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Home » Chess News » Events » Tal Memorial Mini-Site 2009 » Kramnik deserved winner in day of slapdash chess

The final round saw Vladimir Kramnik secure first place with his draw against Vassily Ivanchuk. This was an interesting game, elsewhere tired and slapdash chess seemed the order of the day.

Tal Memorial Moscow (RUS), 5-14 xi 2009												cat. XXI (2764)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2772	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	6	2888
2.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2739	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	1	5½	2846
3.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2801	½	½	*	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	5½	2839
4.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2786	½	½	½	*	1	0	½	½	1	½	5	2804
5.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2788	½	½	½	0	*	½	½	1	1	½	5	2804
6.	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2758	½	0	½	1	½	*	½	½	½	½	4½	2764
7.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2739	0	½	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	1	4	2723
8.	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	2754	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	3½	2685
9.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2752	½	½	0	0	0	½	½	½	*	½	3	2640
10.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2750	0	0	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	*	3	2640

Round 9 (November 14, 2009)
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Kramnik, Vladimir	½-½	29	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Anand, Viswanathan	- Aronian, Levon	0-1	25	D15	Slav Defence
Ponomariov, Ruslan	- Morozevich, Alexander	1-0	27	E04	Catalan
Svidler, Peter	- Gelfand, Boris	½-½	30	C42	Petroff's Defence
Leko, Peter	- Carlsen, Magnus	0-1	59	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation

The final round saw Vladimir Kramnik secure first place with his draw against Vassily Ivanchuk. This was an interesting game, elsewhere tired and slapdash chess seemed the order of the day.

Vassily Ivanchuk and Vladimir Kramnik played a 29 move draw that was full of interest. Perhaps Ivanchuk even missed better chances to take first place for himself but Kramnik defended pretty well. So Kramnik took first place with 6/9 and I think there will be few arguments that he didn't deserve this victory having played the best and most interesting chess throughout. Ivanchuk himself had his fair share of interesting moments and second equal place was well deserved.

Ivanchuk,Vassily - Kramnik,Vladimir [D37]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (9), 14.11.2009

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.e5

[8.Bxc4 0-0 9.0-0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Rd8 11.Qe2 Nd7 12.e5 Qe7 13.Nd2 c5 14.Qe4 Rb8 15.Bd3 f5 16.exf6 Nxf6 17.Qh4 cxd4 18.cxd4 Bd7 19.Rfe1 Bc6 20.Be4 Bd5 21.Bxd5 Rxd5 22.Rac1 Rbd8 23.Nf3 Qa3 24.Rc2 R5d6 25.h3 a5 26.Qg3 Qb4 27.Rc7 Ne8 28.Re7 Kf8 29.R7xe6 Rxe6 30.Rxe6 Qb1+ 31.Kh2 Qxa2 32.Qe5 a4 33.Nh4 Nf6 34.Nf5 Rd7 35.Nxg7 Rxg7 36.Qxf6+ Kg8 37.Re8+ 1-0 Volzhin,A (2485)-Barua,D (2520)/Calcutta IND 1996]

8...Qd8

[8...Qf4 9.Bxc4 Nc6 10.0-0 Bd7 11.Nb5 0-0-0 12.a3 Ba5 13.Rc1 Bb6 14.d5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.d6 Bxb5 17.Bxb5 Qxb5 18.b4 Qd5 19.dxc7 Rd7 20.Qe2 Rxc7 21.Rcd1 Qf5 22.Rd3 e5 23.Rfd1 Bd4 24.Rf3 Qe6 25.Rg3 g6 26.Kh1 Kb8 27.a4 Rhc8 28.Rgd3 Rc2 29.R3d2 Qa2 30.h4 Rxd2 31.Rxd2 Rc1+ 32.Kh2 Qc4 33.Qg4 Qc7 34.f4 Bg1+ 35.Kh3 Qc3+ 0-1 Buedel,J-Rostek,B/Dortmund 1999]

9.Qa4+ Nc6 10.Bxc4 Bd7 11.Qc2 Na5 12.Bd3 c5 13.dxc5 Rc8 14.a3 Bxc5 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rad1 Be7 17.Qe2 Qc7 18.Qe4 g6 19.Qg4 Kg7 20.Ne2 Bc6 21.Nf4 Rg8 22.Nd4 Kh7 23.h4

[23.Ndxe6 Qxe5 24.b4 Qf6 25.bxa5 fxe6]

23...Qxe5 24.h5 Kh8 25.Nxc6 Nxc6 26.hxg6 f5 27.g7+

Forcing a drawn position.

