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With four players having a chance to at least tie for first, the preconditions were in place for a thrilling last round. This might have seemed especially likely, given the very low percentage of draws (by super-tournament standards) so far, but as it turned out “safety first” was the rule of the day. With a win over Veselin Topalov, world champion Viswanathan Anand would have clinched clear first, but his choice to play to meet Topalov’s Najdorf with 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg5 indicated his desire for a quiet life. The game followed yesterday’s tragic Radjabov-Shirov game through 11.O-O-O, but here Topalov varied with 11…Qb6 (instead of 11…Nd4), offering a pawn. Anand rightly returned it with 15.Qd2, resulting in an opposite-colored bishops middlegame where neither side had much to play for. The result was a quick draw, and at worst a tie for first place with Magnus Carlsen
This would happen only if Carlsen defeated Teimour Radjabov, who once again defended the Black pieces with the Schliemann Defense. Carlsen repeated the line Topalov employed in round 9, like Topalov achieving a position with no losing chances and some chances to press. Press he did, for 69 moves, but the pawn-up rook ending the players entered on move 42 offered White no real winning chances, and Carlsen had to settle for second place. Still, it was a terrific result for him, especially in conjunction with his performance in the Corus tournament a month ago (he tied for first), and rumor has it he will be #5 on the next FIDE rating list. Be afraid…be very afraid!
Carlsen’s second place finish would have been shared if Levon Aronian had managed to defeat Peter Leko, but Leko was never in danger on the White side of an Anti-Marshall. The players clearly didn’t realize it, as they had been using responsible amounts of time, but they were exactly following a 2007 game between Laurent Fressinet and Arkadij Naiditsch all the way through White’s 29th move. The earlier game was drawn in 36 moves, but Aronian’s choice must have been a serious improvement, as it led to a peaceful handshake two moves earlier.
Finally, Alexei Shirov and Vassily Ivanchuk put an end to what must have been a very disappointing tournament for both men. This game seemed headed for a draw almost from the start, as Shirov turned the MacCutcheon French into an Exchange Variation on move 5 Nevertheless, it was Shirov who did what pressing their was in the game, trying to avoid exchanges, playing the prophylactic b4 and the space-gaining 20.g4, 24.h4 and 25.h5, but the symmetrical pawn structure and the open e-file led them to share the point as well. This is a tournament I’m sure they’ll both want to forget: Shirov, because he came in last place (with Peter Leko), and Ivanchuk because he lost two games he was winning (and had he won them and everything else remained the same, he’d have tied for first). They’ll be back.
Games (will be) here.
Round 14 Results:
Anand - Topalov 1/2-1/2
Leko - Aronian 1/2-1/2
Carlsen - Radjabov 1/2-1/2
Shirov - Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2
Final Standings:
1. Anand 8.5
2. Carlsen 8
3-4. Aronian, Topalov 7.5
5. Radjabov 7
6. Ivanchuk 6.5
7-8. Leko, Shirov 5.5
Finally, let's take a look at my predictions:
1. Carlsen
2-3. Anand, Aronian
4. Radjabov
5-6. Shirov, Topalov
7-8. Ivanchuk, Leko
Pretty good! I wasn't off by more than a place for anyone, even if the ties gave me a little extra smudge room.
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