Mexico City, Round 5: A bumper crop of white wins (Updated)
UPDATE: The games (with my comments) are here.
Round 5 Results:
Leko - Kramnik 1/2-1/2
Anand - Svidler 1-0
Grischuk - Morozevich 1-0
Gelfand - Aronian 1-0
Leko-Kramnik finished first, and highlighted the frustration 1.e4 players are experiencing in light of the Petroff Defense. Leko used the Bishop's Opening move order to get to the Giuoco Piano. The goal there is to reach a Ruy-style position, and Leko succeeded in that aim. That was his only success, however, as his attempt to build a kingside attack was skillfully neutralized by Kramnik, and the game was drawn in 24 moves.
Anand-Svidler was a ray of hope for White, however. Svidler threatened the Marshall Gambit, and for the second time in the event (the first was Svidler-Leko in round 2), White called the bluff and captured the pawn. On this occasion, White was able to stop Black's progress, and although he wasn't winning after 27.a4, that move marked the beginning of White's play. Svidler didn't react successfully, and Anand rolled him up in another dozen moves, taking the tournament lead by himself.
Grischuk-Morozevich was a Ragozin Queen's Gambit, a line more commonly seen in Aronian's opening repertoire than Morozevich's. This showed in that the moment when they left theory on move 16, Morozevich had used up more than 3/4 of his time. Had this resulted in a great position, it might have been a good investment, but that wasn't the case. Morozevich's position was precarious, and his position was lost or nearly lost in another 10 moves. Eventually Grischuk won, and now from the possibility of last place before pulling out the draw against Kramnik he's now tied for second, half a point out of first.
Gelfand is part of that tie, defeating Aronian on the white side of a Modern Benoni sideline. Black always looked a bit worse, and when the tricks didn't work Gelfand collected the material and crushed him on the kingside.
Standings after Round 5:
1. Anand 3.5
2-4. Kramnik, Gelfand, Grischuk 3
5-7. Leko, Morozevich, Aronian 2
8. Svidler 1.5
Round 5 Results:
Leko - Kramnik 1/2-1/2
Anand - Svidler 1-0
Grischuk - Morozevich 1-0
Gelfand - Aronian 1-0
Leko-Kramnik finished first, and highlighted the frustration 1.e4 players are experiencing in light of the Petroff Defense. Leko used the Bishop's Opening move order to get to the Giuoco Piano. The goal there is to reach a Ruy-style position, and Leko succeeded in that aim. That was his only success, however, as his attempt to build a kingside attack was skillfully neutralized by Kramnik, and the game was drawn in 24 moves.
Anand-Svidler was a ray of hope for White, however. Svidler threatened the Marshall Gambit, and for the second time in the event (the first was Svidler-Leko in round 2), White called the bluff and captured the pawn. On this occasion, White was able to stop Black's progress, and although he wasn't winning after 27.a4, that move marked the beginning of White's play. Svidler didn't react successfully, and Anand rolled him up in another dozen moves, taking the tournament lead by himself.
Grischuk-Morozevich was a Ragozin Queen's Gambit, a line more commonly seen in Aronian's opening repertoire than Morozevich's. This showed in that the moment when they left theory on move 16, Morozevich had used up more than 3/4 of his time. Had this resulted in a great position, it might have been a good investment, but that wasn't the case. Morozevich's position was precarious, and his position was lost or nearly lost in another 10 moves. Eventually Grischuk won, and now from the possibility of last place before pulling out the draw against Kramnik he's now tied for second, half a point out of first.
Gelfand is part of that tie, defeating Aronian on the white side of a Modern Benoni sideline. Black always looked a bit worse, and when the tricks didn't work Gelfand collected the material and crushed him on the kingside.
Standings after Round 5:
1. Anand 3.5
2-4. Kramnik, Gelfand, Grischuk 3
5-7. Leko, Morozevich, Aronian 2
8. Svidler 1.5
Posted by Dennis Monokroussos on
Tuesday September 18, 2007 at 8:27pm