+ Kf7 49.h5 Bd7 50.h6 Kg8 51.Kf4 Be8 52.Kg5 Kf7 53.h7 Kg7 54.h8Q+ Kxh8 55.Kf6 Bxb5 56.Ke7 Bd3 57.f6 Bg6 58.f7 Bxf7 59.Kxf7 1-0

Sofia Round 9

All games drawn; Sasikiran maintains 0.5 point lead.

Sasikiran - 4.5
Kamsky, Nisipeanu, Topalov, Mamedyarov - 4
Adams - 3.5

Sofia Round 8

Sasikiran,K (2690) - Kamsky,G (2705) [D15]
MTel Sofia BUL (8), 18.05.2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.c5 g6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.h3 Bf5 9.Bxf5 gxf5 10.Qc2 Qc8 11.Ne5 Ne4 12.Nd3 Nd7 13.Ne2 Bf6 14.Bd2 Rg8 15.g3 e6 16.0-0-0 h5 17.Rdg1 Qc7 18.Nef4 Nxd2 19.Qxd2 h4 20.g4 e5 21.Ne2 e4 22.Ndf4 fxg4 23.hxg4 Bg5 24.Nh3 f6 25.Nef4 Nf8 26.f3 exf3 27.Rf1 0-0-0 28.Rxf3 Re8 29.a4 Bh6 30.Nf2 Nh7 31.Ng2 Re6 32.Rxh4 Bg5 33.Rhh3 Rge8 34.Kb1 Nf8 35.Nf4 Bxf4 36.Rxf4 Nh7 37.axb5 axb5 38.Rf5 Ng5 39.Rh1 Rxe3 40.Rxf6 Nf3 41.Rxf3 Rxf3 42.Nd3 Ref8 43.Qe2 Qf7 44.Rh6 Rf1+ 45.Kc2 Rf6 46.Rxf6 Qxf6 47.g5 Qg6 48.Kc3 Qe4 49.Qxe4 dxe4 50.Ne5 Kc7 51.Kd2 Rf2+ 52.Ke3 Rxb2 53.Kxe4 Rg2 54.d5 cxd5+ 55.Kxd5 Rxg5 56.Kd4 Rh5 57.Nd3 Rh4+ 58.Kc3 Kc6 59.Kb3 Kd5 60.Kc2 Kc4 0-1

Nisipeanu,LD (2693) - Adams,Mi (2734) [C96]
MTel Sofia BUL (8), 18.05.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Kh1 Re8 13.d5 Nb6 14.b3 Bd7 15.Be3 Qc7 16.g4 c4 17.b4 Nb7 18.Nbd2 a5 19.a3 Ra6 20.Nf1 Rea8 21.Bc1 Nd8 22.Ne3 axb4 23.cxb4 f6 24.Nf5 Bc8 25.Rg1 Nf7 26.h4 Bd8 27.Rg3 Kh8 28.g5 g6 29.Ne3 fxg5 30.hxg5 Kg8 31.Kg2 Na4 32.Qe1 Bd7 33.Qh1 Qc8 34.Qh2 Nc3 35.Kf1 Be7 36.Bb2 Na4 37.Bc1 Bf8 38.Qh4 Be7 39.Qh2 Bf8 40.Qh4 Be7 41.Nf5 Qf8 42.Nh2 h6 43.Ng4 hxg5 44.Bxg5 Nxg5 45.Ngh6+ Kh7 46.Nf7+ Kg8 47.N7h6+ Kh7 48.Nf7+ Kg8 49.Nxg5 Bxg5 50.Rxg5 Be8 51.Kg2 R8a7 52.Rh1 Qf6 53.Nh6+ 1-0

It's anybody's tournament:
Sasikiran - 4.5
Kamsky, Nisipeanu, Topalov, Mamedyarov - 4
Adams - 3.5

Sofia Round 7

Mamedyarov,S (2757) - Sasikiran,K (2690) [A20]
MTel Sofia BUL (7), 17.05.2007
1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3 f5 6.e4 Nf6 7.Nge2 a5 8.exf5 gxf5 9.d4 0-0 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.0-0 h6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.c5 Nc6 14.Nb5 Qe7 15.Nec3 Qg7 16.cxd6 cxd6 17.d5 Nd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Nb5 f4 20.Nxd6 Bg4 21.Qd3 Be7 22.Nb5 f3 23.Bh1 Bc5 24.d6 Kh8 25.Rad1 Rad8 26.a3 Bb6 27.Rfe1 Bf5 28.Qd2 Qf6 29.Re7 Bd7 30.Rde1 Qg5 31.Qd3 Qf5 32.Qd2 Qg5 33.Qc2 Qf5 34.Qxf5 Rxf5 35.Nc7 d3 36.Rd1 Rc5 37.Bxf3 Rc2 38.Rf1 Bh3 39.Ne6 Bxf2+ 40.Kh1 Bxf1 41.d7 Rg8 0-1

Sasikiran in lead by a full point.

Sofia Round 6

Sasikiran,K (2690) - Adams,Mi (2734) [E15]
MTel Sofia BUL (6), 15.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Ne5 Nfd7 10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.Nd2 0-0 12.0-0 Rc8 13.e4 b5 14.Re1 dxe4 15.Nxe4 bxc4 16.Qe2 Rb8 17.Bf1 Nf6 18.Nc5 Nd5 19.Nxa6 Nxc3 20.Qxc4 Nb5 21.Nxb8 Qxb8 22.a4 Nd6 23.Qxc6 Nf5 24.Rad1 Bf6 25.Qe4 Qxb3 26.d5 Nd6 27.Qe3 Qxe3 28.Rxe3 e5 29.Rc3 Bd8 30.Rc6 Nf5 31.d6 Bb6 32.d7 Rd8 33.Rc8 Kf8 34.Rd6 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Mamedyarov,S (2757) [B08]
MTel Sofia BUL (6), 15.05.2007
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 c6 7.Qd2 b5 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.0-0 Qc7 10.Ne2 c5 11.c3 e5 12.Ng3 c4 13.Bc2 Re8 14.a4 bxa4 15.Bxa4 exd4 16.Nxd4 a6 17.Bh6 Bh8 18.Ndf5 Re6 19.Rfd1 Nc5 20.Nxd6 Bb7 21.Nxb7 Qxb7 22.f3 Nd3 23.b3 Bg7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.bxc4 Nb2 26.Rdb1 Qa7+ 27.Kh1 Nxc4 28.Qg5 Rc8 29.Nf5+ Kh8 30.Nd4 Rb6 31.Rxb6 Qxb6 32.Bb3 Rc5 33.Qh6 Kg8 34.Re1 Rh5 35.Qf4 Rc5 36.e5 Nh5 37.Qh4 Nxe5 38.f4 Rxc3 39.fxe5 Rxb3 40.e6 fxe6 41.Nxb3 Qxb3 42.Qd8+ Kg7 43.Qe7+ Kh6 44.Qf8+ 1-0

