Report of round 12 - CCT 2006

A Peaceful Day – Status Quo Remains

The well anticipated encounter between the leader and his closest rival had started on a high note. Anand uncorked a piece offer on move 13 – a suggestion of his countryman Ganguly, improving on the previous Topalov – Sokolov from round 7. As accepting the offer did not promise White anything more than a draw, Veselin saw no reason to accept it. One sample line could have been: (see diagram 1) 14. hxg4 Bxg4 15. Nc2 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Qf6 17. Ne1 Qg6+ 18. Kh2 Qh5+ and white would be wise to repeat, as walking the King to h4 could end painfully. In the game there was a series of wholesale exchanges, and after about one hour of play, a draw was agreed.

Another short game full of piece trading was Sokolov – Bacrot. For both players the end of the event can’t come soon enough, and today they rapidly exchanged most of their pieces to arrive at a dead drawn Rook ending. By move 28 they shook hands and ceased the hostilities.

Peace was also the outcome of the Tiviakov – Leko bout. Peter easily equalized in the quiet Italian game, and here too in no time there were more pieces off the board than on it. The boredom ended on move 23 after Sergey offered a draw that was quickly accepted.

Karjakin, playing against Aronian, was nursing a slight edge out of the opening. After 17…Ng6?! 18. d5 his position looked promising. 25. Qf1! would have been a very testing try, for example: 25…c6 26. dxc6 Bxc6 27. Bxc6 Rxc6 28. cxb4 Rxc1 29. Rxc1 d5 30. Qxa6 leaves White on top. Even when a draw was agreed on move 27, White was standing better, so it seems as if Sergey was showing a lot of respect for his higher rated opponent.

As the event is coming to a close, Gata Kamsky is adjusting and shifting up a gear. Today he scored again, this time against the hapless Mamedyarov. White sacked a Pawn, but Black overtook the initiative with the accurate (see diagram 2) 11…Ne8!, which aims not only to defend the extra pawn, but also to anchor it on b5. White managed to regain his material, but now his maneuver of 22. Bh2 and 23. Qg3 drifted his position further south. Shak tried to give his b4 pawn for some play, but the compensation simply wasn’t there. Black cold bloodedly won the h4 pawn as well, and easily refuted White’s desperado Bishop sac on the queenside, forcing resignation shortly thereafter.

A lucky save for Gelfand. White against Ivanchuk he atypically invited an early repetition of moves, but the Ukrainian was in a fighting mood and declined. Next Gelfand tried to gambit a pawn, but his 21. Ndb1? was rudely answered by 21…b5! and 22…e5!. Possibly, White had overlooked that after 24…b4 25. Ne2 Nc5! his Queen is embarrassed and in danger of being trapped with …Ra8. Later in the game Chuky gave his c6 pawn, maybe unnecessarily, and on the last move of time control missed an instant win with (see diagram 3) 40…f3+! (41. Kxf3 Ng5+ 42. Ke3 Qf5 is crushing). No doubt Black was winning even after the time control, but Chuky’s technique was not up to par. When he passed on the try of …Rxe6, a try the GM’s in the pressroom thought was sufficient, the winning chances had evaporated.

In Van Wely – Adams the Dutchman also missed a golden opportunity for a win. Mickey went into a variation where he temporarily gives his d5 pawn, expecting to regain it with interest. Loek saw further ahead. His pieces would coral the Black King, and to avoid that, the Brit had to remain a pawn down. The critical moment came on move 33, when White should have played (see diagram 4) 33. Ke1 (and 33. a5 wins also), for example: 33…Rd4 34. a5 Bg1 35. Ne7+ Kf7 36. Rxd4 Bxd4 37. Nc6 and curtains for Black. Instead a minor piece endgame arose, where White could not realize his pawn advantage.

There is a new leader in group B, after Almasi beat the previous leader Motylev, and is alone at the top with 8.5 points. Right behind are Carlsen and Motylev with 8, and so the winner will be crowned tomorrow. In group C GM Suat Atalik has guaranteed first place with a round to spare, after beating Visser. He now has 10/12 with Jan Werle in second place with 8.5 Congratulations Suat!