[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Morelia/Linares, Round 12 Recap

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Morelia/Linares, Round 12 Recap
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1204672232.shtml


   World champion Viswanathan Anand continues to lead, but Magnus Carlsen
   has closed back to within half a point of first as we head for the
   last two rounds after tomorrowâs rest day. Anand drew comfortably with
   Peter Leko, enjoying a slight, safe edge throughout on the White side
   of an Anti-Marshall. After his 20.Qxg5N hxg5 21.c4!, it looked like
   that advantage might become serious, thanks to Blackâs weak pawns on
   g5 and c5, but Lekoâs ingenious defense enabled him to hold the
   position. He had no choice but to give up a pawn, but he did so in a
   way that allowed his pieces to coordinate while Anandâs lost their
   harmony; the result was a draw.
   Carlsen, meanwhile, was the recipient of some (partially earned) luck
   against Veselin Topalov. Carlsen achieved nothing from the opening, a
   reverse Sicilian, and his attacking plan with 19.Bg5, 20.Be3 and 21.f4
   left him insufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn. His
   further sacrifice, 23.Rd4, probably could have been accepted, but
   Topalovâs safe 23â¦Rad8 sufficed for an advantage as well. On move
   28.e6 would have been interesting (28â¦Qe7 29.f5 gxf5 30.Rf3 is one
   possible continuation), but Carlsenâs 28.f5 led to complex play as
   well, again sacrificing material for activity and headhunting
   prospects. The critical moments came on moves 33 and 34: Topalov could
   have avoided perpetual check with 33â¦Qd7, though after 34.Bh6 Nc6
   35.Bxc4+ Bxc4 36.Qxc4+ Qf7 37.Qc1 Black will have a hard time creating
   real winning possibilities. His 33â¦Kxg7 was safer â or should have
   been â but after 34.Bd8 Topalov blundered into mate with 34â¦Nc6??
   Instead, 34â¦Qd5 more or less forces White to take a perpetual check:
   35.Bxa5 Qxa5 36.Qe7+ etc.
   If Aronian had won his game, he too would have pulled within half a
   point of the leader, but he was rather fortunate to draw. Shirov found
   a tremendous improvement over his game with Leko from two rounds ago â
   not a new move (Aronian was the first to deviate from the earlier
   game, with 27â¦Rc8 instead of Lekoâs 27â¦Bc4) but a new plan. Instead
   of meeting â¦Bc4 with b3, he put the pawn on a3, played 30.g4 to
   cement his knight on e4, and then prepared and executed the h4-h5-h6
   advance. The result was that Black now had to worry about passed (or
   potentially passed) pawns on both sides of the board, and Shirov
   gradually achieved a winning position. (Note: I thought during the
   live commentary that Black could force a draw with 47â¦Bc6, taking for
   granted that 48.Nc5 Bxc5+ (or 48â¦Bd6+ 49.Ke3 Bxc5) would lead to a
   draw. Not so: as GM Mikhail Golubev pointed out, White puts his bishop
   on h4, the pawn on f6, and then brings the king to the queenside,
   winning.) By the time of 59.f8N+! Shirov was winning, but Aronianâs
   tenacious defense and White inaccuracies on moves 61, 67 and 73 led to
   a draw.
   Finally, Ivanchuk-Radjabov was a typical Sveshnikov Sicilian draw,
   where the opposite-colored bishops were more significant than
   Ivanchukâs extra pawn.
   Games (will be) [1]here.
   Round 12 Results:
   Anand - Leko 1/2-1/2
   Shirov - Aronian 1/2-1/2
   Carlsen - Topalov 1-0
   Ivanchuk - Radjabov 1/2-1/2
   Standings after Round 12:
   1. Anand 7.5
   2. Carlsen 7
   3. Aronian 6.5
   4. Shirov 6
   5-6. Radjabov, Ivanchuk 5.5
   7-8. Leko, Shirov 5
   Pairings for Round 13: (On Thursday)
   Ivanchuk - Anand
   Radjabov - Shirov
   Aronian - Carlsen
   Topalov - Leko

References

   1. http://www.chessbase.com/news/2008/linares/games/linares12.htm