Nisipeanu,LD (2693) - Topalov,V (2772) [B90]
MTel Sofia BUL (6), 15.05.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nde2 Be6 8.f4 g6 9.h3 h5 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8+ Kxd8 12.0-0-0+ Nbd7 13.Ng1 Rc8 14.Bd3 Bh6 15.Bxh6 Rxh6 16.Nf3 Ke7 17.Ng5 h4 18.Be2 Rc5 19.Rhf1 Rh8 20.Rd3 Rhc8 21.Kd2 b5 22.a3 a5 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 R5c6 25.Rdf3 Bc4 26.Bxc4 Rxc4 27.Ra1 Rxb4 28.Nd5+ Nxd5 29.Rxf7+ Kd6 30.exd5 Rd4+ 31.Kc1 Nc5 32.Raa7 e4 33.Ne6 Rc4 34.Nxc5 R8xc5 35.Rad7+ Ke5 36.Rf2 b4 37.Re7+ Kd6 38.Rb7 Kxd5 39.Kb2 e3 40.Re2 Re4 41.Kb3 Ke5 42.Rf7 g5 43.Rf8 Rd5 44.c4 Rd7 45.Re1 Rd2 46.Kxb4 Rxg2 47.Kc3 Rg3 48.Re8+ Kf5 49.Rf1+ Kg6 50.Rxe4 e2+ 51.Rf3 Rxf3+ 52.Kd2 Rxh3 53.c5 Ra3 54.c6 Ra2+ 0-1

Mamedyarov and Sasikiran in lead.

Sofia Round 5

All games drawn, Mamedyarov leads at the halfway stage by 0.5 point.

Sofia Round 4

Sasikiran,K (2690) - Topalov,V (2772) [E92]
MTel Sofia BUL (4), 13.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0–0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh6 11.d5 Nd7 12.h3 f5 13.exf5 Nc5 14.Nd2 Bxf5 15.0–0 e4 16.Nb3 b6 17.Nd4 Qf6 18.Nc6 a5 19.f4 Bd7 20.Nb5 Bxc6 21.dxc6 Qxb2 22.Rb1 Qxa2 23.Nxc7 Nf5 24.Bf2 e3 25.Be1 Nd4 26.Nxa8 Nxe2+ 27.Kh2 Nxf4 28.Rxf4 gxf4 29.Rxb6 f3 30.Qd5+ Ne6 31.Qxe6+ Kh8 32.Qg4 Be5+ 33.Kh1 f2 0-1

Mamedyarov in the lead by a half point.

Sofia Round 3 - Three Decisive Games

Mamedyarov in sole lead; Topalov and Kamsky bringing up the rear

Mamedyarov,S (2757) - Topalov,V (2772) [D43]
MTel Sofia BUL (3), 12.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qb3 Nd7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Qf4 10.Bd3 e5 11.0–0 exd4 (11…Be7 Euwe-Fine, AVRO 1938) 12.Nxd4 Nc5 13.Nxc5 Bxc5 14.Rae1+ Kf8 15.Re4 Qf6 16.Qc3 a5 17.Rfe1 Bd7 18.R1e3 Bb4 19.Qc2 Qd6 20.Rf3 h5 21.c5 Bxc5 22.Bc4 f6 23.Ne6+ Bxe6 24.Rxe6 Qd7 25.Qf5 Qd4 26.Re4 Qd1+ 27.Bf1 Bd6 28.Rd3 Bxh2+ 29.Kxh2 Qxf1 30.Rd7 1–0

Adams,Mi (2734) - Nisipeanu,LD (2693) [C07]
MTel Sofia BUL (3), 12.05.2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1 Bd7 12.Bg5 Qc5 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nxe6 Bxe6 16.Rxe6+ Be7 17.b4 Qc3 18.Re3 Qc7 19.Qh5+ Kf8 20.Rae1 Re8 21.Qh6+ Kf7 22.Qh5+ Kf8 23.Qh6+ Kf7 24.c3 Rhg8 25.Qxh7+ Rg7 26.Qh5+ Kf8 27.g3 Qd7 28.Re6 Rg5 29.Qh8+ Kf7 30.Qh7+ Rg7 31.Qh5+ Rg6 32.c4 Kg7 33.Qd5 Qc7 34.Qe4 Kf7 35.c5 Qd7 36.Qf5 Kg7 37.Qe4 Kf7 38.Qf5 Kg7 39.Qh5 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Sasikiran,K (2690) [D27]
MTel Sofia BUL (3), 12.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 a6 5.Bxc4 e6 6.0-0 c5 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.b3 Nbd7 10.Bb2 b6 11.Nc3 Bb7 12.Rac1 Be7 13.Ne2 Rc8 14.Nf4 b5 15.Be2 0-0 16.Nd4 Nc5 17.Bf3 Nce4 18.Nd3 Bd6 19.Ne2 Rfd8 20.Ne5 Bb8 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Ng3 Bd5 23.Nd3 a5 24.b4 a4 25.a3 Nc3 26.Rc1 Bxf3 27.gxf3 Bxg3 28.Rxc3 Rxc3 29.Bxc3 Nd5 30.Bd4 Bd6 31.f4 f6 32.Kg2 Kf7 33.Kf3 h6 34.e4 Nxf4 35.Nxf4 e5 36.Ne2 exd4 37.Nxd4 Bxh2 38.Nxb5 Be5 39.Ke3 g5 40.Nd4 h5 41.Nf5 h4 42.Ke2 Ke6 43.Ne3 h3 44.Kf1 Bd4 45.Kg1 Bxe3 46.fxe3 g4 0-1

Sofia Round 2

All games drawn, Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu keep lead.

