[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Dortmund, The End: Leko wins, (almost) everyone else ties for second

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Dortmund, The End: Leko wins, (almost) everyone else ties for second
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1215397524.shtml


   Peter Leko came into the final round of [1]Dortmund with a half-point
   lead, and that's how he left it, drawing Arkadij Naiditsch on the
   white side of a Marshall Gambit. Two players could have caught him
   with a win, but two of them, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Jan Gustafsson,
   drew quickly against each other to tie for second. They were joined by
   two others, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Vassily Ivanchuk, who defeated
   Loek van Wely and Vladimir Kramnik, respectively. Van Wely-Mamedyarov
   was complex, a race of passed pawns and attacks on opposite sides, and
   was objectively equal until just before the end. The tournament has
   been a disaster for the Dutchman, however, and his run of poor form
   continued. Ivanchuk-Kramnik revisited the Petroff line from round 3's
   Naiditsch-Kramnik game, and once again Kramnik lost. This time it
   wasn't due to the opening, however. Ivanchuk had a very slight edge,
   but Kramnik kept everything under control until after the time
   control, when an inaccuracy and then a blunder did him in.
   The final standings are amusing, and it's a shame that Naiditsch
   didn't somehow beat Leko - then there would have been a six way tie
   for first! Here are the Garrison Keillor-approved standings:
   1. Leko 4.5 (of 7)
   2-5. Ivanchuk, Nepomniachtchi, Mamedyarov, Gustafsson 4
   6. Naiditsch 3.5
   7. Kramnik 3
   8. van Wely 1 (and a dismal 2388 TPR)
   The last round games (with my comments) are [2]here.

References

   1. http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/
   2. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/files/dortmund2008_rd7.htm