Is it too premature to crown King Topalov? Summary of round 6

J. Polgar 0-1 Topalov

I am VERY impressed! I am VERY impressed! I am VERY impressed! Not only Topalov has guts and heart, he is also smart! He chose the perfect surprised opening choice against Judit. While everyone (and probably Judit too) expected severe fireworks, he pulled the Berlin out of the hat! Wow! What a shocker! He tested Judit’s patience and he fully succeeded. She gave in and played 20. g4 a little bit too prematurely and basically caused her downfall. The rest was history. He played great the rest of the way to score a full point! Wow! I am VERY impressed! Did I say that already? 🙂 I am sad for my sister. This was a game that could have turned her tournament around.

Anand ½-½ Svidler

Anand and Svidler engaged the sharp Marshall Attack. Anand decided to sacrifice material (Bishop and Pawn for a Rook) for good initiatives. It was a back and forth battle where neither side really had any big advantage. The game eventually ended in a draw. Now, both Anand and Svidler are 2 full points behind TTT (Topalov the Terminator).

Adams ½-½ Morozevich

The game started as a normal Sicilian Scheveningen. All of a sudden, fireworks occurred around move 15 – 16. 16…Bd5 was a cute move. That led to an imbalanced game with 2 Rooks against Queen middlegame / endgame. Even though Adams was the one with the 2 Rooks and Bishop pair, Morozevich played very well. At the end, it was Adams who had to be very careful not to lose. Unfortunately, with the way Topalov is playing, everything else is pale in comparison.

Kasimdzhanov ½-½ Leko

I don’t understand this game. Why does Leko insist on using the same opening that brought him basically nothing against Anand yesterday? Black virtually had very little and had to be careful not to lose. The game was interesting but no real excitement. Maybe I’m suffering from the Mr. Excitement Topalov syndrome.