Sofia Round 1

Mamedyarov beats Kamsky, and Nisipeanu beats Topalov. Adams-Sasikiran was drawn.

Mamedyarov,S (2757) - Kamsky,G (2705) [D10]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Be6 6.Nge2 dxc4 7.Nf4 Qc8 8.e4 g6 9.g4 Bg7 10.h4 h6 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 Nbd7 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.e5 Qc7 15.exf6 Qg3+ 16.Ke2 Nxf6 17.Qd3 0-0-0 18.Rxa7 Kb8 19.Ra4 Rhf8 20.Rh3 Qc7 21.Be3 e5 22.Qc4 Nd5 23.Nxd5 Rxd5 24.Qd3 exd4 25.Bd2 Rf6 26.Kd1 Re6 27.f4 Qb6 28.Bg2 Rc5 29.Rc4 Rb5 30.f5 gxf5 31.gxf5 Rd6 32.Kc2 Qa7 33.Kb2 Re5 34.Ra4 Qb6 35.Bf4 Re2+ 36.Kb1 Rxg2 37.Rg3 Rxg3 38.Qxg3 1-0.

Topalov,V (2772) - Nisipeanu,LD (2693) [B01]
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 c6 6.d4 g6 7.Bf4 Qb4 8.Nge2 Bg7 9.Qc1 0–0 10.0–0 Bg4 11.a3 Qa5 12.h3 Bxe2 13.Nxe2 Nbd7 14.c4 e5 15.b4 Qc7 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Qc2 a5 18.Rae1 axb4 19.axb4 Rfe8 20.c5 Nd5 21.Bd2 Nd7 22.Qc4 N7f6 23.g4 h5 24.Ng3 hxg4 25.hxg4 Qd7 26.g5 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Ne8 28.Bf3 Nec7 29.Bg4 Qd8 30.Kg2 Nb5 31.Rd1 Ra1 32.Rxa1 Bxa1 33.Bf3 Be5 34.Ne2 Ndc7 35.Be3 Ne6 36.Bg4 Nbc7 37.Qe4 Bg7 38.f4 Qd1 39.Kf2 Bc3 40.b5 Qe1+ 41.Kg2 Nd5 42.bxc6 bxc6 43.Qd3?? Bd4! 44.Bxe6 Nxe3+ 45.Kh2 Qf2+ 46.Kh3 Qf3+ 47.Ng3 Qg2+ 0–1.

2006 Chess Oscar goes to...

Anand!

April 2007 Rating List

The final list, after inclusion of Morelia/Linares...

Rnk	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2786	27	1969
2	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2772	27	1975
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2772	13	1975
4	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2762	21	1977
5	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2759	27	1982
6	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	g	AZE	2757	3	1985
7	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2747	13	1987
8	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2738	14	1979
9	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2736	27	1976
10	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2734	1	1971
11	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2733	0	1968
12	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2729	24	1969
13	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2727	0	1976
14	Navara, David	g	CZE	2720	19	1985
15	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2717	13	1983
16	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2717	0	1983
17	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2709	3	1983
18	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	2708	32	1983
19	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2705	0	1974
20	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2699	20	1972

The original list...

Rnk	Name	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	2791	13	1975
2	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	2778	13	1969
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	2772	13	1975
4	Aronian, Levon	ARM	2759	13	1982
5	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	2757	3	1985
6	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	2756	7	1977
7	Leko, Peter	HUN	2749	0	1979
8	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	2747	13	1987
9	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	2735	10	1969
10	Adams, Michael	ENG	2734	1	1971
11	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2733	0	1968
12	Svidler, Peter	RUS	2731	13	1976
13	Polgar, Judit	HUN	2727	0	1976
14	Navara, David	CZE	2720	19	1985
15	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2717	13	1983
16	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	2717	0	1983
17	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	2709	3	1983
18	Jakovenko, Dmitry	RUS	2708	32	1983
19	Kamsky, Gata	USA	2705	0	1974
20	Akopian, Vladimir	ARM	2703	18	1971

It was a surprise to me that Viswanathan Anand is not in the number one slot – it is still Veselin Topalov, 13 points ahead of Anand. Apparently the Linares tournament, which Anand won, was not included. The Indian Chess Federation has protested. According to calculations made by chess experts all over the world Anand should have been in the number one spot, after his superb win in Morelia/Linares (where Topalov, at the same time, shed a number of rating points.

The final games in Linares were played on March 10th, 2007, and thus the tournament could be considered ineligible for the calculations of the April list, since the deadline for submissions of tournaments for the April ratings is Feburary 28. However, in the past FIDE has always included this key tournament in its April list. This is certainly true of the April lists for 2006 (Linares finished on March 11); 2005 (finished on March 11); and for the previous years 2004, 2003 and 2002. That is as far as we have easily accessible records on the subject. Colleagues in India tell us that the practice of including Linares goes back to when the April list was first introduced.

So why was Linares excluded this time? FIDE Presidential Board member Nigel Freeman has posted a statement on the subject: "Before the conspiracy theories get out of hand, perhaps I can explain what happened to the best of my knowledge. With regards to Morelia-Linares, in order to be completely fair, the Ratings Committee has decided that only tournaments that finished a month before the rating list comes into effect should be rated. Once one starts to make exceptions, where does one stop? Why Morelia-Linares and not a whole host of others?"

