[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Biel, Round 7: Dominguez leads, Carlsen self-destructs

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Biel, Round 7: Dominguez leads, Carlsen self-destructs
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1217311433.shtml


   The tournament took a remarkable twist in round 7, as Carlsen's
   coronation ceremony came to a screeching halt. Not a game was drawn,
   though at least one really should have been - but we'll come to that
   later.
   All three games made it to the second time control, and the first one
   to finish was Dominguez-Pelletier. Pelletier has been having a
   terrible tournament and has turned into a sort of full-point bye for
   the players. No matter how well he plays at first, something bad
   happens at some point and a loss ensues. Against Dominguez, he was
   fine after 38 moves, but three inaccurate moves later his position was
   probably lost. That put Dominguez in clear first at that moment, but
   with Carlsen's game still underway and the youngster in good shape,
   that seemed likely to change.
   However, before Carlsen-Alekseev concluded, Onischuk-Bacrot came to an
   end and saw the players continue where they left off before the break.
   In round 6, Alekseev lost the infamous R+N vs. R ending, while Bacrot
   had won his second straight game. In their game, it seemed evident
   that Onischuk didn't want to play, as his opening play showed an overt
   willingness to draw by repetition. Despite having Black, Bacrot would
   have none of it, and his fighting spirit was rewarded almost
   immediately. Onischuk's combination starting with move 23 was too
   optimistic, and Bacrot soon won a pawn. In desperation, Onischuk tried
   to create a fortress draw, but it was in vain. Onischuk lost his
   second straight game, while Bacrot has now won three in a row.
   And now, Carlsen-Alekseev. Carlsen has done very well in the
   tournament, but not due to his opening prep. He has come out of the
   opening in each game with a playable position, and when he has won, it
   has been because of what happened later on. So it was here, too. He
   achieved little if anything with his extremely unusual anti-Berlin
   line, but enjoyed the more comfortable side of the late middlegame.
   The material was balanced, but the pawn structure was such that as
   long as queens were on the board, Alekseev needed to be careful, but
   if the queens were exchanged, then Carlsen would have to hold the
   balance.
   For 30 moves, Carlsen tacked around trying to make progress and set
   traps, but nothing came of it. Both players were starting to get low
   on the clock, but Carlsen enjoyed an extra five minutes (15 minutes to
   10). So having watched Carlsen spend an hour or more doing nothing as
   constructively as possible, I assumed he'd keep it up until Alekseev
   ran out of time. Instead, he spent about nine minutes on his 66th move
   and then traded queens! Very strange. The result was that the burden
   was immediately on him to prove the draw, and thanks in part to his
   deficit on the clock, he was unable to put up his best defense.
   So with this, his first loss, Carlsen fell to second place, half a
   point behind Dominguez, and he's joined there by Alekseev. Add the
   red-hot Bacrot to the mix, and we're in for a great last three rounds!
   Standings after Round 7:
   1. Dominguez 5
   2-3. Alekseev, Carlsen 4.5
   4. Bacrot 3.5
   5. Onischuk 3
   6. Pelletier .5
   Round 8 Pairings:
   Alekseev - Dominguez
   Bacrot - Carlsen
   Pelletier - Onischuk
   Carlsen Watch: [1]Current live rating: 2790.6 (7.4 points behind
   Anand, .9 behind Ivanchuk)
   Tournament site [2]here, games with my comments [3]here.

References

   1. http://chess.liverating.org/
   2. http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/cms/index.php
   3. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/files/biel2008_rd7.htm