[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: World Cup, Round 4, Day 2

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
World Cup, Round 4, Day 2
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1196796207.shtml


   Five matches down, three to go. Jakovenko-Aronian, Kamsky-Svidler and
   Bareev-Alekseev were all short and fairly bloodless draws, and we'll
   see the six of them save their thunderbolts for tomorrow's rapid
   tiebreaks. The other five games made up for what those games lacked,
   so let's turn our attention to them.
   The shortest game (36 moves) was another draw, between Shirov and
   Akopian, but it was a lively game. Shirov, with White and needing only
   a draw to advance, did the right thing: he stayed true to his style.
   Rather than trying to dry things up, he allowed the Najdorf and then
   produced a novelty - a piece sac at that! That said, he didn't go too
   far afield, and when the chance came to force a draw, he took it. A
   very comfortable match for Shirov, who has been in excellent form thus
   far.
   The next shortest game - 37 moves - was a win, with Black, for
   Karjakin against last round's hero (or villain, if you're an Ivanchuk
   fan), Nisipeanu. This game was in a way the evil twin of the Shirov
   game. Another Najdorf, and again White produced a novelty involving a
   sacrifice (though only a pawn gave its life this time around).
   Karjakin quickly proved that the sac was without any value, and he
   went on to convert his pawn advantage to a win, winning the match
   1.5-.5.
   After a draw in the first game Wang Yue also lost with White, to
   Cheparinov, marking the end of China's presence in this year's World
   Cup. Cheparinov won a brilliant game, sacrificing a pawn in the
   opening for open lines on the queenside, and then later a bishop and
   rook for a long-lasting attack. Wang Yue did well to get to a
   hopelessly lost ending, but Cheparinov played perfectly, never giving
   his opponent a chance.
   The last two games were marathon draws, as first-game losers tried
   their best to win the rematch. Sasikiran and Adams had the white
   pieces against Ponomariov and Carlsen, respectively, but despite
   trying for more than 80 moves neither player succeeded.
   Match Standings: (again, given in pairing format - the winner of the
   first pair plays the winner of the second pair; the winner of the
   first quartet plays the winner of the second quartet, etc.)
   Karjakin 1.5 - Nisipeanu .5
   Bareev 1 - Alekseev 1 (tiebreaks tomorrow)
   Jakovenko 1 - Aronian 1 (tiebreaks tomorrow)
   Shirov 1.5 - Akopian .5
   Ponomariov 1.5 - Sasikiran .5
   Kamsky 1 - Svidler 1
   Carlsen 1.5 - Adams .5
   Cheparinov 1.5 - Wang Yue .5 (thus Carlsen plays Cheparinov next
   round)
   Games, with comments, [1]here.

References

   1. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/files/worldcup2007_rd4_2.htm