Round 1 (May 12, 2005)
Kramnik, Vladimir - Ponomariov, Ruslan 1-0 60 B17 Caro Kann
Adams, Michael - Polgar, Judit 1/2 74 B47 Sicilian Paulsen
Anand, Viswanathan - Topalov, Veselin 1/2 60 B80 Sicilian Scheveningen
Mtel Masters Sofia BUL (BUL), 12-22 v 2005 cat. XX (2747)
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1 2 3 4 5 6
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1 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2753 ** .. .. .. .. 1. 1.0
2 Adams, Michael g ENG 2737 .. ** .. =. .. .. 0.5 2732
3 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2785 .. .. ** .. =. .. 0.5 2778
4 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2732 .. =. .. ** .. .. 0.5 2737
5 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2778 .. .. =. .. ** .. 0.5 2785
6 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2695 0. .. .. .. .. ** 0.0
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Anand and Topalov drew an interesting round 1 encounter. Photo © http://www.mtelmasters.com
Round 1 12th May 2005
The first round of the Mtel Masters saw three hard fought games, two lasted 60 moves and one 74. Clearly the rules restricting the circumstances that draws can be agree extended the games.
The game of the day was Viswanathan Anand against Vesselin Topalov. They resumed a theoretical dispute they had at Linares. Anand won that game and both players had clearly come prepared. Topalov innovated first with 16. ...f6 departing from a game played by his second and upcoming talent Ivan Cheparinov. Anand replied by sacrificing his Queen. The resulting play was extremely hard to assess but probably favoured black sightly. I think there is plenty of food for further play and study here and in fact I would be interested to know where the players left their preparation. Topalov made sure he didn't get squashed and gradually it became apparent the game was in dynamic balance. The game ended in perpetual.
The only winner of the day was Vladimir Kramnik. He got a very comfortable game with white against Ruslan Ponomariov and won a pawn. Kramnik is a great technician and its not a position you want against him, nevertheless Ponomariov never seemed to find a real defensive plan and was soon losing.
Michael Adams and Judit Polgar was a balanced struggle which would probably have ended just after first time control in any other event. Adams made a winning attempt but the drawish nature bishops of opposite colour ending could not be overcome.
Anand,V (2785) - Topalov,V (2778) [B80]
MTel Masters Sofia, Bulgaria (1), 12.05.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 b5 8.g4 h6 9.Qd2 b4 10.Na4 Nbd7 11.0-0-0 Ne5 12.b3 [12.Qxb4 Bd7 13.Nb3 Rb8 14.Qa3 Nxf3 15.h3 Nxe4 16.Be2 Ne5 17.Rhe1 Qc7 18.Bd4 Nc6 19.Bc3 d5 20.Nbc5 Qa7 0-1 Kramnik,V-Topalov,V/Wijk aan Zee NED 2005/The Week in Chess 532] 12...Bd7 [12...d5 13.Bf4 Bd6 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.Nc6 Qc7 16.Nxe5 Qxe5 17.Qxb4 dxe4 18.Nb6 Rb8 19.Kb1 Qc7 20.Qa4+ Kf8 21.Nxc8 Rxc8 22.Qc4 Qxc4 23.Bxc4 a5 24.Ba6 Rb8 25.fxe4 h5 26.gxh5 Nxe4 27.Rd4 Nf6 28.Be2 Nxh5 29.Rh4 g6 30.Rg1 Ke7 31.Ra4 Ra8 32.Bf3 Ra7 33.Rg5 f5 34.Rxg6 Kf7 35.Rg2 Nf6 36.Re2 Rh3 37.Bh1 Ng4 38.Kb2 Kf6 39.Bg2 Rxh2 40.Bf3 Rxe2 41.Bxe2 Ne3 