Here are the standings after 7 rounds at Tal Memorial in Moscow:
1-3. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2703, Leko, Peter g HUN 2741, Aronian, Levon g ARM 2741 4.5
4. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 4.0
5-6. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2728, Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2710 3.5
7. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2750 3.0
8-10. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2720, Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2747, Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2698 2.5
Here are the matchups for round 8:
Leko – Mamedyarov
Svidler – Morozevich
Shirov – Gelfand
Aronian – Grischuk
Carlsen – Ponomariov
Will Ponomariov, Leko and Aronian continue to lead after next round? Can Gelfand catch up? Which player has the most disappointing tournament so far?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
I would have to say that shirov has the worst performance so far. With his experience (and self-belief) he would have expected himself to do so. Maybe he has been passed in russian circles by the younger generation. Some might say carlsen is doing badly, but then i think the expectation on him is becoming dangerously high. This i believe is his first tournament at this level (not including rapidplay) and he is holding his own. I would however like to see him win a game!
Moro has been a disappointment. I would have expected a better result. Carlsen has done well, given that this is first real exposure at this level. Pono’s been a bit of a chess hermit for some time now, so his performance is a pleasant surprise.
Shirov and Moro have both been a disappointment. Carlsen has done OK, and he’ll take this experience, learn from it, and grow!
Top of table: Based on fairly recent form, Aronian has the best chance to win, followed closely by Ponomariov. Leko, having achieved +2, will probably try to draw his remaining games. 🙂
Bottom of table: I consider Moro’s performance most disappointing, though his track record in “supertournaments” isn’t great. I expected Carlsen to struggle a bit. Shirov: I don’t follow his results in the Bundesliga and elsewhere, so can’t be sure about his overall form, but his recent performances in major tournaments have been unimpressive, and I expected him to be at/near the bottom. His “fire on board” style seems to be a thing of the distant past, and he now appears (IMO) to specialize in opening preparation for topical systems (including the most boring ones like the Petroff), and in endgames.
Is Memedyarov playing at this tournament? Seriously, seven more or less boring draws is not that much. Morozevich, Grischuk even Shirov showed more.
Maybe it is just that he is too impressed with the other players.
On the other hand, Leko is not a winning machine, but you better don’t make mistakes against him.
i’d have to say shirov has been the biggest disappointment since moro never really does well in these super trnmts – carlsen is doing as i expcted since i predicted he would score 3.5 – he’s on track to do just that- i think in general this trnmt has been a disappointment- they needed to have some different players in here- i would get rid of gelfand, leko, shirov and replace them with nakamura, radjabov, and polgar
Aronian-Grischuk ended in a rousing 16 move draw (yawn) in the Queen’s Indian. Shirov and Gelfand managed to squeak out 24 moves before shaking hands. Leko and Mamedyarov look very drawish after 39 moves.
Seirawan is commenting on playchess, and the players aren’t exactly making it easy for him.
First, he argumented that Mamedyarov was in grave trouble due to his misplaced knight on c8, and that white’s chances were excellent. Next thing he knew, Leko exchanged queens to enter a quickly drawn endgame.
Then, in Carlsen-Pono, he was barely done explaining that Pono’s bishop was doing nothing, before Carlsen gave Pono a chance to trade it against a more active knight. That game’s still on, but Seirawan must be close to ripping his hair out 🙂
I think that Morozevich’s performance is the biggest disappointment. He seems unable to recover from a bad start. I’d hate to think about what this would do to his rating…