[chessmind] Dennis Monokroussos: Bilbao, Round 7: The leaders falter

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Posted by Dennis Monokroussos:
Bilbao, Round 7: The leaders falter
http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/posts/1221017658.shtml


   Magnus Carlsen's hot streak came to an abrupt end today in [1]Bilbao,
   as he was absolutely crushed by Vassily Ivanchuk in a Queen's Gambit
   Declined. Carlsen tried the aggressive line with 5.Bf4 and queenside
   castling, but Ivanchuk's attack got there faster. A very impressive
   win for the Ukranian!
   A draw would have allowed Veselin Topalov to catch Carlsen in first
   place (despite having outscored him by half a point according to
   normal scoring) and a win would put him in clear first. Unfortunately
   for Topalov, he suffered his first loss of the tournament, to Levon
   Aronian, and remains a point behind in the standings (despite having
   the same real score as Carlsen). Topalov's 17...Qe8 led to some
   tactical problems with his rook on f8, and these were only resolved at
   the cost of a pawn. Aronian duly swapped almost everything, got the
   a-pawn motoring, and won his second straight game to put himself in
   striking distance of the lead.
   The remaining game, Teimour Radjabov - Viswanathan Anand, was yet
   another short draw for the world champion. Anand's unusual eighth move
   made the game interesting though, so Taimanov/Paulsen/Kan fans should
   have a look all the same.
   (That game and the other two can be replayed [2]here, with my
   comments.)
   Standings after Round 7:
   1. Carlsen 11 (Real score: 4 points)
   2. Topalov 10 (4)
   3. Aronian 9 (3.5)
   4. Ivanchuk 8 (3.5)
   5-6. Radjabov, Anand 6 (3 apiece)

References

   1. http://www.bilbaofinalmasters.com/
   2. http://chessmind.powerblogs.com/files/bilbao2008_rd7.htm