Two points can be made here: Why, then, was Linares included in the calculations of all previous April lists? When was a change in the practical application of the guidlines for the ratings decided? Was it announced before Morelia/Linares, or did the decision come after the event had been completed? And secondly: if we are not mistaken the 2007 Asian Cities Chess Championship in Tehran, which was held entirely in March (from 1st to 9th) was included in the tournaments used to calculate the April 2007 list. At least three other events that spilled into March were used in the calculations.

New Kasparov Book Out

Revolution in the 70's, Part 1 of Kasparov's new series of chess books (Modern Chess Series) came out a couple of weeks ago. I've read all the text and played through a couple of the games; quite interesting. I think I like it even better than the My Great Predecessors series.

Here's a Chess Cafe interview with Kasparov regarding recent changes in his plans for the series. Right now it seems like after "Revolution" he's going to do two volumes on his games with Karpov, two volumes on his selected best games, and a book on Man vs Machine. Also, he's going to do an additional book in the MGP series consisting just of anecdotes, no chess. He says this makes a total of 13 books in both series, but by my count it's just 12.

Harry Potter and the Chess Game

Here's an interesting article by Jeremy Silman, who designed the chess scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

http://www.jeremysilman.com/movies_tv_js/harry_potter.html

Linares/Morelia R14

Svidler 2728 - Morozevich 2741 [C11]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.a3 Bb7 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Bxc5 Nxc5 12.Bd3 b4 13.Ne2 Qb6 14.Qe3 d4 15.Nfxd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 bxa3 17.Rxa3 Rd8 18.Qe3 Qxb2 19.Qxc5 Qb1+ 20.Kd2 Qxh1 21.Nc3 Qxh2 22.Ra4 Qxg2+ 23.Kc1 Rc8 24.Qb4 Qg1+ 25.Nd1 Bf3 26.Rxa6 Qc5 27.Qa4+ Kf8 28.Ra5 Qg1 0-1

Leko 2749 - Carlsen 2690 [E15]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Ba6 7.b3 0-0 8.Nc3 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Bg2 Re8 11.Ne5 c5 12.0-0 Bb7 13.Rfd1 Na6 14.Qf4 Nc7 15.Ng4 Nxg4 16.Qxg4 Qf6 17.e3 Rad8 18.Rac1 Qe7 19.dxc5 bxc5 20.Qa4 Rd7 21.Ne4 d4 22.exd4 Bxe4 23.Bxe4 Ne6 24.d5 Nd4 25.Re1 Qd8 26.Kf1 Rde7 27.Bd3 Qc8 28.g4 Rxe1+ 29.Rxe1 Rf8 30.h3 Qd8 31.Be4 Qb6 32.Bg2 g6 33.Kg1 Kg7 34.Qd7 Rd8 35.Qe7 a5 36.Kh1 Nb5 37.Re6 Nd6 38.Qf6+ Kg8 39.Re7 a4 40.bxa4 c4 41.Kh2 Qb8 42.f4 Qc8 43.Re3 Re8 44.Rxe8+ Nxe8 45.Qc6 Qxc6 46.dxc6 Kf8 47.Kg3 Ke7 48.Kf2 Kd6 49.Ke3 Kc5 50.g5 Nc7 51.a3 Ne6 52.Be4 c3 53.f5 1-0

Anand wins by a full point

Linares/Morelia R13

Morozevich over Topalov in 80 moves. The other three games were drawn.

Anand's 1/2 point lead at +3 intact going into the last round.

Linares/Morelia R12

Ivanchuk 2750 - Morozevich 2741 [C45]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 d6 9.Qe2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Re8 11.f3 Be6 12.Kb1 a5 13.Bf2 a4 14.Nc5 a3 15.Nxe6 Rxe6 16.Bxb6 cxb6 17.Qd2 axb2 18.Bc4 Re5 19.Bb3 Rc5 20.Na4 Rca5 21.Nc3 Ne8 22.Nd5 Ne5 23.Qd4 Nd7 24.Rd2 Nc5 25.Rhd1 Nxb3 26.axb3 Nc7 27.Nxc7 Qxc7 28.Qxb2 b5 29.Rxd6 b4 30.Rd7 Qxh2 31.Rxb7 Qxg2 32.Rxb4 Qxf3 33.Rbd4 Kh7 34.b4 Ra4 35.e5 Qe2 36.R4d3 h5 37.b5 Ra1+ 38.Qxa1 Rxa1+ 39.Kxa1 Qxe5+ 0-1

Leko 2749 - Svidler 2728 [B90]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 a5 11.Qe1 Qc8 12.a3 a4 13.Nd2 Nbd7 14.Kb1 Rd8 15.Bb5 d5 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Qe2 Qc7 19.Ne4 Be6 20.Nc3 Nb6 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Nxa4 Nc4 23.Bxc4 Bxc4 24.Qf2 Qc6 25.Nb6 Be6 26.Qe2 f5 27.Re1 Bf6 28.g3 h6 29.Bf2 e4 30.fxe4 fxe4 31.a4 Qd6 32.c4 Qb4 33.Nd5 Bxd5 34.cxd5 Rxd5 35.Qc2 Rd2 36.Qc8+ Kf7 0-1

Anand's lead is unaffected at +3 with two rounds to go.

Look familiar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_beaten_Jos%C3%A9_Ra%C3%BAl_Capablanca_in_chess

http://mychess.blogspot.com/2004/10/capablanca-club.html

Linares/Morelia R11

Carlsen 2690 - Ivanchuk 2750 [D87]
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 Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Rc1 cxd4 13.cxd4 e6 14.Qd2 Bb7 15.h4 Qe7 16.h5 Rfc8 17.e5 Rxc1 18.Rxc1 Rc8 19.Rxc8+ Bxc8 20.Bg5 Qc7 21.Bf6 Nc6 22.Qg5 h6 23.Qc1 g5 24.Bb5 Bd7 25.d5 exd5 26.Nd4 Bxf6 27.exf6 Qd6 28.Bxc6 Qxf6 29.Bxd7 Qxd4 30.g3 Qc5 31.Qxc5 bxc5 32.Bc6 d4 33.Bb5 Kf8 34.f4 gxf4 35.gxf4 1-0

Anand still in sole lead at +3, but Carlsen is only 1/2 point behind.

