Can hurricane Topalov sustain his power after the first break of the World Championship? 
Svidler – Topalov
What a match up! The second place player has the White pieces against the tournament leader. How much better can this get? Svidler has been very solid so far. Topalov has been on an incredibly hot streak. However, it would be hard for Topalov to defeat Svidler with the Black pieces. In addition, Topalov has to be careful not to lose and relinquish his lead. But Topalov is Topalov so expect everything.
I expect this battle to end up in a hard fought draw.
J. Polgar – Morozevich
Judit has not played her best chess so far. With the exception of round 3, her opening choices have not worked out very well. Here is her chance to get back on track. Morozevich has played badly in the last two games. But he had an off day to recuperate and he hopes to score his first victory of the tournament.
I give Judit a small edge in this game but expect a wild and crazy game.
Anand – Leko
One would have expected this game to decide the top spot of the tournament. Unfortunately, Anand lost badly against Kasimdzhanov in the last round and now in third place. Even with the win last round, Leko is still at minus one.
I expect that Leko would be able to hold Anand to a draw with the Black pieces.
Adams – Kasimdzhanov
Adams has been playing poorly so far. Kasimdzhanov is unexpectedly in fourth place. However, I have a feeling that it is Adams’ time to start turning things around. Kasim obviously wants to consolidate his fourth place position and neutralize Adams with the Black pieces.
I give a very small edge to Adams this round.
I think he will. He seems like the most solid player of the group. Svidler and Anand are on his heels, though. The games are fun to watch!
This will be an exciting round for sure!
Blas
Miami, Florida
Am looking forward to Anand and Judith bounce back from their defeats. With White they have to press for victories and I hope they will 🙂
Did anyone get the $40 live video feed on the web for the matches?? How is it? Is it better than the Leko/Kramnik was?
I’m debating about it because it might be good for my daughter to see one of her heroes live. And I’m already spending too much time watching the pieces move on my screen.
But I’m already paying for the radio broadcasts on Playchess and ICC, so it would have to be excellent coverage to buy another.
The players are certainly doing theri best to make the coverage sintilting!!
Thank you
Thanks for the blog, thanks for the news and thank Judit for her fantastic games! Hajrá! 🙂
Michael,
I do not know. I just follow the games on the Internet like everyone else 🙂
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
http://www.PolgarChess.com
Look like Topy is well set to capture the WC title. Unless he manages to lose a couple in the remaining rounds, and throw open the tournament.
Anand has to go gung-ho for wins in his remaining games, if he is to have any chance at all. But… we have to wait and see if he is inclinded to attempt that. Today, he didn’t, if the reports that he opted out of a certain win (by not playing b7) are to be believed.
Ok, it seems like Anand DID miss a clear winning line today, against Leko:
30. b7! Nxf2 31. Qb6 Qxb6 32. Rxb6 Ne4 33. b8=Q ++- (Courtesy: The chessdrum)
Probably 31 Qb6 is what he really missed in his analysis during the game. Anand did spend nearly 20 minutes on move 30, though 🙁