Hello dear chessfriends! The messages from Linares again pass steadfast check on the WEB - pages of the "Russian Chess ". Today I am the main critic of the great players!:) So - the 9th round. Sole leader of the tournament Gary Kasparov has a rest day today. Today playing are: Ponomariov - Adams Shirov - Ivanchuk Vallejo - Anand The forecast . Ponomariov - Adams In this game we are waiting for the bloody struggle. To be sure - the winner of this game comes on the second place, and there is not so far from Garry;). I think the most important in this game must be an opening. Well if the draw then the draw:) - the strengths of the contenders are equal. Shirov - Ivanchuk Vasily did not lose for a long time - may be he has adjusted the sincere balance, how to know... He could not revenge himself in the game with Ponomariov, but he has won vice-leader Adams. Aleksei could not while win of any game - but it can't to proceed eternally. I think we won't be bored in this game. Vallejo - Anand One more game of the inhabitants of Spain on tournament. Whether "native" can lose "new comer"? Looking on game of the contenders in this tournament it is possible with confidence to answer - yes! Only Anand "has tasted the blood" in the last round... An opening . Ponomariov - Adams The Marshall variation(▒89)- what a fight! Nobody compares with Micky in this variation... except for the computer. For certain Ruslan has something in this variation. Shirov - Ivanchuk Here's one more Ruy Lopez. Shirov has evaded from "Marshall" by the move 8.a4 (▒88). On the account of Aleksey there are a lot of good victories in this variant. Vallejo - Anand Bored English (A29). May be it is necessary to play so with young?! The reference to databases . Ponomariov - Adams 1-0 The contenders have entered in theoretical dispute in the urgent already many years variant - 16. Qe2 Met recently in the game Grischuk - Smirin, Panormo 2001. 15 days ago:) Was used 16. Qf1 - Peng Xiaomin - Grischuk, Shanghai 2001. Adams already had experience in the given position: Leko - Adams, Wijk aan Zee 2001, here White has found one more square for Queen - 16. Qf3. Still costs to remind about the games Polgar - Onishuk, Batumi 1999 and Sax - Atalik, Bled 2000. By first from the theory (and faster, from the Atalik's analysis in the notes to his game) Micky leaves - 18...c5!? - very quite good idea. Black opens " the second front " - Atalik considered only 18... Rae8 and 18... Ne4. So - Black is going to capture the Rook later, and by march А6-А4 receives a square d5 for the Knight, the Bishop А2 gets under x-rays of the his colleague f5 - position is not clear... Shirov - Ivanchuk 1-0 The contenders quickly begin to create independently in rare variant - 13... d6 - already novelty! I can be mistaken in connection with various rearrangements in the Ruy Lopez, but the predecessor after 11... Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13.d4 only one - game Morovich - Mitkov, Las Palmas 1995. Mitkov moved 13... d5 also has received a quite good position. Vasily, as always goes by his own way - causing wild complications after 14.b4 ed!? - Black sacrifices the piece, receiving for it three central pawns. Usually such compensation is quite enough - especially for ending. But on the board there are a lot of pieces, and presence of the extra-piece in attack can become decisive. Aleksey should find initiative continuations... Vallejo Pons - Anand 1/2 Vallejo is underlined strong (may be because of the lack of knowledge). Nobody earlier on "superdense" 9.b3 up to him did not venture:). Usual continuations - "active" 9.d4 and "constraining" 9.d3. Vishy receives an excellent position, by first passes into initiative by a move 18... f4. But... Well Anand had no mood to play for win and fast drawn game happened, arranged both. Yes... Where the antidraw contracts Mr.Rentero?!:) From the middlegame ... to the end of the game. Ponomariov - Adams Never decided Mikky to eat the Exchange on e4 - postponed and postponed... and failed! Somewhere he should do it, otherwise why to make a fuss?! :) Ruslan and his colleagues put new problems in the Marshal Attack or better to say successfully put into practice the preparation of the previous years. Maybe Atalik was right? Don't go children in Africa for a walk :) Mikky failed to make problems out over the board. The maneuver 22...Rfc8 followed by 24...Bb4 to call a strange is to say nothing. Transferring the Rook on c5 the World Champion FIDE "sealed" the c-file remaining with an extra-pawn. And the main - he remained with the darksquared Bishop on the big diagonal when the black pawn is on g5. What can Black to oppose to this? Probably nothing. With 28.d5 Ruslan proceed to an assault, again sacrificed the Exchange after 29.Ne3, and with 30.f4! opened the files for his Queen. To the time trouble Black came in a completely broken position. Mikky slightly protracted with resign. It seems that Ruslan was entirely ready to the game after the opening. He won the opening - he won the game. A confident victory by the World Champion FIDE. Now in pursuit of Kasparov! Bravo Ruslan and his team! The forecast came true - hurrah again! Shirov - Ivanchuk It seems that Vassily was not ready to a play which suggested him the opponent. He has got a not bad compensation for a piece but all the time was slightly late. And even though Shirov could not proceed the realization in any other manner then "a la Shirov" Vassily performed only as a sparring-partner. 18.a6! Alexei launched a combination with the aim to break the pawn structure of the rival. Moves 19.Re4 and 20.Bf7 - the units of the same chain. All Black's moves were forced: 19...Re4? 20.Ng5 with attack, dubiously was 21...Kf6 22.Ne4 Re4 23.Qf3 Ke5 24.Qc3 - here also Black stands bad. After several the only moves for both sides the position looked not bad for Ivanchuk. The Ukrainian had the Rook + 2 pawns for two white pieces and now would be good to pass in the endgame... But it didn't come to the endgame. Judging to the last moves in the game there was a great time trouble (at least for Black). In the region of 30th move computer consider the position in Black's favor +2.00 - the equivalent of two extra-pawns. A couple of uncorrected moves: 31...d5?! ( 31...Re1 forced the exchange of the last white Rook) 32...Bd6? ( and who will defence g7-point?) Then 33...Qc6 and 34...d4?? ... Black entirely forgot about his a1-Rook although was able to throw it in the fight over a2-square. On 35.Qd4 in the time trouble Black didn't find a reply - 35...Qf3 36.Ne5 Be5 37.Qd8 - Mate in 4. As a result Vassily finally forgot about the Rook. The game came over with a blunder... A dramatic game. Shirov turned out to be stronger psychologically. Finding an active play at the end of the game he forced the opponent to make a mistake in the time trouble - my forecast has came true again. It's true that Ivanchuk's play didn't allows to rejoice. As well as in the game vs Ponomariov it was a show only for one actor. Shirov made a fighting move in the opening 14.b4 - has drawn the enemy's fire on himself. Then proceeded a combination getting a bad position and then regained on the flag twisting the game. With a stable opponent such a play didn't has a success but here it "passed". This is Shirov and that's all. Remain with us and wait new reviews of "Russian Chess". All the best and take care! |