Linares/Morelia R10

Anand 2779 - Carlsen 2690 [C96]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.d5 Nb6 13.Nbd2 g6 14.b4 cxb4 15.cxb4 Nac4 16.Nxc4 Nxc4 17.Bb3 Nb6 18.Be3 Bd7 19.Rc1 Rc8 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 21.Qc2 Bd7 22.Rc1 Na8 23.Qd2 Qb8 24.Bg5 Bxg5 25.Nxg5 Rc8 26.Rf1 h6 27.Ne6 Kh7 28.f4 Qa7+ 29.Kh2 Be8 30.f5 gxf5 31.exf5 f6 32.Re1 Nc7 33.Rc1 Bd7 34.Rc3 e4 35.Rg3 Nxe6 36.dxe6 Be8 37.e7 Bh5 38.Qxd6 1-0

Ivanchuk 2750 - Svidler 2728 [C88]

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 Re8 10.a4 h6 11.axb5 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bxa8 13.c3 d6 14.Na3 b4 15.Nc4 Bf8 16.Bd2 bxc3 17.bxc3 Nb8 18.Ne3 Nbd7 19.Ng4 Nc5 20.Bc4 Nxg4 21.hxg4 d5 22.exd5 Bxd5 23.Rxe5 Rxe5 24.Nxe5 Bxc4 25.dxc4 Ne4 26.Qf3 Nxd2 27.Qxf7+ Kh7 28.Qf5+ Kg8 29.Qe6+ Kh7 30.Qg6+ Kg8 31.Qe6+ Kh7 32.Qg6+ Kg8 33.Qf7+ Kh7 34.Nd7 Ba3 35.c5 Kh8 36.g5 hxg5 37.Qe6 Ne4 38.Qh3+ Kg8 39.Qe6+ Kh8 40.Qxe4 Qxd7 41.Qa8+ Kh7 42.Qxa3 Qd1+ 43.Kh2 Qh5+ 44.Kg1 1/2-1/2

Leko 2749 - Topalov 2783 [B90]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.a4 Be7 9.a5 0-0 10.Be2 Be6 11.0-0 Rc8 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Bg4 14.c4 Nd7 15.Nd2 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 f5 17.f3 Nf6 18.b4 Qd7 19.Rfd1 Qe8 20.Qd3 Qh5 21.c5 Rd8 22.Nc4 Rac8 23.Rac1 e4 24.fxe4 fxe4 25.Qb3 Ng4 26.h3 Nxe3 27.Nxe3 Bg5 28.c6 Rf8 29.Re1 Qh4 30.Qa2 Bf4 31.Qe2 Qg3 32.Nf1 Qd3 33.Qxd3 exd3 34.Rc4 bxc6 35.dxc6 d5 36.Rd4 Rxc6 37.Rxd3 Rc4 38.b5 axb5 39.Rxd5 b4 40.a6 Rc6 41.Rb5 Bd6 42.Ra1 Ra8 43.a7 Rb6 44.Rxb6 Bc5+ 45.Kh1 Bxb6 46.Ra4 Bc5 47.Ra5 Bxa7 48.Nd2 Rd8 49.Rxa7 Rxd2 50.Rb7 Rd4 51.Kg1 Rf4 52.Kh2 h5 53.Kg3 Rc4 54.Kf3 Kh7 55.Rb6 g5 56.Rb7+ Kg6 57.Rb6+ Kf7 58.g4 Rf4+ 59.Kg3 h4+ 60.Kg2 Rc4 61.Kf3 Ke7 62.Ke3 Kd7 63.Kd2 Kc7 64.Rb5 Kc6 65.Rxg5 b3 66.Rg8 Rc2+ 67.Kd1 Kc7 68.Rg7+ Kb6 69.Rg8 Ka7 70.Rg7+ Ka6 71.Rg8 Kb7 72.Rg7+ Kc6 73.Rg8 Rh2 74.Kc1 Rxh3 75.g5 Kd7 76.Rf8 Ke7 77.Rf6 Rg3 78.Rh6 h3 79.Kb2 Kf7 80.Ka3 Kg7 81.Kb2 Kg8 82.Ka3 Kf7 83.Kb2 Kg7 84.Kc1 1/2-1/2

Anand beats Carlsen, in sole lead by a full point at +3 now.

Comment on MGP2

In My Great Predecessors 2, Kasparov rants about the unfairness of the rule limiting world championship candidates from a single country. In particular, he claims that this rule operated against Bronstein (and Averbakh) in the Portoroz 1958 Interzonal and dedicates two pages (pp186-187) to these comments. However, I don't understand what he's talking about.

The six players who moved on from Portoroz to the 1959 Candidates Tournament were Tal (13.5), Gligoric (13), Petrosian and Benko (12.5), and Olafsson and Fischer (12) - and these are precisely the six highest scorers. Bronstein and Averbakh were a half-point behind at 11.5, together with Mantovic, Szabo and Pachman. Yes, IF Bronstein and Averbakh had scored 12, THEN the rule would have operated against them (because Tal and Petrosian were ahead of them and there was only one slot left). But they didn't, so I don't get what Kasparov's beef is.

New World Championship Format (Again)

It's deja vu all over again. Ilyumzhinov has instituted yet another world championship qualification system. In all fairness, this system makes some sense. But we all know it won't stick any more than the last five systems he's suggested, so who cares. It's so sad that professional chess has turned into such a joke.

The proposal is to terminate the World Championship Tournament and keep the World Cup as a Candidates tournament to find a challenger for a World Championship match. So in every odd year there will be only the World Cup (2007, 2009, etc.) and the respective winner will play every next year (2008, 2010, etc.) a match against the World Champion.