27...Rxg7 28.Ng6+ Kg8 29.Nxe5 1/2-1/2

The round started with Viswanathan Anand dreaming of a win against Levon Aronian with a chance to catch Vladimir Kramnik in first place. Instead in what I can only assume was forgotten theory, Anand was worse as soon as he innovated. He seemed so dispirited that he put up absolutely no resistance for the rest of the game. A very disappointing result for the World Champion and also very slapdash from him.

Anand,Viswanathan - Aronian,Levon [D15]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (9), 14.11.2009

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.c5 Nbd7 7.Bd3 e5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nd7 10.e6 Nxc5 11.exf7+ Kxf7 12.b3?

A new move, maybe Anand forgot something because it seems to be losing.

[12.Bc2 g6 13.0-0 Bg7 14.Ne2 Re8 15.Nd4 Qd6 16.b4 Ne6 17.Rb1 Nxd4 18.exd4 a5 19.bxa5 Rxa5 20.Bb3 Bf5 21.Ra1 Be4 22.Be3 Qd7 23.Rc1 Raa8 24.Re1 Bf5 25.Qd2 h5 26.h3 Re4 27.f3 Ree8 28.g4 hxg4 29.hxg4 Be6 30.Qc2 Qd6 31.Qh2 Qxh2+ 32.Kxh2 Bd7 33.Kg2 Re6 34.Bf2 Rae8 35.Rxe6 Rxe6 36.Kf1 b4 37.Bc2 Rf6 38.Kg2 Re6 39.Bd3 Re8 40.Rb1 Bf8 41.Kf1 Ra8 42.Rb2 Ra3 43.Ke2 g5 44.Be3 Kf6 45.Rc2 Bd6 46.Bd2 Be7 47.Be1 Bd6 48.Bd2 Be7 49.Be1 Bd6 1/2-1/2 Aronian,L (2757)-Movsesian,S (2732)/Nanjing CHN 2008/The Week in Chess 737]

12...Nxd3+ 13.Qxd3 Qg5 14.g3 Qf6 15.Bb2 Qf3 16.Rg1 Bg4 17.a3 Re8 18.Rc1?

Making things worse.

18...b4 19.axb4 Bxb4 20.h3 Bxh3 21.g4 Bxg4 22.Rg3 Qf5 23.Qd4 Re4 24.Qa7+ Qd7 25.Qb6?

[25.Qxa6 h5]

25...c5

Anand has had enough.

0-1

Magnus Carlsen's tournament was pretty much ruined by ill health for the most part. His opponents for the most part still treated him with kid-gloves and he didn't have many problems securing draws. A win in round 8 must have perked him up considerably and in the final round he won an ending from being worse against Peter Leko. One can't help feeling that Leko played the ending very poorly for a player of his strength. This means that Carlsen will gain rating points and must be very close to overtaking Topalov as world number one. Not a bad result at all for Carlsen considering his health in the event.

Leko,Peter - Carlsen,Magnus [B90]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (9), 14.11.2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Nf6 11.Qf3 Qb6 12.0-0-0 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.Be2 Qc5 15.Rhe1 g4

[15...Be6 16.e5 dxe5 17.Bd3 e4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Qxe4 0-0-0 20.a3 Rd5 21.Qb4 Rhd8 22.Qxc5+ Rxc5 23.Be2 Bf5 24.c3 Rd7 25.Bg4 Bxg4 1/2-1/2 Lutz,C (2640)-Polgar,J (2715)/Budapest HUN 2003/The Week in Chess]

16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.Qd3 Be6 18.e5 dxe5 19.Bf3 e4 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.Rxe4 0-0 22.Qe3 Rac8 23.Qxc5 Rxc5 24.Bg4

It's quite hard to believe that white can lose this. I think this move is the start of white getting himself into trouble if all he wants is a draw.

24...Bxg4 25.Rxg4

It's quite hard to believe that white can lose this.

25...f5 26.Rb4 b5 27.a4 Rfc8 28.c3 Rc4 29.Rxc4 Rxc4 30.axb5 axb5 31.Rd8+ Kh7 32.Rd7 Rg4 33.Bb8?!

and here white loses a vital tempo.

[33.Rxe7 h5 (33...Kg6) 34.Be5 Rxg2 35.Kd1 Kh6 36.Re6+ Kh7 37.Ke2 Bxe5 38.Rxe5 Rg5 39.Rxb5 h4 40.Rd5 Kg6 41.Rd1]

33...Rxg2 34.Rxe7 Kg6?!

