GM Valerij Popov annotates the games of the 3rd round: Hello dear chessfriends! We continue our annotations of the Linares games. Today is the 3rd round: Kramnik - Vallejo 1/2 Radjabov - Ponomariov 1/2 Leko - Kasparov 1/2 Prognosis: Kramnik - Vallejo Kramnik will try to "stiffle young fighter". But Spaniard is very resourceful... Of opening depends on a lot. Radjabov - Ponomariov FIDE World Champion is at the bottom of tournament table, but surely he did not lose his heart. Radjabov could win Kasparov in the last round, so it is not so easily for him to be in fighting mood today. Teimour will try to keep his position in the event. Leko - Kasparov Absolutely impossible to forecast this game. What is it with the Kasparov soul now?... But the draw is very probable result An opening: Kramnik - Vallejo Was played very rare line of Moscow variation of Slav defence with 7.g3 (D43), the contenders avoided the main theoretical lines. 12...Nb6 - met only once - Iljushin-Yevseev,Nizhij Novgorod 1999; also only once was 12...ed 13.Nd4 Ne5 14.Qb3 - Tukmakov-Sveshnikov,Kujbyshev 1986. Ilushin had played Qe2 but why not Qb3 as Tukmakov had played? Vallejo spent a lot of time, Kramnik fell into thinking for the 1st time...And the novelty "was born" - 14.Qb3 - Spaniard again is thinking for a long time. Radjabov - Ponomariov 1/2 The Eingorn variation 5.Qc2 (D37) of Queen's gambit was recalled to the life by Kramnik and "buried" in the game Khalifman-Topalov,FIDE Gran-pri Dubai 2002. And now Radjabov has not risked to play 5.dc in replay to 5...c5 and soon after the game was drawn. Really what to share for young players? :) Leko - Kasparov Kasparov is faithfull to himself - for "keeping all front" of Sicilian he widens it constantly :). No Naidorf, Yes Scheveningen variation (B80) - the Knight on c6. Very rare move 13...Qc7 - nothing happens then why not to play so? :) - or Garry is "bluffing" or the chest of his novelties is open. :) But he has a certain counter-play... The Midgame: Kramnik - Vallejo Here was no any midgame. In reply to novelty Vallejo forced the long variation, which has led to the ending at once. The ending Bishop against Knight... Here's not too much to play... 24.Kf1 - slowly... Looks like the draw. Although Vladimir will check contender till the end. The contenders moved the Kings to the centre. Black has problems with the pawn structure on Q-side - the b7 pawn is the potential weakness. But White has doubled pawns too. If he would not have them then Kramnik had serious advantage. But the class of the player depends on his skill to use the weaknesses of contender and not to let to contender to use his own - isn't it?:) Vallejo is very young and surely spoiled by ICC :-) - players there play endings without deep thinking. Vladimir chains contender - the Bishop is going to move to c8 through the g4-square. Vallejo has spent 10 minutes out of his last 16, thinking about the transfer of the Knight to the square-a6 where it can tie White King with the defence of the b4-pawn. Looks like a draw and PC agrees with this result. There is no win and Vladomir agrees with this. And so White could not get anything sufficient from opening - he did not win the game. The prognosis was right. Leko - Kasparov Kasparov has led the game to the "whirpool" - after 20...Bb5 White has too many possibilities. K-side, centre, Q-side - everywhere Leko can play. And of course after long thinking the computer move 21.Nb6 has followed. Well Garry Kimovich and if Peter has calculated EVERYTHING?! The culmination of the game. Let's keep the silence... 20...Rab8 - looks like the only move. If 21.Bb5 then there's the intermediate move 21...Nf3. But the energy of the K-side pawns was not used yet and Leko reminds about it - 21.h6!? White "blocks" K-side or better to say tries to block. Now Garry has to understand if it is really dangerous for him. Certainly, White has a better position but it is still not clear if he has something real. Very interesting position - again a key point of the game. Deserved attention 21...ab, 21...Be2, 21...Rb6 instead of 21...g6. 21...gh is very dangerous. But and now Black has a lot of possibilities and as result he has a lack of time. Now both contenders have equal time on the clock. Kasparov discharged the situation on the board - 21...Be2 22.Qe2 g6. The shadows of Radjabov are flying over the board... :) After 24.f4 Kasparov has fallen into thinking again... The choice is not ease for him - to give an exchange by 24...Rb6 25.Bb6 Qb6 26.fe or the pawn a4 after 24...Nc6. He has chosen the latter - of course Leko takes the pawn. Rather unexpectedly from Kasparov. Agter 26...е5 the position of Black looks very uneasy. But the Knight a4... Kasparov could use it if the position was open. But now he cannot to free himself from the tenacious hands of Peter. Let's look... Leko sacrificed the pawn by move 28.f5 - the Bishop of Black cannot get the big diagonal in the closiest future. Further the deep play in the coming zeitnot from both sides :). (I mean I won't get it in any case) The position of Black looks very dangerous - surely Kasparov was mistaken in calculations. But the Knight a4 :) Theres nothing concrete for White, but the h6-pawn can be strong in the ending. 32.с3!! WOW! It looks like Leko has super nerves - to open his King so much and when he has only 7 minutes on the clock... If the Knight could get the d5-square! But it's rather difficult to do... Position became very sharp and if it will be open then White can get real problems! Everything depends on zeitnot... Zeinot was in favoure of Kasparov... Leko did not look like himself. Yeah it is not the computer matter to play blitz:) White blundered the piece and now he can just to resign. Maybe. But there's 41.Rb6! Yes Garry is not lucky. And here's no win - 41...Qc7 42.Rb8 Rc1 43.Rc1 Qc1 44.Rb1 Qc3 = Why? Because White almost till the end was not worse! So, let's start from the end. 39...Rb2 gave an attack to Black and seems it was the 1st good chance for Garry in this game. Here I think he can say by himself. 38.Nd5! gave not bad hopes to White - 38...Qc6 39.Nb4 - 39...Rb3?? 40.Qf7 +-. 31.fg hg 32.h7 - gave strong initiative. 32...Kh8 33.Qf3 Rf8? 34.Rd6! +/- 32...Kh7 33.Qh3!? with domination - and only after that it's possible to play с3. And I beleived in you Peter. :) And now White has to work a lot to get draw! 48...Kg8! Black has an extra-pawn but White has passed pawn a. So, Garry will be "torturing" contender so long! And realy torturing... Should be a draw - I go to sleep! All the best - keep with us! Take care!