Time to relax and wind down after 14 grueling rounds

Topalov 10
Anand 8.5
Svidler 8.5
Morozevich 7
————-
Leko 6.5
Kasimdzhanov 5.5
Adams 5.5
J. Polgar 4.5

Topalov 1/2 – 1/2 J. Polgar

As expected, it was time for an early celebration. It was the tales of 2 battlers. Two of the toughest chess fighters decided to end the game after 18 moves. It was time to end the World Championship marathon. For one player, it was a tournament of a lifetime. For the other, it was a tournament to forget.

Svidler 1/2 – 1/2 Anand

Again, as expected, there was not much to fight for. Svidler is happy with a tie for second place and a $160,000 pay day. With the Black pieces, Anand is happy to end a disappointing tournament. Therefore, the two decided to make peace after 19 moves.

While a tie for second would be great for many players, Anand had hope to do much better. The shocking loss to Kasimdzhanov and Morozevich sealed his fate.

I have to congratulate Svidler for a strong showing. He is a nice person and a wonderful player. He will now finally get the worldwide recognition and respect that he deserves.

Morozevich 1/2 – 1/2 Adams

You can’t fault either player for trying. With very little to fight for, the game went to move 54 when the final position was King and Bishop versus King.

It looked to me that Morozevich was going for the win in the early part of the game. The position somehow got away from him and Adams was going for the win in the later part of the game. If you take away the disastrous 0-2 against Svidler, Morozevich did very well. He scored 1.5 – .5 against Anand, Leko and Kasimdzhanov.

Adams shockingly did not win a single game. I think he has not recovered from a forgettable match against super computer Hydra. He’ll be back. He is too talented to such a dismal performance.

Leko 1 – 0 Kasimdzhanov

In my prediction yesterday, I gave an edge to Leko and I said that I hope he would play out the game today. He did and won convincingly. With the White pieces in a Paulsen Sicilian, Leko never relinquished his advantage. He thoroughly outplayed Kasimdzhanov from the beginning to the end. This is vintage Leko. Unfortunately, it came too little too late. But I have to give him credit to fight it out.

Leko ended up in clear 5th and Kasimdzhanov fell into a tie for 6th – 7th with Adams.