Morelia / Linares 2008. Round 7. Comments by Mark Crowther

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Morelia / Linares 2008.

Anand leads at the half way stage. Topalov and Shirov half a point behind.

by Mark Crowther

Round 7 (February 23, 2008)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	½-½	31	B47	Sicilian Paulsen
Shirov, Alexei	- Radjabov, Teimour	1-0	44	E98	King's Indian Classical
Carlsen, Magnus	- Aronian, Levon	1-0	40	C88	Ruy Lopez Closed
Lékó, Peter	- Topalov, Veselin	0-1	38	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation

XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares (MEX/ESP), 15 ii-7 iii 2008																	cat. XXI (2756)
					1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8
1.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2799	*	*	1	.	½	.	0	.	1	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	4½	2851
2.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2755	0	.	*	*	1	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	½	.	4	2805
3.	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2780	½	.	0	.	*	*	1	.	0	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	4	2802
4.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2739	1	.	½	.	0	.	*	*	0	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	3½	2758
5.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2733	0	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	*	*	0	.	½	.	½	.	3½	2758
6.	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	2735	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	*	*	½	.	0	.	3	2708
7.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2751	½	.	½	.	0	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	1	.	3	2706
8.	Lékó, Peter	g	HUN	2753	0	.	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	0	.	*	*	2½	2654

Viswanathan Anand takes a half point lead to the Spanish half of the event. In round 7 he played a steady game against Vassily Ivanchuk's Ruy Lopez but never really got anything special and allowed a trade of pieces and a draw after 31 moves.

Anand,V (2799) - Ivanchuk,V (2751) [B47]
XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP (7), 23.02.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Be3 Be7 9.f4 d6 10.a4 0-0 11.Kh1 Re8 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Qd2 Bd7 14.Nb3 b6 15.g4 Bc8 16.g5 Nd7 17.Qf2 Bb7 18.Bg2N [18.Qg3 Bf8 19.Bg2 Nb4 20.Rf2 Rbd8 21.h4 d5 22.h5 Nc5 23.Nd4 Nxe4 24.Nxe4 dxe4 25.g6 Bc5 26.gxh7+ Kxh7 27.c3 Nd3 28.Re2 Rh8 29.Bh3 Bd5 30.Rg1 f5 31.Reg2 Kg8 32.Qg6 Qf7 33.Qxg7+ Qxg7 34.Rxg7+ Kf8 35.R1g6 Bd6 36.h6 Bxf4 37.Rf6+ Ke8 38.Rff7 Bd6 39.Bg5 Rc8 40.h7 e5 41.Ra7 e3+ 42.Bg2 e2 43.Nxe2 e4 44.Rad7 Bb8 45.Rge7+ Kf8 46.Bh6# 1-0 Videkovic,M (2019)-Poljak,S (2045)/Pula CRO 1999; 18.Rad1 Ba8 19.Bh5 g6 20.Bf3 Bf8 21.Bg2 Nc5 22.Nd4 Nxd4 23.Bxd4 Bc6 24.b3 Nd7 25.Rd3 e5 26.fxe5 Nxe5 27.Rh3 Rb7 28.Qh4 h5 29.gxh6 Kh7 30.b4 b5 31.axb5 axb5 32.Rf2 Be7 33.Qf4 Rf8 34.Nd5 Bxd5 35.exd5 f5 36.Bf1 Bf6 37.Rg2 Qf7 38.Qg3 Rc8 39.c3 Ra8 40.Re2 Ra1 41.Qg2 Ng4 42.Bg1 Re7 43.Rxe7 Qxe7 44.Rf3 Qe1 45.Bxb5 Ne3 46.Qg3 Nxd5 47.Qxe1 Rxe1 48.Kg2 Bxc3 49.Bc4 Rxg1+ 50.Kxg1 Bd4+ 51.Kf1 Nxb4 52.Rh3 Be5 53.Bf7 Nc6 54.Ke2 Nd4+ 55.Kf2 g5 56.Rh5 g4 1/2-1/2 Roth,G-Gueroff,E/Germany 1991] 18...Na5 19.Rad1 Nxb3 20.cxb3 Bc6 21.b4 b5 22.a5 Rbc8 23.f5 Ne5 24.Qg3 Bf8 25.Bd4 exf5 26.exf5

Anand-Ivanchuk diagram

Allowing the exchange of pieces which leads to a draw. 26...Qb7 27.Bxc6 Qxc6+ 28.Qg2 Qxg2+ 29.Kxg2 Nc6 30.Nd5 Ne7 31.Bc3 1/2-1/2

Peter Leko played a fine game with black with little time against Levon Aronian in round 6 but the stress seemed to affect him in round 7 because from a level position he collapsed extremely rapidly against Veselin Topalov. Topalov has been a long way short of his best but even so he's just half a point off the lead and he is well known for his better second halves to tournaments.

