Mexico City, Round 4: A matter of technique?
A great deal happened after my "Round 4 in progress" post, much of it shocking. Svidler-Gelfand had already been drawn, but the other three games were in progress.
Aronian-Leko was a Hedgehog of sorts, and Aronian enjoyed the typical space advantage but nothing clear. That changed immediately after Leko's 27...Bd8, allowing the simple shot 28.e5, winning material. Leko would have some compensation after 28...Bc7 29.Qd2 dxe5 30.Qxd7 Nxf4, but when he chose 29...dxe5 instead Aronian was winning easily.
And won, I should add, because both Kramnik and Anand were just as "winning" as Aronian, but both drew. In Anand's case, Morozevich put up very strong resistance, and Anand failed to find the winning moves when they presented themselves. Kramnik-Grischuk, on the other hand, was another story altogether. Grischuk didn't have to do anything at all; Kramnik was generous all by himself - see the game link, below.
I suspect both of them are either nauseous, angry with themselves, or both - rightly so. The question is whether the free day will let them work it out of their system or if it will fester into something self-destructive. We shall see, but for now, they continue to lead:
Standings after Round 4:
1-2. Kramnik, Anand 2.5
3-6. Morozevich, Grischuk, Gelfand, Aronian 2
7-8. Leko, Svidler 1.5
Games here.
Remember, tomorrow is a rest day, so get your chess fix by watching my ChessBase show!
Aronian-Leko was a Hedgehog of sorts, and Aronian enjoyed the typical space advantage but nothing clear. That changed immediately after Leko's 27...Bd8, allowing the simple shot 28.e5, winning material. Leko would have some compensation after 28...Bc7 29.Qd2 dxe5 30.Qxd7 Nxf4, but when he chose 29...dxe5 instead Aronian was winning easily.
And won, I should add, because both Kramnik and Anand were just as "winning" as Aronian, but both drew. In Anand's case, Morozevich put up very strong resistance, and Anand failed to find the winning moves when they presented themselves. Kramnik-Grischuk, on the other hand, was another story altogether. Grischuk didn't have to do anything at all; Kramnik was generous all by himself - see the game link, below.
I suspect both of them are either nauseous, angry with themselves, or both - rightly so. The question is whether the free day will let them work it out of their system or if it will fester into something self-destructive. We shall see, but for now, they continue to lead:
Standings after Round 4:
1-2. Kramnik, Anand 2.5
3-6. Morozevich, Grischuk, Gelfand, Aronian 2
7-8. Leko, Svidler 1.5
Games here.
Remember, tomorrow is a rest day, so get your chess fix by watching my ChessBase show!
Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Sunday September 16, 2007 at 10:26pm