Svidler might, or might not. And Carlsen obviously isn't averse to quick draws either, but given the tournament standings and the fact that only two rounds remain, why today? He can still very well win the tournament (!!) but then he needs to win today. Of course he'll try.

It opens up the possibility for Svidler to close in as well if Carlsen tries too much like he did in Corus.

I hope Aronian plays a good game today. Btw, has he ever won a classical game against Chucky?

Ironically, I wonder if Mig's earlier comments might prompt Henrik Carlsen to encourage his son to push for a win (if the position is dynamic or +/=) rather than agree to a draw. Regardless, if I were in Magnus' shoes I would try hard to win these final two rounds (at least today as White) in order to put this tournament in the 'legendary' category. "Carlsen wins Linares at age 16" is legendary; something like "Carlsen comes in tied-for-second at Linares" is not.

Actually, tied for secon would be legendary; at least in my book. But I'm still hoping Leko will wake up today.

Magnus has had some bad results against Peter Svidler earlier, draw would be a good result for him... at least at his age. Svidler is a strage player to my eye... he doesn't seem to be doing anything phenomenal, yet he is again sitting comfortably at TOP-3, this time ahead of Aronian and Topalov.

Actually with a bit of luck Svidler might be able to get to shared first, because he is facing Magnus today and unstable Alex tomorrow. They are both players he knows he is able to win on his good day.

ComputoJon,

It's close to legendary as it is, evrything from now on is bonus.

Magnus hasn't a win yet vs Svidler, lost twice I think (Longyearbyen and Corus).

ComputoJon.

Henrik Carlsen may still be in a position to dictate Magnus' bedtime (pure speculation), but I don't think he has any influence how he plays.

But still. Winning the entire tournament would indeed be 'legendary' whereas coming second doesn't sound equally fantastic (even if it means he gets the best ever performance by a sub 17-year old player based on chessmetrics tournament performance ratings)

Let's hope he doesn't push to hard, but rather plays according to the oportunities that he gets on the board.

I am sure , its going to be two quick draws for Anand. A loss (against Svidler) and a draw for Carlsen . Anand will win it from here and topple Topa from the top of the rankings ;-)

The game of the round should be the Morozevich - Topalov game even though it is not very critical to teh standings. With those two players you can always expect something interesting.

I predict two draws for anand, and two brilliant wins by Carlsen...

That way the Anand fans get their man on top of the rating list, and I get my man into the record books (by a wide margin).

That doesn't leave too much to celebrate for the Topa fans, but hey! it's a week end: Grab some beer or your vodka bottle and have some fun with your friends!

Sounds optimistic "simsan" ... however will justice be done if Carlsen , inspite of losing twice to Anand pips him at the finish ;-)

Well, Moro did exactly that to Carlsen at Biel

What's this I see at the Linares website:
Carlsen-Svidler 0-1
Morozevich-Topalov 1/2-1/2
Anand-Leko 1/2-1/2
Aronian-Ivanchuk 0-1

Are the games over? Susan hasn't even made a blog yet.

Ooops! The site just got a reset.
The plays are not yet over.
That was a sloppy transmission mistake.

Where can I watch the games live (other than playchess/icc)?

www.chesspro.ru

Click live

samdog, you can watch the games live at the chess-live server (www.chess-live.com)

Can someone please post an update to the games, especially the status of Carlsen-Svidler and Anand-Leko? Thanks.

gmnotyet,

Carlsen-Svidler. Move 19. Active open position.
Anand-Leko. Move 24. Looks drawish.
Aronian-Ivanchuk. Move 22. Can't quite describe this position in words...very interesting for both sides.
Morozevich-Topalov. Move 20. Long pawn lines--you know the kind that are about to be exchanged. You can cut the tension with a knife. Everything will depend on circumsances and timing of pawn exchanges.

@Yuri: Thanks.

Anand - Leko game has been drawn on move 26

Anand - Leko is already drawn.

Can anyone post PGN for Carlsen-Svidler? Thanks.