Leko,P (2753) - Topalov,V (2780) [B90]
XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP (7), 23.02.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 b5 8.Qd2 b4 9.Na4 Nbd7 10.c4 bxc3 11.Nxc3 Bb7 12.Be2 Be7 13.0-0 0-0 14.Rac1 Qb8 15.Rfd1 Rd8 16.Kh1 [16.Bf2 g6 17.Qc2 Rc8 18.Qa4 d5 19.exd5 Nb6 20.Qa5 Nbxd5 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.Rxc8+ Qxc8 23.a3 e5 24.Nb3 Qc2 25.Rxd5 Bxd5 26.Qxd5 Rd8 27.Qxe5 Bf8 28.Bd4 Rxd4 29.Nxd4 Qxb2 30.g3 h6 31.Kg2 Kh7 32.Qe8 Bg7 33.Nc6 h5 34.a4 Qa2 35.Qe4 h4 36.Qxh4+ 1-0 Brkic,A (2558)-Rezan,S (2390)/Split CRO 2008/The Week in Chess 690] 16...d5 17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bc4 Nf6 20.Qe2 Qb7 21.b3 h6 22.Bf2 Rd7 23.Rc2 Bxc4 24.Rxc4 Rad8 25.Rf1 Rd6 26.Qc2 Bf8 27.Nc6 Re8 28.b4 e5 29.Na5 Qb5 30.Bc5 Rd5 31.Bxf8 Rxf8 32.Re1 Rfd8 White is absolutely fine here but now Leko falls to pieces. 33.Nb3 Giving some ground and preparing a catastrophe. [33.a4 Qb6 34.Qe2] 33...Rd1

Leko-Topalov diagram

34.Qxd1? [34.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 35.Qxd1 Qxc4 36.Qc1 Qxb4 37.Qc8+ Kh7 38.Qf5+ g6 39.Qxe5 is probably fine.] 34...Rxd1 35.Rc8+ Kh7 36.Rxd1 e4 37.fxe4?? [37.Rc3 Qxb4 38.Re3 Qc4 39.Rc1] 37...Ng4 38.Rc5 Qb8 and white has to resign. Leko was down to a few minutes but not stupidly short of time but blundered his entire position away. 0-1

Magnus Carlsen recovered from a loss the day before to beat Levon Aronian in round 7. It was all rather odd, Aronian seemed to be doing fine and then suddenly he wasn't. Its a bit hard to say where the decisive moment of the game is.

Carlsen,M (2733) - Aronian,L (2739) [C88]
XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP (7), 23.02.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a3 Bc5 9.c3 d6 10.d4 Bb6 11.h3 Re8 [11...h6 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Nbd2 Re8 14.Bc2 Nb8 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Bxb6 cxb6 17.a4 bxa4 18.Bxa4 b5 19.Bb3 Nbd7 20.Qe2 Nc5 21.Bc2 Qc7 22.Qe3 a5 23.Nh4 Rad8 24.Nf5 Bc8 25.Nf3 Bxf5 26.exf5 b4 27.cxb4 axb4 28.Rad1 e4 29.Nd4 Rd7 30.Nb5 Qe5 31.f4 Qe7 32.Rxd7 Qxd7 33.Qxc5 Rc8 34.Qf2 Qxb5 35.Bxe4 b3 36.Bf3 Qxf5 37.Qd4 h5 38.Re5 Qb1+ 39.Kh2 h4 40.Be2 Qe1 41.Re3 Re8 42.Rxe8+ Nxe8 43.Bc4 Qg3+ 44.Kg1 Qe1+ 45.Kh2 Qg3+ 46.Kg1 Qe1+ 1/2-1/2 Svidler,P (2765)-Leko,P (2740)/Monte Carlo MNC 2006/The Week in Chess 594; 11...Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.d5 Ne7 14.a4 Ng6 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Rxe3 c6 17.dxc6 Bxc6 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rxa8 Qxa8 20.Nbd2 Nf4 21.Bb3 Re7 22.Kh2 h6 23.Nh4 g6 24.g3 Ne6 25.Rd3 Qa7 26.Qf3 Ne8 27.Qe2 Kg7 28.Bd5 Bd7 29.b4 Ng5 30.g4 Nf6 31.Ng2 h5 32.gxh5 Nxh5 33.Qe3 Qxe3 34.Rxe3 Re8 35.h4 Ne6 36.Bxe6 Bxe6 37.Rd3 Rc8 38.Nb1 Rc6 39.Na3 Ra6 40.Nb1 Bc4 41.Rd2 Ra1 42.Rb2 Bd3 43.Nd2 Rc1 44.f3 Rxc3 45.Rb3 Rxb3 46.Nxb3 f5 47.exf5 gxf5 48.Kg1 Nf6 49.Na5 Kf7 50.Ne1 Bc4 51.Nxc4 bxc4 52.b5 Ke6 53.Nc2 d5 54.f4 d4 55.fxe5 d3 56.Nd4+ Kxe5 57.Nf3+ Kd5 58.Kf2 c3 59.Ke3 c2 60.Kd2 Ne4+ 61.Kc1 Nc3 0-1 Tseitlin,M (2435)-Yurtaev,L (2525)/Hartberg 1991] 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 exd4 14.cxd4 g5 15.Bg3 g4 16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.Bh4 Nxd4 The tactics start. 18.Nc3 Bxf3 [18...c6] 19.gxf3 Kh8?! [19...Nxb3 20.Qxb3 c6 21.e5 dxe5 22.Ne4 Re6 23.Rad1 Bd4 24.f4 exf4 25.Qf3 Kg7] 20.Nd5

