The Chess Mind

As expected, Anand drew quickly and comfortably against Ivanchuk to clinch at least a tie for first (which doesn't mean Ivanchuk didn't try), but I was mistaken about Leko-Carlsen. I thought Carlsen would be happy to draw quickly with Black, and that Leko would be eager to put this tournament behind him. To Leko's credit, he fought and was rewarded with his first and only win of the tournament. It was a very nice win, too, as he convincingly outplayed the youngster from beginning to end. (The game could have been a little faster though: Carlsen made an outright blunder on move 39, and Leko missed it. Both players were a little short of time, but it was still surprising!)

Svidler could have taken clear second with a win against Morozevich, and he had the White pieces, too. Unfortunately, Svidler - the only unbeaten player in the tournament going into the last round - missed or underestimated Morozevich's clever 14...d4!, and then went on a dubious fishing trip with 19.Qxc5. His opponent grabbed the material, neutralized the attack, and shockingly finished tied for second. After finishing the first half of the tournament at -3, Morozevich went an amazing +4 =3 in the second half. (Even as late as round 11 he was tied for last, but good things happen when you win three in a row.)

Finally, Topalov and Aronian limped to the finish with a 20-move draw. By my calculations, he'll lose 18.4 points in the tournament, which will not only put him well behind Anand on the next rating list, but pretty close to Kramnik as well. (He should still be a hair ahead, given their performances at Wijk aan Zee and Kramnik's Dutch League draw with Smeets.)

Final Standings:

1. Anand 8.5
2-3. Carlsen, Morozevich 7.5
4-5. Aronian, Svidler 7
6. Ivanchuk 6.5
7-8. Leko, Topalov 6

Games, with light notes, here.