GM Carlsen,Magnus(NOR) (2690) - GM Svidler,Peter(RUS) (2728) [D78]
XXIV SuperGM Linares, ESP (13), 09.03.2007
[Robot 1]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.Qa4 0-0 7.0-0 Bf5 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.cxd5 Nb6 10.Qb3 Nfxd5 11.Rd1 Qd6 12.Bd2 Nxc3 13.Bxc3 Qe6 14.d5 cxd5 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Nd4 Qf6 17.Nxf5+ Qxf5 18.a4 Rfd8 19.a5 Nc4 20.Qxb7 e6 21.e4 dxe4 Line

Carlsen - Svidler, 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. Qa4 O-O 7. O-O Bf5 8.
Nc3 Nbd7 9. cxd5 Nb6 10. Qb3 Nfxd5 11. Rd1 Qd6 12. Bd2 Nxc3 13. Bxc3 Qe6 14.
d5 cxd5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Nd4 Qf6 17. Nxf5+ Qxf5 18. a4 Rfd8 19. a5 Nc4 20.
Qxb7 e6 21. e4 dxe4 (game in progress)

@Matt Helfst, evanhaut: Thanks.

Carlsen vs Spliter: Carlsen exchanged the queen for rooks.

@aasj: Could be good. Magnus has that powerful bishop, the outside pawn majority, and his king safety negates the power of the Black queen.

I do not know what the board looks like but it sounds like Magnus has real winning chances.

MH,
Why do you keep on insisting for chess-live server when it requires a membership to view the games? On the other hand you can straight away log in to chesspro.ru
Sorry, if I sound rude ...

Carlsen-Svidler drawn by repetition

Aronian-Ivanchuk over on move 39 in a draw.

Any update on the Morozevich-Topalov game? Thanks.

They are still playing but the position is drawn. Looks like they just don't like each other too much...

They have both queened a pawn now and I think reached a new time control. GK is watching on Playchess, so it must still be of some interest. Unless he's just hanging out. :)

Any new update on Moro-Topa? Thanks.

Its a drawn position on move 73. Topa has king in the far corner from Moro's pawn, with well centralised queen. They can agree a draw now.

Moro wins in an amazing and precise endgame.

Bozo,
its a book draw.

Did Moro win or not? I am confused now.

Chesspro says its winning now for white(Moro), mate in 45 or something in that kind. Amazing, Moro just outplayed Topalov in a seemingly safest and drawest endgame.

gmnotyet,
for your information, the game is still going on. Its still a theoretical draw.

It looks very much like a theoretical win to me...

gmnotyet,
mistake by Topa on move 76. Moro now to win.

When a GM says it's a win in 45 moves, the precision tells me that's a computer assessment, ie: a won theoretical position. Of course, that does not mean a human will succeed.

gmnotyet, fyi

move 80 game still on, dearey believes this is still draw

Doesn't look like a draw to me. Two queens to one....

abdulla,
sorry, I've a lousy connection. The game is won for Moro. Topa's mistake was at move 76.

Sorry for the offtopic :
Is the official site of the Linares 07 supposed to attract its visitors ?
It just does not work..

what a game, Moro wins!!

I'm curious how many mistakes had Topa to make to lose that endgame after move 35. Or was it really bad at that time? Hmm, I don't believe so.
Btw, Topa resigned

Moro has won. Yee-haw!

Topalov did make a mistake on move 76, but the "45 move" statement was made by Notkin after move 72.

Wowee. These guys have played two of the most exciting, sloppiest, craziest games of the year against each other in this tournament. Nothing like a little personal animosity to fry the nerves to a crispy brown.

Larry Christiansen and I left off around move 60. Moro definitely had better chances earlier. 53.g4 looks like a good place to start. Very hard to defend. Obviously the queen endgame wasn't too easy either!

Btw is this Moro's first or second Linares appearance? He's the most exciting player around, hope they keep inviting him.

Topolov only had to make one mistake to lose after move 35...the last one. =8-)

There can hardly be any doubt that Linares has been one thoroughly frustrating tournament for Topalov. For his fans too, I suspect. I appreciate his zeal to play, but personally I am ready to step away from chess for a couple of months. Had too much of it since the Fall. Spring is here...