42.c4 e5 43.c5 e4 44.b4 Rc7 45.bxa5 Rxc5 46.a6 Nd5 47.a7 Nc7 48.a8Q Nxa8 49.Rxa8 f4 50.Rf8+ Ke5 51.Bg4 f3 52.Rf5+ Kd4 53.Rxc5 Kxc5 54.Kc3 Kb5 55.Kd2 f2 56.Be2+ Kb4 57.Kc2 Ka3 58.Kb1 e3 59.Ka1 1-0 Anand,V-Topalov,V/Linares ESP 2005/The Week in Chess 538] 13.Nb2 d5 14.Bf4 Nxf3 15.Nxf3 Nxe4 16.Qd4 f6N Cheparinov has worked as Topalov's second for a year. This improves on one of his games. [16...Qa5 17.Bd3 Nc3 18.Rde1 Qxa2 19.Nd1 Qa1+ 20.Kd2 Nb1+ 21.Kc1 Nc3+ 22.Kd2 Nb1+ 23.Kc1 Nc3+ 24.Kd2 Nb1+ 1/2-1/2 Rodriguez Guerrero,E-Cheparinov,I/Dos Hermanas ESP 2005/ The Week in Chess 544] 17.Bd3
Anand sacrifices his Queen. Its inconceivable that this move wasn't prepared. The only question for me is how deep did his preparation go and for that matter the same is true for Topalov. 17...Bc5 18.Bxe4 Bxd4 19.Bg6+ Kf8 20.Rxd4 a5 21.Re1 Be8 22.Nh4 The players slowed down considerably by this point. 22...e5 After some thought. e5 was bad for black over the last few moves now it is the most critical move. 23.Rd2 a4 24.bxa4 Kg8 25.Bg3 d4 [25...Bf7 Looks better.] 26.Rd3 [26.Bxe8 Qxe8 27.Rxd4 exd4 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8] 26...h5 27.Bxe8 Qxe8 28.g5 [28.Rxd4] 28...Rc8 29.g6 Rh6 30.Rxd4 Rxg6 31.Nxg6 Qxg6 32.Rd2 Rc3 33.Red1 Kh7 34.Kb1 Qf5 35.Be1 Ra3 36.Rd6 Rh3 37.a5 Rxh2 38.Rc1 Qe4 39.a6 Qa8 40.Bxb4 h4 41.Bc5 h3 42.Nd3 Rd2 43.Rb6 h2 44.Nf2 Qd5 [44...Rxf2 45.Bxf2 h1Q 46.Rxh1+ Qxh1+ 47.Kb2 Qa8 is an alternative.] 45.Be3 Re2 46.Rb3 f5 47.a7 Rxe3 48.Rxe3 Qb7+ 49.Rb3 Qxa7 50.Nh1 f4 51.c4 e4 [51...g5 52.c5 Kg6 (52...g4 is just too slow.) 53.c6 Qc7 54.Rb7] 52.c5 e3 53.c6 e2 54.c7 Qxc7 55.Rxc7 e1Q+ 56.Rc1 Qe4+ 57.Ka1 Qd4+ 58.Kb1 Qe4+ 59.Ka1 Qd4+ 60.Kb1 Qe4+ The players repeat thus avoiding having to offer a draw. 1/2-1/2
Adams,Mi (2737) - Polgar,Ju (2732) [B47]
MTel Masters Sofia, Bulgaria (1), 12.05.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Qd3 Ng4 11.Qe2 Ne5 12.Kh1 d6 13.f4 Nc6 14.Be3 b6 [14...Bxe3 15.Qxe3 0-0 (15...b5 16.e5 d5 17.Qc5 Bd7 18.a4 b4 19.Nb5 axb5 20.axb5 Ra5 21.c4 bxc3 22.bxc3 Kd8 23.c4 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 Nb8 25.Qxc7+ Kxc7 26.cxd5 Kb6 27.g4 Rc8 28.h3 g6 29.dxe6 fxe6 30.Rd1 Kxb5 31.Rd6 Rf8 32.f5 gxf5 33.Kh2 Kc5 34.Kg3 f4+ 35.Kf2 f3 36.Bf1 Rf7 37.Bd3 Nc6 38.Bf5 Nxe5 39.Bxe6 0-1 Baklan,V-Bagaturov,G/Enakievo 1997/EXT 2000) 16.a4 Bd7 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.Qd2 Be8 19.Rf3 Nb4 20.f5 Qe7 21.f6 Qf8 22.Ne2 Nc6 23.Rb3 Rab8 24.fxg7 Qxg7 25.Rb6 Qe5 26.Nf4 Ne7 27.b3 Bc6 28.Rb4 b5 29.axb5 Rxb5 30.c4 1/2-1/2 Baklan,V-Ruzele,D/Berlin 1997/CBM 59 ext] 15.f5 Ne5 16.Rad1 Bb7 17.Bg5 0-0 18.f6 g6 19.Na4 b5 20.Nxc5 Qxc5 21.b3 Rac8 22.Bh6 Rfe8 23.Rd2 d5 24.Be3 Qb4 25.Bf4 Nd7 26.e5 Nc5 27.h4 Ne4 28.Bxe4 dxe4 29.Kh2 Red8 30.Rfd1 Rd5 31.Be3 Rxd2 32.Qxd2 Qxd2+ 33.Rxd2 Bd5 34.Bd4 h5 35.Kg1 Kh7 36.c3 g5 37.hxg5 Kg6 38.Kf2 Kxg5 39.Ke3 Kg4 40.Rh2 Rh8 41.Kf2 h4 42.Rxh4+ Rxh4 43.gxh4 Kxh4 The game would almost certainly have been agreed drawn here in a normal tournament but the players have to continue. 44.Ke3 a5 45.Kf4 a4 46.bxa4 bxa4 47.a3 Bb7 48.Be3 Bd5 49.Bd2 Bb7 50.Be1+ Kh5 51.Bf2 Kg6 52.Bc5 Bd5 53.Be3 Bb7 54.Bd2 Bd5 55.Ke3 Adams decides to make his move. 55...Kf5 56.Kd4 Bb7 57.c4 Ba6 58.Bc3 Kf4 59.Kc5 e3 60.Kd6 Bxc4!
