Corus Chess Tournament 2007, Round 12

 by John Lee Shaw









Ever since the schedule of play was announced at the opening ceremony, talk of the tournament has been round 12, when Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik would play each other -- the first time since their World Championship match which produced a feud between the two. The game started very disappointingly for me, as I had really expected a handshake, (even Topalov had, going by his interview in New In Chess), even if it was brief, but this did not materialise either at the start of the game or afterwards. Now, I try not to be judgemental in life, and even more so in my profession as a chess journalist -- 'mine is not to reason why...' as the saying goes. However, I must say that short of cutting my hands off, I can not avoid 1 or 2 words on this matter, therefore I beg forgiveness.

Simply put, have things gone so wrong that two professionals can not shake hands in the nature of the sport? We have the showcases of chess, its World Champion, and its world #1 demonstrating unsportsmanlike behaviour with the eyes of the world upon them. 'Even boxers tap gloves' said one of my colleagues of this, and it really did bring home to me just how bitter this matter has become. I find it a shame that not only do the events in Elista create bad feeling between Topalov and Kramnik (and their teams), but now the whole debacle is being the aspect of chess most talked about. As someone who has spent so long loving our beautiful game, I do not know whether it saddens me or annoys me most.

And then, just before this round, an article appeared about suspicious behaviour from Silvio Danailov, who is apparently signalling Veselin Topalov from within the crowd. Will this nonsense ever stop? I have no affiliation with either Vladimir Kramnik or Veselin Topalov, but I can honestly say that the idea that either one of them is a cheat is ridiculous. They are brilliant players, and they make brilliant moves, (even before computers were good enough to be an aid to them), plain and simple. The allegations made against Vladimir Kramnik, I believe, were unwise and ill-considered, I believe that those who made them and continue to cast doubts upon his integrity should either prove it or cease with it and apologise. The allegations made against Veselin Topalov and his manager, Silvio Danailov, I believe are equally wrong. I have observed Silvio very much, and he is pretty much constantly on his mobile telephone whether in the crowd or in the pressroom. I have never seen him doing anything that could be considered signalling Veselin, but there again, I have not been looking for it, and when you look hard enough you can see anything, especially if you want  to see it for malicious reasons or a moment of glory.

Chess is the biggest demonstrator of the fact that we are human, and humans make mistakes. The important part is to learn from them. The parties involved in this matter are just not learning, and this is costly not only to themselves, but also to chess. I echo Susan Polgar's wise words on this matter ...

Like Susan, I await the answer to her fair and rational questions, and until such a time, these matters (and any other unfortunate similarities) are getting the attention from me that they deserve...none. I am here for chess, I work day and night to bring it to the visitors of this site, it is a passion. I am not interested in irresponsible mud-slingers, or people who think they are bigger than the game itself, and so endeth my last words on this unfortunate situation.


To the games, then, and we will start with Topalov-Kramnik, which drew a huge crowd of spectators, as would probably have been expected. Unfortunately, the game was not quite at atmospheric as all the hype and anticipation that had surrounded it. The players steered away from ground covered in Elista, opting for a Queens Gambit Declined, with black playing a new move with 12...dxc4 (12...Rd7 and 12...e5 had been played before). From here, exchanges took place, including queens, and I am suprised at the large plus score (0.80) given by Fritz after 15...Nxd8. A little over gracious I feel, though white is undoubtably better. White did obtain excellent play, though, with active pieces and was pushing. Kramnik, however, defended excellently as always, and in the end black had a passed pawn and white a knight able to sacrifice itself to stop it. Game drawn.

... as does the ever-growing crowd.

Karjakin-Carlsen debated the Open Spanish, and was very close until white's loose 25.Qg2?! allowed black to pick up a pawn with 25...fxg4 and from here he threatened to take over the position. Just when things were getting critical, white sacrificed his bishop to obtain draw by repetition, but erhaps he could have been more ambitious, as 30.Bg6 may have been a lot stronger than Karjakin's 30.Bf5.

Tiviakov-Anand was quite uneventful. In a side-line of the Caro Kann white was better pretty much all the way, but with no clear breakthrough pieces were traded and a draw was agreed on move 27. Also a draw was the topsy-turvy game between Alexey Shirov and Levon Aronian. They got in to a Spanish (quite appropriately maybe) and white was slightly better until a questionable decision not to exchange queens handed some momentum to black, who a few moves later was standing strategically won. However, as the saying goes, 'the hardest thing to do is win a won game', and Aronian allowed Shirov to slip through his fingers thanks to a few loose moves. A huge sigh of relief for Alexey.

