Report of round 13 - CCT 2006

Anand and Topalov Share First in A, Motylev and Carlsen in B, Atalik on top in C!

In an amazing photo finish, Vishy Anand managed to win today, and catch up with Topalov, share first place and take the trophy on tie breaks. White against Gelfand, the Indian GM punished a serious opening inaccuracy by his Israeli opponent. 15…Rb8? (15…0-0 was necessary). He brutally sacked an exchange (see diagram 1), leaving Boris’ King in the center, and pawns in ruins. On move 22 Anand had the pleasant choice between what he played and trading Queens and taking the e5 pawn, which would have left him well on top also. To Gelfand’s credit, he defended mightily, but in the long run was helpless against Vishy’s continuous improvement of the position. White’s passed pawns were simply too much to handle, and the Israeli put his weapons down on move 66.

Leko chose a very tame set-up against Topalov’s Najdorf. In the early middle game, Black already looked slightly better, eventually winning a pawn. White did well to force an endgame of major pieces with Bishops of opposite color, where Black’s extra passed pawn could not advance. Topalov tried to initiate the progress of the passed pawn, but then Peter activated his Rook and Bishop and Black had nothing better than to allow a repetition of moves.

Levon Aronian had a nice day in the office. His game against cellar dweller Sokolov was all preparation by his second, GM Sargissian. “At first I didn’t believe it, but this morning after a second look I was convinced” – Aronian. White’s brilliant pawn and exchange sacrifices (see diagram 2) on moves 18 and 20, gave him a protected pawn on the seventh rank – a real bone in Black’s throat. Deprived of counter play, Ivan had to watch as the Armenian cashed in. A marvelous showing of home cooking!

Adams was better against Mamedyarov, but on move 17 he should have tried 17. g4!? Bg6 18. Qe2 maintaining an edge. In the game he quickly realized that he wasn’t getting anywhere, and so his 21. Bd1 was played to hold the balance in the position. A few moves later the Azeri proposed a draw and the Brit agreed.

Once again Tiviakov’s Scandinavian rose to the occasion. Against Kamsky he took over the initiative quickly, and on move 13 had an interesting opportunity with 13…Qb4!? 14. Bb3 Qxg4!? 15. hxg4 Rxh1+ and Rxa1.In the game White gave a pawn, and then another to avoid a trade of Queens (Which would have happened had he played 20.Bxf4 Rh4!). He might have had some fighting chances, but his (see diagram 3) 28…Qf3? (28. Qc4! was the correct move) doomed him. Tivi never let go, winning handily.

In Ivanchuk – Karjakin, White enjoyed the pair of Bishops in an open position, and the veteran gave his young opponent a lesson in how to handle this advantage. He nagged the queenside until he managed to exchange his b pawn for the a pawn, giving his Bishops more scope and accentuating his edge. Black chose to pitch his b pawn, to relieve some of the pressure and reach and endgame with the pawns on one side of the board. This endgame of two Bishops versus a Bishop and Knight is tough to win, but even harder to hold. White patiently improved his position, creating a passed e pawn that eventually decided the issue. Fantastic technique by the Ukrainian!

The last game to finish was the marathon between Bacrot and Van Wely. The Dutchman first equalized after the opening, and then took over the initiative (perhaps 15. Ne5?! was wrong), due to White’s weak Bb2 and compromised pawn structure. After White’s committal 31. f6?! and the exchange of Queens, Loek’s advantage was growing. Had he played (see diagram 4) 38…Bg3! (instead of his 38…g5?!), not allowing the tactical shot 39. g3!, the Frenchman would have had a hard time holding the endgame. In the actual game, Black was still better but it seemed as if white had enough resources to remain afloat. After seven hours of play, fighting almost till the last pawn, the two tired combatants agreed to a draw.

Group B’s finish was also dramatic, when Almasi lost to Cheparinov, while both Motylev and Carlsen won, with Motylev taking first place on tie breaks.

GM Suat Atalik had 1.5 points more than his competitors to convincingly win group C.