2007: World Cup will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk

Early 2008: The winner from WCCT 2007 in Mexico plays a World Championship match against the previous World Champion. If Kramnik does not win the WCCT 2007, then Kramnik [as previous World Champion] can challenge the winner of Mexico in the first part of 2008. If Kramnik wins in Mexico, then the right to challenge goes to the previous World Champion, i.e. Topalov.

Late 2008 or Early 2009: The winner of the 2008 World Championship match plays a World Championship match against the winner of the 2007 World Cup.

A little bit more detail is available on the Chessbase website.

Linares/Morelia R9

Anand and Carlsen in lead at +2. Topalov is 1/2 point from the bottom of the table. I predict that the April 2007 ratings list will sport a new #1.

Svidler 2728 - Anand 2779 [C42]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.a3 Nc6 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bf5 14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4 17.Qa4 Qf5 18.Bg3 Bc2 19.Qb5 Qxb5 20.Bxb5 a6 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Re5 f6 23.Ra5 Bd3 24.Ne1 Bb5 25.a4 Be2 26.Nc2 c5 27.dxc5 Kf7 28.c6 Red8 29.Ne3 Rd2 30.Rb1 Bd6 31.Bxd6 Rxd6 32.Nf5 Rxc6 33.Nd4 Rb6 34.Re1 Bd3 35.Rc5 Rd6 36.Re3 Bb1 37.Nc6 Re8 38.Nd4 Rc8 39.Re2 Bd3 40.Re1 Rd7 41.f3 1/2-1/2

Topalov 2783 - Ivanchuk 2750 [B42]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 d6 8.Be3 Nc6 9.f4 Nge7 10.0-0 0-0 11.c3 b5 12.N1d2 Bxe3+ 13.Qxe3 Rb8 14.Kh1 Qb6 15.Qe2 a5 16.a3 Bd7 17.Rf3 Ng6 18.g3 Rfd8 19.Rd1 Nce7 20.h4 h6 21.Kh2 Be8 22.Rg1 Nc6 23.h5 Nf8 24.g4 e5 25.g5 hxg5 26.fxg5 Rb7 27.Qf1 Ne6 28.h6 g6 29.Nc1 Qc7 30.Qf2 Qe7 31.Qh4 b4 32.Nc4 bxc3 33.bxc3 d5 34.exd5 Rxd5 35.Re3 Qc5 36.Rf1 Rb2+ 37.Rf2 Rxf2+ 38.Qxf2 Qe7 39.Be4 Rd1 40.Qc2 Rd8 41.Nd3 Nxg5 42.Bxc6 Bxc6 43.Ndxe5 Qf6 44.Nxc6 Qxc6 45.Qe2 Qc7+ 46.Ne5 Rd5 47.Kg2 Ne6 48.Qc4 Qe7 49.Kg3 Qg5+ 50.Ng4 Rc5 51.Qe4 Rf5 52.Rf3 Kh7 53.c4 a4 54.Qe3 Qe7 55.Qc3 Qc7+ 56.Kf2 Rxf3+ 57.Qxf3 Qc5+ 58.Ne3 f5 59.Qb7+ Kxh6 60.Qd5 Qe7 61.Qe5 Qh4+ 62.Kf1 Ng5 63.Qh8+ Nh7 64.Qe5 Nf6 65.Ke2 Kg5 66.c5 Qh5+ 67.Kd3 Qf3 68.Kc4 Qb7 69.Qc3 Ne4 70.Qb4 Qa6+ 71.Kd4 Qf6+ 72.Kd5 Kf4 73.Qd4 Qf7+ 74.Kc6 Qe8+ 75.Kb6 Qb8+ 76.Ka6 Qa8+ 77.Kb6 Qb8+ 1/2-1/2

Morozevich 2741 - Leko 2749 [E15]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qb3 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.e4 c5 8.d5 exd5 9.exd5 Re8 10.Bd3 Bf8+ 11.Kf1 d6 12.Kg2 Nbd7 13.h4 g6 14.Qa4 Bb7 15.h5 Nxh5 16.Rxh5 gxh5 17.Ne4 f5 18.Neg5 h6 19.Nh3 Ne5 20.Nxe5 dxe5 21.Bxf5 Qf6 22.Be4 Re7 23.Qd1 h4 24.Qh5 hxg3 25.fxg3 Rg7 26.Bd2 Qf7 27.Qe2 Bc8 28.Nf2 Bf5 29.Bxf5 Qxf5 30.Ne4 Rf7 31.Rh1 Qg6 32.Rh4 Kh8 33.Ng5 Rf5 34.Ne6 h5 35.Bg5 Kg8 36.Rxh5 Re8 37.g4 Rf7 38.Bh4 Bg7 39.Rg5 Qh6 40.Qxe5 Kh8 41.Rxg7 Qd2+ 42.Kh3 Qd3+ 43.Bg3 Rxe6 44.dxe6 Rxg7 45.e7 Qh7+ 46.Kg2 1-0

Carlsen-Aronian copied Topalov-Leko from round 3 until the 27th move and was abandoned as a draw two moves later.

Linares/Morelia R8

Anand, Carlsen in lead at +2.

Morozevich 2741 - Carlsen 2690 [C83]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Nbd2 Nc5 11.a4 Nxb3 12.Qxb3 0-0 13.axb5 axb5 14.Rxa8 Qxa8 15.Qxb5 Rd8 16.Qd3 Qb7 17.Nd4 Nxe5 18.Qe2 Bf6 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.f4 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Nf7 22.Nf3 c5 23.g4 Re8 24.g5 Bd8 25.f5 e5 26.c4 Qa6 27.Re1 e4 28.cxd5 Qxe2 29.Rxe2 Nd6 30.Nh4 h6 31.Bf4 Nb5 32.d6 Nd4 33.Rg2 Bxg5 34.Bxg5 hxg5 35.Rxg5 Kf7 36.Rg3 Nb5 37.Rg6 Rd8 38.Re6 Nxd6 39.Re5 c4 40.Rd5 Kf6 41.Ng2 Ke7 42.Ne3 1/2-1/2