I think even journalists are allowed to have favourites, (we are human -- just -- after all) and it was a mixed bag for mine. On the one hand, David Navara, (who is an extremely pleasent and modest young man) had a very nice win over former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov, but on the other, Peter Svidler (also a thoroughly nice chap) lost quite badly to Loek van Wely. It's a funny -- sometimes cruel -- game is chess.

The first game was a Tarrasch French, with white's Q-side pawns becomming a bit messed up. In compensation, he held the most active pieces. By the time black was anywhere near catching up, White had penetrated with his rook with a clear momentum. There came the win of a pawn, and in the endgame, Black felt obliged to give up a bishop for two passed Q-side pawns. This, however, did not cage things very much, and a few moves later Pono was resigning. A very nice Game from David Navara, who is fast becomming a force to be reckoned with!

the other example, always respectful and polite, and smiling,
Czech Republic GM David Navara, on his way to 1-0 over Ruslan Ponomariov

The second game saw Peter Svidler sponteneously combust like a pheonix against Loek van Wely. The Russian took up his beloved Grunfeld Defence but ended up having something of a disaster with it. Unfortunately I was not able to ask Peter myself about the game, but it seems that after his 16...Bxh6 things started to plummet for him. To be honest though, it is hard to see any good alternatives for black, (16...Qb6!?), and so I think one has to look even earlier. Fatigue could also have played its part in this result, however, as Peter was looking extremely tired after his game against Topalov. Perhaps combined with strong medication that he is taking for his foot, it was just too much too soon. This takes nothing away from van Wely however, who played very nice chess and capitalised on Svidler's mistakes powerfully.

Dutch GM Loek van Wely speaking to Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam after defeating Peter Svidler

The other win of the round came from Teymour Radjabov, who was back to winning ways after a loss and 3 draws. He once again employed the King's Indian against Alexander Motylev, and this time it bore fruit. This being said, however, it was the Russian who had the better of the opening, but a strong knight on d5 was counter-balanced by an off-side queen and a bad light-squared bishop. Black then started to even up the score, establishing a knight of his own at d4, which white felt obliged to exchange off. The centre became somewhat immobile, and here white erred by pawn-grabbing on f4, which allowed black to penetrate the kingside with his rook. Motylev was soon in big trouble, some loose moves at critical times costing him dear. Black won a piece, and Radjabov had notched up the point soon after.

back on his feet, Azerbaijan GM Teymour Radjabov, joint leader after twelve rounds

Going in to Sunday's round 13, then (unlucky for some!) and the tournament is poised quite interestingly with Topalov and Radjabov in joint lead with 8.0/12 and Levon Aronian just behind them with 7.5. Round 13 will see the leaders play each other, which is probably annoying to the likes of Anand, Svidler, and Kramnik, (all on 7.0), who do not have chances of catching them, as both leaders can not lose.


1. V. Topalov, T. Radjabov -- 8
3. L. Aronian -- 7½
4. P. Svidler, V. Kramnik, V. Anand -- 7
7. D. Navara -- 6
8. R. Ponomariov, S. Karjakin -- 5½
10. S. Tiviakov, L. van Wely -- 5
12. A. Motylev -- 4½
13. A. Shirov, M. Carlsen -- 4

There is an interesting situation in the B-Group, also, with Pavel Eljanov leading by a mere half point (8.0/12) from Gabriel Sargissian, Bu Xiangzhi, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Eljanov drew with top seed Dmitry Jakovenjo in round 11, while his chasers all won their games to keep the pressure on. An exciting climax awaits!


1. P. Eljanov -- 8
2. G. Sargissian, Bu Xiangzhi, M. Vachier-Lagrave -- 7½
5. E. L’Ami, , D. Jakovenko -- 7
7. V. Bologan, D. Stellwagen  -- 6½
9. J. Smeets -- 5½
10. F. Nijboer -- 5
11. J. Werle -- 4½
12. T. Kosintseva, S. Atalik -- 4
14. V. Georgiev -- 3½


In Group-C, Ian Nepomniachtchi continues to lead, drawing with Parimarjan Negi in round 11. Michal Krasenkow defeated Edwin van Haastert, and so has improved his position to just a half point off of Nepomniachtchi's lead. There is pressure for that all important final round.


1. I. Nepomniachtchi -- 10
2. M. Krasenkow -- 9½
3. E. Berg -- 8
4. Hou Yifan -- 7
5. P. Negi, W. Spoelman -- 6½
7. E. van Haastert, van der Wiel, Peng -- 5½
10. M. Bosboom -- 5
11. N. Kosintseva -- 4½
12. S. Brynell, H. Jonkman, T. Willemze -- 3½