An ill-conceived idea.

35.Bg3 h5 36.Kd1?!

[36.Rb7 Bf6 37.Rb8 f4 38.Bh4 Rh2 39.Bxf6 Kxf6 40.Rxb5]

36...Bf6 37.Re6 Kf7

38.Re3?

[38.Re2 h4 39.Bd6 h3 40.f3 Bh4 41.Rxg2 hxg2 42.Bc5 Ke6 43.Bg1 Kd5 44.b3 Bf6 45.Kd2 f4 46.Kd3]

38...h4 39.Bc7 Rxf2 40.b3 Rf1+ 41.Ke2 Rc1 42.c4 bxc4 43.bxc4 Rxc4 44.Bb8 Rc2+ 45.Kf1 Kg6 46.Re2 Rc8 47.Bd6 Rc6 48.Be7 Bxe7 49.Rxe7 Rc2

White is not in a position to hold this version of the Rook and Bishop pawn Rook ending.

50.Re3 Kg5 51.Kg1 Kg4 52.Ra3 f4 53.Ra8 Rd2 54.Ra7 Kg3 55.Rg7+ Kf3 56.Ra7 Rd1+ 57.Kh2 Ke2 58.Kh3 f3 59.Ra2+ Rd2 0-1

In common with the slapdash theme Alexander Morozevich's position collapsed pretty quickly against Ruslan Ponomariov once he started to go wrong. His 19...Be2? was quickly followed by the 23...Bb5? which just left no reason to continue.

Ponomariov,Ruslan - Morozevich,Alexander [E04]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (9), 14.11.2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e3 0-0

[8...Nd5 9.Bxe7 Ncxe7 10.Ne5 b5 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 0-0 13.Qc2 Bb7 14.Nd3 Qd6 15.Qb2 Qb6 16.e4 Nf6 17.Nc5 Rfd8 18.Nc3 Bc6 19.b4 Be8 20.e5 Nfd5 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.Ra5 Bc6 23.Rfa1 Ra7 24.Rxa6 Rda8 25.Rxa7 Rxa7 26.Ra3 h6 27.Qa1 Rxa3 28.Qxa3 Ne7 29.Qa6 Bxg2 30.Kxg2 Qc6+ 31.Qxc6 Nxc6 32.Na6 Nxd4 33.Nxc7 Kf8 34.f4 Ke7 35.Kf2 Kd7 36.Na6 Nf5 37.Kf3 Ke7 1/2-1/2 Pelletier,Y (2589)-Fressinet,L (2658)/Novi Sad SRB 2009/The Week in Chess 781]

9.Nbd2 e5 10.Nxc4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.Qxd4 Qxd4 13.exd4 Rd8 14.Rfd1 Bg4 15.Re1 Bb4 16.Rec1 Rab8 17.a3 Bf8 18.Ne3 Rxd4 19.Rxc7

19...Be2

[19...Be6]

20.Rxb7 Rxb7 21.Bxb7 Nd7 22.Nf5 Ra4 23.Re1 Bb5?

[23...Bg4]

24.Re8 h6 25.Be7 g6 26.b3 Ra5 27.Bb4 1-0

There isn't much to be said about Peter Svidler and Boris Gelfand. They followed Gelfand's game against Radajbov in the Petroff for a long way, swapped off a few pieces and agreed a draw.

Svidler,Peter - Gelfand,Boris [C42]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (9), 14.11.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c4 Nf6 10.Nc3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nxd4 12.Qd1 Ne6 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Bb5+ c6 15.Nxd5 cxb5 16.Qb3 0-0 17.Be3 Bc5 18.Rad1 Bxe3 19.Rxe3 Qa5 20.Qc2 Rfe8 21.f4 b4 22.f5 Nf8 23.Ne7+ Kh8 24.Qc4 Ne6 25.Nd5 Rad8

[25...Qc5 26.Qxb4 Qxb4 27.Nxb4 Nc5 28.Nd5 Rxe3 29.Nxe3 h5 30.f6 Ne4 31.fxg7+ Kxg7 32.Kf1 1/2-1/2 Radjabov,T (2756)-Gelfand,B (2733)/Bazna ROM 2009/The Week in Chess 762]

26.Ree1 Qc5+ 27.Qxc5 Nxc5 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Nxb4 g6 30.fxg6 1/2-1/2

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