Morelia/Linares R7

Ivanchuk 2750 - Aronian 2744 [D38]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Qc2 c5 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.e3 0-0 12.Be2 b6 13.0-0 Bb7 14.Rfc1 Rac8 15.dxc5 Qxc3 16.Rxc3 Rxc5 17.Rcc1 Rfc8 18.Rd1 Rc2 19.Bb5 Nf8 20.Rab1 R2c7 21.Ba4 Ne6 22.Bb3 Kf8 23.h3 Rc5 24.Kh2 Ke7 25.Rd2 Rb5 26.Ba2 Rbc5 27.Ne1 a5 28.Rbd1 Rd8 29.Kg3 Rb5 30.f3 Rc8 31.Nd3 d4 32.Bxe6 Kxe6 33.Nf4+ Ke7 34.Rxd4 Rc7 35.R1d2 Rbc5 36.e4 Rc4 37.Rd6 R4c6 38.e5 Rc2 39.Rxc2 Rxc2 40.Rxb6 Bc6 41.b4 g5 42.Nh5 axb4 43.axb4 Bd5 44.Ng7 Re2 45.Nf5+ Ke8 46.Nxh6 Be6 47.Rb5 Rb2 48.Rb8+ Kd7 49.Rg8 1-0

Leko 2749 - Anand 2779 [E04]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.e3 Bd7 8.Nc3 b5 9.Ne5 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Nd5 11.Nxd5 exd5 12.Qxd5 Rb8 13.a4 Bb4 14.Rd1 Qe7 15.Bd2 Bc5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Ba5 c6 18.Qd2 Rc8 19.Rac1 h5 20.b4 Ba7 21.Ra1 Rh6 22.Qc3 Bf5 23.e6 Rxe6 24.Qxg7 Bg4 25.Rd2 Bb8 26.h3 Be5 27.Qg8+ Qf8 28.Qxf8+ Kxf8 29.Rc1 Bf5 30.e4 Bh7 31.Bb6 Bf6 32.h4 Bxe4 33.Bh3 Bd5 34.Bxe6 fxe6 35.Bc5+ Be7 36.Bxe7+ Kxe7 37.Rb2 Kd6 38.Kf1 c5 39.Ke2 cxb4 40.Rxb4 Kc5 41.Rcb1 Bc6 0-1

Topalov 2783 - Morozevich 2741 [C11]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Ne2 Qb6 9.Qc1 g5 10.c3 cxd4 11.cxd4 Bb4+ 12.Kf2 f6 13.g3 Rf8 14.Kg2 g4 15.Nh4 Rg8 16.h3 h5 17.hxg4 hxg4 18.Nc3 fxe5 19.fxe5 Ncxe5 20.dxe5 d4 21.Na4 Qa5 22.Qc4 Nxe5 23.Qxd4 Nf3 24.Nxf3 gxf3+ 25.Kf2 Qxa4 26.Bd3 Qd7 27.Qe4 Bd6 28.Rag1 Qg7 29.Rh6 Qxb2+ 30.Kxf3 Rf8+ 31.Bf4 Qe5 32.Qg6+ Kd8 33.Kg2 Qb2+ 34.Kh1 Bxf4 35.gxf4 Bd7 36.Be4 Kc7 37.Rb1 Qf2 38.Rxb7+ Kc8 39.Rb1 Ra7 40.f5 Rc7 41.fxe6 Be8 42.Qg5 Qd4 43.Bg2 Rf4 44.e7 Rc5 45.Qg3 Rc3 46.Qe1 Re3 47.Qa5 Bb5 48.Rc1+ 1-0

At the half-way point, Anand and Carlsen are in the lead with a score of 4.5 (+3-1=3).

On to Linares!

Morelia/Linares R6

Anand 2779 - Ivanchuk 2750 [B90]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.0-0-0 Be7 10.h3 b5 11.g4 0-0 12.Kb1 Qc7 13.Bg2 Nb6 14.Bxb6 Qxb6 15.f4 Bc4 16.g5 Nh5 17.fxe5 dxe5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 Bd6 20.Na5 f5 21.gxf6 Rxf6 22.Rhf1 Re8 23.Rxf6 Nxf6 24.Nb3 e4 25.Nd4 Re5 26.c3 Qc5 27.Qe2 Nxd5 28.Bxe4 Nf6 29.Nb3 Qc7 30.Nd2 Qe7 31.Qd3 Bc5 32.Bg2 1/2-1/2

The other three games were drawn in 16, 20 and 22 moves. Carlsen remains in the lead at +2.

Morelia/Linares R5

Aronian 2744 - Anand 2779 [D23]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e6 8.Bg2 Be7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Re1 Ne4 11.Qb3 Qb6 12.Nh4 Bxh4 13.gxh4 Nef6 14.e4 Bg6 15.Qxb6 axb6 16.Bf4 Rfe8 17.Rad1 b5 18.Bd6 e5 19.d5 Nh5 20.Bf1 f6 21.b3 Nf4 22.a4 bxa4 23.bxa4 Bf7 24.Rb1 Ra7 25.Red1 Rc8 26.Ne2 Nxe2+ 27.Bxe2 cxd5 28.exd5 Nf8 29.Bb5 Raa8 30.Be7 Ng6 31.d6 Nxe7 32.Bd7 Nc6 33.Rxb7 Nd4 34.Bxc8 Rxc8 35.Rdb1 Rf8 36.Rb8 Be8 37.a5 Nf3+ 38.Kf1 Nd2+ 39.Ke1 Nxb1 40.a6 Bc6 41.a7 Kf7 42.d7 Ke7 43.Rxf8 Kxd7 44.a8Q Bxa8 45.Rxa8 h5 46.Ra7+ Ke6 47.Rxg7 Kf5 48.Rg3 1-0

