Facing a must win situation, Topalov, with the Black pieces, sacrificed a pawn for initiative and scored a big win against Anand in a very complicated endgame to get back to even score.
Svidler, fresh off his brilliant win against Topalov, fought hard to hold an inferior endgame against Ponomariov, who lost to Kamsky yesterday. But he did not succeed. Ponomariov is now in a tie with Bacrot for last place.
Kamsky, the current leader, was pushing very hard to win with the Black pieces in a slightly better position against Bacrot. At the end, Bacrot held on for a draw. Even with a draw, Gata increased his lead to a full point with 3 games to go.
After 7 rounds, the standings are:
1 5.0 GM Kamsky (USA, 2671)
2 4.0 GM Anand (India, 2803)
3-4 3.5 GM Svidler (Russia, 2743), GM Topalov (Bulgaria, 2804)
5-6 2.5 GM Bacrot (France, 2708), GM Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2738)
– Can Anand or Topalov catch Kamsky?
– Can Anand pass Topalov in ranking after this tournament?
– Can Kamsky get back to the top 5 – 10 in the world?
– What board should Kamsky play in the 2006 Olympiad for the US?
Gata sure will get a load of rating points from this tourney.
Kamsky has a tough lineup ahead!
Best of luck all the same!!
Gata will be in Top Ten GM’s of world again. I do not think Topalov will catch up, Anand has best chance but with 3 rounds to go it will be tough. Tomorrow’s game with Kamsky will be Anand’s best chance. Gata should be placed where he will be best for team. He definately can handle board 1.
Great win by Topalov today against a great opponent.
I think that Kamsky will win the tournament in style and will gather at least 30 ELO points, which will return him again to 2700+. Anand probably will pass Topalov, and Kamsky will get very soon back to the world’s top 10.
He must be the first board because he’s still much stronger and has much more experience then Nakamura, even after 10 years of retirement.
P.S.
When does the Olympiad starts?
Kamsky board 1. Onischuk board 2. Nakamura board 3. Ibragimov board 4. Kaidanov sub 1. Akobian sub 2.
I don’t think Donaldson has the courage to make this line up because Nakamura will whine like a spoil brat.
RJ
“What board should Kamsky play in the 2006 Olympiad for the US?”
None. He should be captain of the womens’ team.
Mtel Site
http://www.mtelmasters06.com/
I think Anand just tried to do something different for a win, and did not have a real homework. Hope he returns the favor tomorrow against Gata and there on it will be an interesting battle. But if tomorrow Anand losed or even if its a draw, the tournament is kind of over. No one will be able to catch Gata. i hope Vishy wins and we see great chess ahead.
Kamsky: Anand, Svidler, Topalov
Anand: Kamsky, Svidler, Ponomariov
Topalov: Kamsky, Ponomariov, Bacrot
Looks like Topalov has the easiest schedule. Kamsky has the white pieces for all his remaining games! Anand has white against Svidler and black against Ponomariov. Topalov has white against Bacrot and Ponomariov!
Kamsky has a 1 point lead over Anand and a 1.5 lead over Topalov, but has to play both head to head (how appropriate of an expression for chess).
I think Kamsky should play board 2 for the US. Onischuk is the US champion (Kamsky did participate in the US championship but did not beat Shulman and Onischuk beat Shulman!) therefore it would be stupid for him not to play board 1!!!
once kamsky reaches 2700+ he too will get a sponsor and challenge Toppy for world champion title as everybody is doing…!!!!
hahahahahh!!!!!
Kamsky has black against Svidler.
Kamsky,G (2671) – Ponomariov,R (2738)
GM Marin says at the Chessbase website: Black cannot hold his e5-pawn here, because White is much better developed and the threat of winning a pawn is quite real.
Am I really such a weak player? I count the developed pieces on the diagram, and it’s black who is better developed?! So why isn’t black better then?
Help!
GM Marin says at the Chessbase website: Black cannot hold his e5-pawn here, because White is much better developed and the threat of winning a pawn is quite real.
Am I really such a weak player? I count the developed pieces on the diagram, and it’s black who is better developed?! So why isn’t black better then?
I think the point Marin is trying to make is not a comparison of White’s development here vs. Black’s development, but of White’s development here vs. White’s development in Anand – Kamsky.
Compare the position after White’s 15th move in Kamsky – Ponomariov to the position after White’s 13th move in Anand – Kamsky. In K-P, the extra two moves by White have been Nd2-f1, and Nf1-g3; the extra two moves by Black have been Rf8-e8 and c7-c5.
In both games, White is threatening to win the e-pawn. In A-K, Black ignored the threat; in K-P he was unable to do so.
Why?
I think because in K-P, the extra two moves for White have contributed to his development more than the extra two moves for Black. The Knight is on g3, ready to hop to f5, instead of on d2. And since the Knight is not on d2, the Bishop isn’t blocked and can move into position more quickly. By contrast, Black has advanced the c-pawn, which wouldn’t help an initiative/counter-attack, and moved his Rook to the e-file, where it is still blocked by the Bishop and Knight and can’t do much.
In A-K, White didn’t want to risk Black’s initiative by winning the pawn. In K-P, White was better placed than in A-K; so White might well have safely grabbed the e-pawn. Thus, in K-P, Black had to respond to the threat while in A-K, he ignored it. In fact, in A-K, he played 13. … Rad8, which improved his development (if White grabs the e-pawn) more than moving the other Rook to the e-file in K-P.
I’m not expressing this very well, but maybe with this as a starting point someone else will chip in who can put it in more intelligible terms. 🙂
In 3 more days the tournament will be over and I can stop holding my breath and breath again.
GO GATA GO
Can Anand or Topalov catch Kamsky?
Theoretically, yes.
Can Anand pass Topalov in ranking after this tournament?
Theoretically, yes.
Can Kamsky get back to the top 5 – 10 in the world?
Theoretically, yes.
What board should Kamsky play in the 2006 Olympiad for the US?
Ask the Captain…
Not the best questions, you will have to agree.
For all practical purposes, the practise of the game of chess in all its ramifications is fully recognised as sport by the International Olympic Committee at the IOC session in Seoul, Korea in June 1999 and therefore any form of practice of the game of chess and any decision thereon by FIDE or any form of activity relating thereto either directly or indirectly falls within the definition of sport.
I love this blog! So many wise people posting, so much wisdom to be read! There is no envy and jealousy, only dignity and grace!