D.

Moro!!! Moro!!! Moro!!!

Well, it seems that hatred or hostility is more effective in forcing the GMs to play fulllength/exciting games than any draw offer ban. Need proof? Just look at the last two Moro-Topa or Corus's Topa-Kramnik.

Perhaps instead of the Sofia rule, the GMs should be required to punch each other in the eye (in lieu of the traditional handshake) before their games. Bloodbath (on board) will be guaranteed.

Went to and fro a few times according to tablebases, and before then according to computers. Justice done in the end though. Karma. Handshakeless karma.

guess the comeback from Morozevich in the scnd half at Linares was not too bad; both Topalov-Morozevich clashes were titanic struggles following some funny roller coaster dramaturgy... now this is chess to watch online!

speechless...

Well, Topalov had his run. He was the strongest chess player in the world from June 2004 through October 2006 but now his domination has ended.

But with Topalov, you never know. He may run up a +5 at M-Tel in two months.

By the way, even if Anand were to lose tomorrow, he's would be numero uno in the ratings! Congradulations Vishwanathan, it's about damn time.

For a while I felt Topalov's play had become very much like Kasparov's (sacrificial, uncompromising, great opening prep and sharp openings like Najdorf) but this tournament has made the difference between the two very clear!

Kasparov's worst Linares that I remember was one where he finished with +1 drawing everyone except for Anand (who won it if I remember correctly)? Was that his worst?

Has someone run the actual rating numbers for Vishy and Topi from Corus and Linares? I have some approximations but would love to have the actual stats.

Thank you, Morozevich! Thank you!

Anand should throw a party for all those who have beaten Topalov and especially to Carlsen for the 2 points :)

Mig,

I'm using my womanly intuition. Can't be wrong. =8-)

Do you use it while playing chess too? ;)

@Dimi--stay with chess. Topalov will come back and there is lots of other fun stuff to watch.

Guys, aside from the two Mtels, the only recent tournament where Topalov finished in clear first is San Luis. Very impressive achievement, but I think the evaluation of the guy's results was an overestimate. There is no doubt in my mind that he is a very good player, one of the world's four best. His comeback last year in Linares, his fantastic win in San Luis, his consistently good results and appealing open style of play have made him many a deserving fan. But he was never at Kasparov's level in terms of results and quality of play.

Nonetheless, perhaps this will mark an end of Danailov slugging dirt and a return to the more sane grounded Veselin (character-wise)we have seen prior to 2006.

sT, You better believe it!

Great game by Moro. Watching the live shots on the official site left the impressiion he wasn't sitting at the board much over the last couple of hours.

This rating number fetish that's going around reminds me to reread Guenon's "The Reign of Quantity and the Sign of the Times."

Great game by Moro. Watching the live shots on the official site left the impressiion he wasn't sitting at the board much over the last couple of hours.

This rating number fetish that's going around reminds me to reread Guenon's "The Reign of Quantity and the Sign of the Times."

How do tiebreaks for Linares work if Anand draws tomorrow and Carlsen wins ?

For that matter, if Anand loses and Carlsen draws and Svidler wins ?

...is it still number of Black wins?

Mig, here are the expected Elos for Anand and Topalov as of April 1 (Since the German Bundesliga ends only in July, I assume that Anand will not get the 6-odd points in the April 1 update).

Anand:
Ivanchuk-Anand 1-0: 2780
Ivanchuk-Anand 0.5: 2785
Ivanchuk-Anand 0-1: 2790

Topalov:
Topalov-Aronian 1-0: 2777
Topalov-Aronian 0.5: 2772
Topalov-Aronian 0-1: 2767

So, whatever happens, Viswanathan Anand will be the new world number 1 on April 1st!!!

well, looks like 13 isn´t Topalov´s lucky number...

According to Scid, Topalov won 7 Elo-Points in Wijk and stays at -20 at this very moment in Spain.

Anand OTOH lost 3 Points in Wijk and gains 8 before round 12 in Linares.

Mig: Has someone run the actual rating numbers for Vishy and Topi from Corus and Linares? I have some approximations but would love to have the actual stats.