Carlsen 2690 - Topalov 2783 [D45]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 0-0 8.Be2 b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Bb2 Re8 11.Rad1 Qe7 12.Rfe1 Rac8 13.e4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Qxe4 Bb4 16.Rf1 Ba3 17.Bxa3 Qxa3 18.Qc2 Nf6 19.c5 Ba6 20.Bxa6 Qxa6 21.Ne5 Nd5 22.Nc4 Red8 23.a3 Rc7 24.Qc1 Ne7 25.Rd2 Nf5 26.Rfd1 b5 27.Ne5 Qc8 28.Rd3 f6 29.Nf3 Rcd7 30.Qf4 Rd5 31.Qe4 Qd7 32.R3d2 h5 33.h4 a5 34.Kf1 Re8 35.Re1 Kf7 36.Red1 Nh6 37.Re1 Re7 38.Qf4 Rf5 39.Qd6 Qc8 40.Rde2 Rd5 41.Qf4 Nf5 42.Re4 Rd8 43.g4 hxg4 44.Qxg4 Qd7 45.h5 Kg8 46.Kg2 Qd5 47.Qg6 Rf8 48.h6 Qd8 49.d5 Qxd5 50.Rg4 Qd7 51.Rh1 Qe8 52.hxg7 Rxg7 53.Qh7+ Kf7 54.Rxg7+ Nxg7 55.Rh6 Qd8 56.Qg6+ Kg8 57.Qh7+ Kf7 58.Qg6+ Kg8 59.Rh7 Qd7 60.Nd2 f5 61.Nf3 Rf6 62.Qxf6 Kxh7 63.Ng5+ Kg8 64.Qg6 1-0

Turns out that Topalov resigned in a position that is a draw. Carlsen showed him the defense immediately after he had resigned {64...Qd5+ 65.f3 e5 66.Qh7+ Kf8 67.Qh8+ Qg8 68.Nh7+ Draw}. So if it happens to the world's highest rated player, I shouldn't feel too bad that it happened to me.

Carlsen in lead at +2

Morelia/Linares R4

Anand 2779 - Morozevich 2741 [C95]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 c6 15.Nf5 Qc7 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Nh2 c5 18.Qf3 c4 19.Bg5 Re6 20.Rad1 Nc5 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.Ng4 Re6 23.Nge3 Qa5 24.a3 g6 25.Nd5 Rd8 26.Qg3 Rd7 27.Nfe3 Qd8 28.Qf3 Bg7 29.a4 Red6 30.axb5 axb5 31.g4 Qh4 32.Ra1 Ne6 33.Qg3 Qxg3+ 34.fxg3 Nc5 35.h4 h6 36.Ra5 Bc6 37.Nb4 Bxe4 38.Bxe4 Nxe4 39.Rxb5 Nd2 40.Kg2 e4 41.Re2 Bf8 42.Ned5 e3 43.Nxe3 Re6 44.Nbd5 Nb3 45.Nf4 Rc6 46.Nxc4 Rxc4 47.Rxb3 Kg7 48.Rb5 Bc5 49.g5 hxg5 50.hxg5 Be7 51.Kf3 Bd8 52.Re4 Rc6 53.Kg4 Rd2 54.Rd5 Rxd5 55.Nxd5 Re6 56.Rxe6 fxe6 57.Nf4 Kf7 58.Nd3 Bc7 59.Kf3 1-0

Ivanchuk 2750 - Carlsen 2690 [A46]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 b5 5.Nbd2 Bb7 6.Nb3 a5 7.Bd2 Nc6 8.Nc1 Bd6 9.Nd3 0-0 10.0-0 Ne4 11.Be3 b4 12.Re1 Ba6 13.Nfe5 Ne7 14.f3 Nf5 15.Bf4 Nf6 16.c3 Ne7 17.Qd2 bxc3 18.bxc3 Rc8 19.Bg5 Bxd3 20.Nxd3 Nd7 21.e4 c5 22.exd5 exd5 23.Bh3 cxd4 24.cxd4 h6 25.Bf4 Bxf4 26.Nxf4 Rc4 27.Bf1 Rc8 28.Bh3 Rc4 29.Bf1 Rc8 30.Rab1 Nf6 31.Rb5 Nc6 32.Rc5 Qb6 33.Rec1 g5 34.Ne2 Ne5 35.Qc3 Nc4 36.Kh1 Nd7 37.Rxc8 Rxc8 38.Qd3 Nf6 39.Nc3 Qb2 40.Rc2 Qa1 41.Qd1 Qxd1 42.Nxd1 Re8 43.Kg2 Ne3+ 44.Nxe3 Rxe3 45.Kf2 Ra3 46.Bb5 h5 47.Ke2 Kg7 48.Rb2 h4 49.Kf2 hxg3+ 50.hxg3 g4 51.Be2 gxf3 52.Bxf3 a4 53.Rb5 Rxa2+ 54.Ke3 a3 55.Ra5 Ra1 56.Kd2 a2 57.Kc2 Rf1 58.Bd1 Ne4 59.g4 Nf2 60.Rxa2 Rxd1 0-1

Leko 2749 - Aronian 2744 [E10]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Bf4 b6 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Rc1 Nh5 11.Bxb8 Qxb8 12.Ne5 Nf6 13.e3 Rd8 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.f4 Qd6 16.Nb5 Qb4 17.Rc7 Ba6 18.a4 Bxb5 19.axb5 Bd6 20.Rxf7 Bxe5 21.fxe5 Kxf7 22.Qh5+ Kg8 23.exf6 gxf6 24.Qg4+ Kh8 25.Qxe6 Rf8 26.Qxd5 Rae8 27.Rf3 Qe1+ 28.Bf1 Rxe3 29.Qd6 Ree8 30.Rxf6 Kg7 31.Rxf8 Rxf8 32.Qe5+ Qxe5 33.dxe5 Re8 34.Bc4 Rxe5 35.Kf2 Kf6 36.b3 Re4 37.Bd3 Re7 38.Kf3 h6 39.Kg4 Re5 40.Bc4 Rc5 41.Kf4 Rf5+ 42.Ke4 Rf2 43.h4 Rd2 44.Ke3 Rd8 45.Ke4 Rd1 46.Bd5 1/2-1/2

Anand in sole lead at +2