[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Bilbao, Round 5: Three draws; Topalov leads at the halfway point

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Bilbao, Round 5: Three draws; Topalov leads at the halfway point
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1220738200.shtml


   At the halfway point of the [1]Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, Topalov
   continues to lead, Carlsen continues to be in clear second (and on top
   of the [2]live rating list), and Anand continues to struggle. We'll
   see if things change when the players resume on Monday (Sunday is the
   tournament's one rest day).
   As for today's games, the main event was Anand-Carlsen. Would Anand
   get off the schneid and reclaim the top spot on the rating list?
   Despite Carlsen's 3...f5?! against the Ruy, the game was drawn. Anand
   played the pawn grabbing line 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.O-O Bc5 7.Bxc6
   bxc6 8.Nxe5, but Carlsen was prepared and produced the first new move
   of the game. Later both sides had some chances, but in the end an
   equal queen ending with lots of perpetual check possibilities arose:
   draw.
   In the other games: Radjabov-Aronian was a Scotch that reached a type
   of endgame that has been popular for White lately. Radjabov enjoyed a
   comfortable edge throughout, but there wasn't much he could do with
   it. Likewise, Ivanchuk enjoyed a persistent edge on the White side of
   a Romanishin 4.Qc2 Nimzo-Indian, but Topalov defended successfully and
   without too much trouble.
   Standings after Round 5:
   1. Topalov 9 (3.5 on normal scoring)
   2. Carlsen 8 (3)
   3. Aronian 6 (2.5)
   4-6. Radjabov, Ivanchuk, Anand 4 (2)
   Games, with my comments, [3]here.

References

   1. http://www.bilbaofinalmasters.com/
   2. http://chess.liverating.org/
   3. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/files/bilbao2008_rd5.htm