There is a nice forcing line which makes the draw clear from here. One of the key points is that white's bishop doesn't cover the queening square of the a-pawn. Polgar even finds another reason the game is drawn, she will win the a-pawn. 61.Ke7 Kf5 62.Kxf7 Be2! 63.Ke7 Bh5 64.f7 Bxf7 65.Kxf7 e2 66.Ke7 e1Q 67.Bxe1 Kxe5 68.Kd7 Kd5 69.Kc7 e5 70.Kb6 Kc4 71.Ka6 Kb3 72.Bb4 e4 73.Bc5 Shortening the game which is now clearly drawn. 73...e3 74.Bxe3 Kxa3 1/2-1/2
Kramnik,V (2753) - Ponomariov,R (2695) [B17]
MTel Masters Sofia, Bulgaria (1), 12.05.2005
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 Ngf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 Bd6 8.Qe2 h6 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 c5 11.0-0 Nf6 12.Qh4 cxd4 13.Re1 Bd7 14.Nxd4 Qa5 15.Be3 g5 [15...Rd8 16.Nf5 Bf8 17.Bd4 Bc6 18.Qg3 Kd7 19.Nxg7 Be7 20.Qh3 Qd5 21.Rad1 Kc7 22.Bf1 Rhg8 23.Bxf6 Qxd1 24.Rxd1 Rxd1 25.Qg3+ 1-0 Dominguez,L-Rasmussen,A/Copenhagen DEN 2002/The Week in Chess 403; 15...Kf8 16.Bf4 Bxf4 17.Qxf4 Rc8 18.Nf3 Ke7 19.Qg3 Qb4 20.Ne5 g5 21.c4 Rhd8 22.Qh3 h5 23.Qe3 g4 24.a3 Qxb2 25.Rab1 Qxa3 26.Nxf7 Qc5 27.Nxd8 Qxe3 28.Rxe3 Kxd8 29.Rxb7 a5 30.Ra7 Rc5 31.f4 gxf3 32.Rxf3 Ne8 33.Rf7 Nc7 34.Rh7 Be8 35.Kf2 Kc8 36.Rh8 Kd7 37.Ke3 e5 38.Be2 Bg6 39.Bxh5 Bf5 40.Be2 Be6 41.h4 Kd6 42.Rh6 Ke7 43.h5 1-0 Lautier,J-Karpov,A/Biel SUI 1997] 16.Qh3 0-0-0 17.Qf3 Be5 18.a4 Nd5 19.Nb5 a6 20.c3 Black is in danger of getting pushed off the board so he has to trade some pieces off. 20...Nxe3 21.Qxe3 Bc7 [21...axb5 22.axb5 is obviously losing for black.] 22.b4 Qb6 23.Qxb6 Bxb6 24.Nd6+ Kb8 25.Nxf7 Rhf8 26.Nxd8 Bxf2+ 27.Kh1 Bxe1 28.Nxe6 Bxe6 29.Rxe1 Bb3 30.a5 Rc8 31.Rc1 Black is a pawn down but should have reasonable drawing chances. 31...Bc4 32.Be4 Re8 33.Bf3 Kc7 34.Kg1
34...Re3?! Seems to lose a large amount of time. [34...b6 Trying to trade a pawn was perhaps better.] 35.Kf2 Rd3 36.Be4 Rd6 37.Ke3 Bb5 38.Rc2 Bc6? Trading material here seems to make things easier for white. 39.Bxc6 Rxc6 40.Kd4 White's King was stuck in the corner on move 33 but now is dominating the board, black is in serious trouble now. 40...Rf6 41.Ke5 Rf1 42.h3 Kc6 43.Rd2 Re1+ 44.Kf5 Rc1 45.Rd3 Kb5 46.Rd7 Rxc3 47.Rxb7+ Ka4 48.Kg6 Rg3 49.b5 axb5 50.a6 Re3 51.Kxh6 Re6+ 52.Kxg5 Rxa6 There is no hope for black here. 53.h4 Ra8 54.g4 Rg8+ 55.Kf4 Rf8+ 56.Kg3 Ka5 57.h5 Ka6 58.Re7 b4 59.h6 b3 60.Re3 1-0