Carlsen-Aronian diagram

The tactics start but long term black is losing a piece for three pawns and it doesn't prove enough. 20...Rg8+ 21.Kf1 Ng4 22.Qxd4+ Bxd4 23.Bxd8 Nh2+ 24.Ke2 Raxd8 [24...Nxf3] 25.Rad1 Bxb2 26.Rh1 c6 27.Nf4 Be5 [27...Nxf3 28.Kxf3 Kg7] 28.Nd3 Nxf3 29.Kxf3 Bg7 30.Rh5 d5 31.exd5 Rd6 32.Rf5 cxd5 33.Rc1 Rf6 Now its an easy win. 34.Rxf6 Bxf6 35.Rc6 Kg7 36.Nf4 Bg5 37.Nh5+ Kh8 38.Rxa6 d4 39.Ke4 Rg6 40.Ra7 1-0

Alexei Shirov moved into joint second just half a point off the lead with a very impressive positional performance against Teimour Radjabov's Kings Indian. Radjabov has had a lot of success with the Kings Indian which is a rare visitor these days at the elite level and perhaps this is the secret. Shirov nulified black's play and then once he slowly pushed his pawns on the kingside he seemed to be just winning. Quite impressive.

Shirov,A (2755) - Radjabov,T (2735) [E98]
XXV SuperGM Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP (7), 23.02.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Nd3 h5 14.c5 Nf6 15.Rc1 g4 16.Nb5 Ne8N Radjabov has done well with the King's Indian recently but I'm not aware that the verdict that the opening is better for white has changed. [16...a6 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Nc7 g3 19.Nxa8 gxf2+ 20.Rxf2 Ne8 21.Qb3 b5 22.Qc3 Bf6 23.Nc7 Bh4 24.Nxe8 Bxf2+ 25.Nxf2 Qxe8 26.Qc7 Rf6 27.Qb8 Kf7 28.Rc7 Rg6 29.Bf1 h4 30.h3 Qg8 31.Ra7 Qe8 32.Qc7 Qf8 33.a3 Qe8 34.b3 Qf8 35.a4 bxa4 36.bxa4 1-0 Neverov,V (2566)-Bjornsson,S (2302)/Pardubice CZE 2003/The Week in Chess 455; 16...g3 17.hxg3 fxg3 18.Bxg3 Ng6 19.cxd6 cxd6 20.Nc7 Rb8 21.Bf2 b6 22.Qd2 h4 23.Qg5 Kh7 24.Be3 Rh8 25.Nb4 Rb7 26.Ne6 Qe8 27.Ba6 Bxe6 28.Bxb7 Bd7 29.Rc7 Kg8 30.Rfc1 Qf7 31.Nc6 Rh5 32.Qxg6 1-0 Pham Minh Hoang (2421)-Toth,A (2297)/Budapest 1999] 17.fxg4 a6 18.Nc3 hxg4 19.Bxg4 Nf6 20.Bxc8 Rxc8 21.g3 Qe8 22.Kh1 Qg6 23.Qe2 f3 24.Qxf3 Nfxd5 25.Nxd5 Nxd5 26.Qe2 Nf6 27.Rce1 White is playing carefully and positionally. 27...Qf7 28.g4

Shirov-Radjabov diagram

Now he's set Shirov goes for the attack. 28...Qg6 29.h3 Rf7 30.Kg2 Nd7 31.Bg1 Qe6 32.b3 Rxf1 33.Rxf1 d5 34.g5 a5 35.h4 Qc6 36.Re1 Rf8 37.exd5 Qxd5+ 38.Qe4 c6 39.Bh2 Qe6 40.Bg3 Rf5 First time control and white is in complete charge. 41.a3 Rf7? Black is lost but things fall apart quickly now. [41...Qd5] 42.b4 Qa2+ 43.Re2 Qxa3 Black is in desperate stakes, he hopes for 44.Qc4 b5 with complications. Instead he gets the killing: 44.g6! The rook will have to move and then Qc4+ and Ra2 nets the queen. 1-0

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