I did just that in a previous thread (R12) for Corus. Linares is still alive and my speculation of Anand finishing with 2 draws in the last two rounds and Topalov finishing with a win and a draw has since been invalidated, but unless Anand loses his last round game to Ivanchuk, the gap can only be greater than what I'd mentioned.
Btw, I didn't count the Bundesliga points since I have no idea when they'd be carried forward.

before round _14_ that is...

Here's the break up of Corus and Linares..

Linares:
Anand:8.5 = +8
Anand:8.0 = +3
Anand:9.0 = +13
Topalov 5.5 = -23.4
Topalov:6.0 = -18.4
Topalov:6.5 = -13.4

Corus:
Anand = -1.7
Topalov = +7

Did you have to say April 1st!!! ???

...but will FIDE include Linares in their April 1 rating list? It's past their deadline, although as someone mentioned at some point, in the past FIDE has included super-tournaments past the deadline. But I don't know if it is a sure thing that they would include it in time for the April 1 rating list.

Here are ratings as for Feb. 23, 2007 (Corus included):
(Kasparov 2812)
Topalov 2791
Anand 2774
Kramnik 2770
Aronian 2756
Morozevich 2751
Leko 2751
Mamediarov 2744
Rajabov 2743
Ivanchuk 2739
Svidler 2731
...

http://www.64.ru/?/ru/news/item=1567

Carlsen - 2671

And what wiil be Carlsen rating?

As a Vishy fan, I choose not to believe that list by Vlad...but even if were true, the only circumstance under which Vishy will NOT become #1 is if he loses tomorrow AND Topalov wins..

However, I hope my original calculations are more correct...(the celebrations have already begun...:))

Vlad, that list is rubbish. Almost all the numbers are wrong. How did Mamedyarov lose ten points? How did Leko gain two points without playing any rated games since Tal Memorial? Looking over quickly, the only number that I can tell is correct is Topalov and Svidler (gained 7.7 and 3.3 in Corus).

My calculations after Round 13 (including Corus, of course):
Anand 2788
Topalov 2780

But what can you expect from a site that publishes player horoscopes before major tournaments.

Carlsen lost 19.4 at Corus and will gain 20.4, 25.4 or 30.4 from Linares depending on his result against Leko tomorrow. So in the April 1 list, he will be either 2691, 2696 or 2701 depending on tomorrow's game..

Topalov 2791
Anand 2774
Kramnik 2770

These numbers seem wrong. Topalov gained 7.0 at Corus, putting him at 2790. Anand lost 2, putting him at 2777, Kramnik gained 5.9, putting him at 2772.

Vlad, your numbers are wrong, Anand's numbers are right.

on another note, wonder what Mig will have to say about Moro's win today ?!?

"Moro pushed Topalov to where he (Moro) was on Tuesday" ??

Carlsen lost 19.4 at Corus and will gain 20.4, 25.4 or 30.4 from Linares depending on his result against Leko tomorrow.
---

Wrong. He lost 14.5 in Corus, and will gain 17.2/22.2/27.2 from Linares.

home come?

Well I am glad everyone agrees on the new ratings. LOL.

10 rating estimates with 11 different ratings. haha.

Great fun game by Moro to watch.

Topalov definitely plays differently without Danailov standing in the audience. Not simply the results but watching every move, the power and precision is missing. Also he avoids the ultra sharp positions that a computer would be good at. Previously, I have always watched Topalov play every move perfectly. Now Topalov seems to wander and not know what to do.

He played Essent the same way.

Interesting someone brought up Mtel from last year. Interesting that Topalov sat at the same table close to the audience. All the other players were in the background. Pictures of every round are on the web site. but here is one showing the setup well.

http://www.mtelmasters06.com/plugins/gallery/plugin.gallery.view.php?photo=0000000093

Lets call that pic Exhibit A?

Kenny,

so you're that anonymous dummy that pushes this nonsense on Polgar's blog in almost every thread. Such a pathetic character...

If Topalov was so uncomfortable to play without Danailov and a computer, would he be willing to push his luck on 70+ move games instead of settling for something quieter?

