The Chess Mind

The traveling show has reached its traditional location, and for Topalov, like Dorothy, there's no place like home. Topalov left Mexico half a point out of last place, with a -2 score, but in Spain he has burst out with two consecutive wins. It's a deep hole, but at least he is now within a "mere" point and a half of the leader, Leko.

Round 8 Recap:

A somewhat bizarre round. Topalov's win over the sinking Svidler (three straight Gruenfeld losses) was clean, but the Ivanchuk-Bacrot and Leko-Vallejo games were tragicomic. Leko agreed to a draw in what was probably a winning position, while Ivanchuk even managed to lose on time in a winning position. (Shades of last year's horror story Ivanchuk-Bu Xiangzhi.) Finally, Radjabov-Aronian was a correct draw, short but lively.

Round 8 Results:

Leko-Vallejo 1/2-1/2
Radjabov-Aronian 1/2-1/2
Topalov-Svidler 1-0
Ivanchuk-Bacrot 1-0

Standings after Round 8:

Leko 5.5
Aronian 5
Radjabov, Svidler 4
Ivanchuk, Topalov, Vallejo 3.5
Bacrot 3

Round 9 Recap:

The youngster called the tune, but Leko successfully held against Radjabov. A pawn down for many moves, the tournament leader was able to maintain a secure blockade that could be breached only at the cost of the extra pawn - and so it was. Aronian, with White, had a chance to catch Leko in first, but Ivanchuk played very well, drawing a complicated, balanced struggle. Svidler-Vallejo was another fairly balanced game, though it seems Vallejo had a nice edge early on that slowly ebbed away. Finally, Topalov continued his comeback, thoroughly outplaying Bacrot with the Black pieces.

Round 9 Results:

Radjabov-Leko 1/2-1/2
Aronian-Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2
Svidler-Vallejo 1/2-1/2
Bacrot-Topalov 0-1

Standings after Round 9:

Leko 6
Aronian 5.5
Radjabov, Svidler, Topalov 4.5
Ivanchuk, Vallejo 4
Bacrot 3

Pairings for Round 10: [Note: games now start at 9:30 am ET]

Leko-Svidler
Topalov-Aronian
Ivanchuk-Radjabov
Vallejo-Bacrot

Update: Games available here.