D.

COMPLETELY off topic: (but inspired by chesstraveler's post at 16:23)

Does anyone know the origin of the word 'Congrandulations'? I was pretty sure I'd seen it in Joyce's Finnegans Wake a few years back, but I can't find it now. Is there a similar word in Finnegans Wake? Any english majors out there....

Congrandulations is not a word, do you mean Congratulations?

No, I know all about congratulations. :)

There can hardly be any doubt that Linares has been one thoroughly frustrating tournament for Topalov. For his fans too, I suspect. I appreciate his zeal to play, but personally I am ready to step away from chess for a couple of months. Had too much of it since the Fall. Spring is here...

D.
Posted by: Dimi at March 9, 2007 16:17

But at least veselintopalov.net should stay!

RR

I heard it along the way somewhere but as far as knowing if Joyce had used or come up with it I can't say. Wouldn't surprise me though, he did like to play around with puns.

It's congrandyoulikethems, and I'm not even an english major ;).

I also made a calculation of Magnus' rating after Linares, and they seem to match zakki's calculations. Anand's numbers are wrong.

I hope Carlsen doesn't play for a draw tomorrow. Of course there are no guarantee's, but why not try to win with black against Leko and have a shot at first place. No matter what happens he's had a great tournament and winning or sharing first always looks better down the line than 2nd in a tournament history chart. Not only that but the opportunity is certainly presents itself. I mean Leko is in last place and I heard somewhere that he had been working hard to improve his game recently, so one would think that ( to use an expression of Mig's) he's got to be feeling like a "bucket of squat" at this time. No disrespect to Leko he's a great player, but all he wants now is to return home asap and lick his wounds.

Thank you, crf!

The most interesting Linares in quite a while. Such a shame there is no twoMoro.

I guess I don't know the backstory... why is there bad blood between Morozevich and Topalov? Did Moro express an opinion on toiletgate?

Friday, round 13: the unlucky one was Topalov!

As an anand fan, I would 'prefer' to exclude the 30 elo points Anand lost from the Olympiad. Since the current elo difference between them is less than 30, I would say Anand's rating is already above topalov's.

=========
I guess I don't know the backstory... why is there bad blood between Morozevich and Topalov? Did Moro express an opinion on toiletgate?
Posted by: RR at March 9, 2007 21:37
=========

Moro was the one who suspected Topalov of cheating in San Luis and nominated Hydra, Rybka, and Danailov for Chess Oscar 2005.

Anand's Olympiad performance must be one of the biggest Elo losses in a single tournament by a GM. (What is the record btw?) Anand's -4 in Dortmund 2001 (2797 --> 2770) should also be a contender.

RR - I believe the bad blood between Moro and Topalov is because Moro was one of the GMs who accused Topalov of receiving "assistance" at San Luis in 2005. I repeat "one." Several GMs insinuated this.

Wow, I didn't know a top GM like Moro alleged that Topalov was cheating. Unlike Topa's accusations against Kramnik, Moro was not the only 'victim' of the alleged cheating. Atleast to me, this makes Moro's allegations sound a little less ridiculous than Topalov's. Did Moro propose a mechanism for the cheating, the way Topalov did for toiletgate? Unless there is a possible mechanism and some suspicious activity, one has to be skeptical of cheating claims. (To me, both are lacking.)

That said, cheating in chess is much more serious than, say, a track athlete being on steroids. Given the power of computers even in amateur hands, it is more like the athlete getting into a car.

Yes, let's start it all over again...

"Moro was the one who suspected Topalov of cheating (...)"

any sources for this?

"(...) in San Luis and nominated Hydra, "

barely, since Hydra is in the sole hand of some Sheik in the UAE. It was rather Fritz,

"Rybka, and Danailov for Chess Oscar 2005."

I take it back, Tinho. I never meant to join, much less restart, a discussion on cheating. I was just surprised for a moment that a guy like Moro (i.e. a top GM without a personal stake in the issue) made this allegation. There it rests, barring any new information.

Does anyone know what Moro's performance rating would be for the Linares part?