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Dortmund 2010 Round 1

Submitted by SonofPearl on Thu, 07/15/2010 at 2:09pm.

ruslan ponomariov.jpgThe opening round of this double-round robin elite event produced two wins out three games, but Kramnik had to settle for a half point.

Ruslan Ponomariov (pictured) used the Scotch to defeat Peter Leko, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov employed the Najdorf to beat Naiditsch with the black pieces.

Vladimir Kramnik is the hot favourite, but he had to settle for a draw against qualifier Le Quang Liem after a hard-fought 64 moves.

It's a good start to the tournament, which sees some anti-draw rules in operation.  Draw offers are not permitted, so only repetition draws are allowed.  The arbiter can also step in to declare a match drawn if neither side has winning chances left.

The moves are also being broadcast by the official site with a 15 minute delay in an attempt to prevent the possibility of computer-aided cheating.  Whether this is worthwhile, or a waste of time depends on your point view.  Have your say in the comments.

The first round results:

Ponomariov, Ruslan 1-0 Leko, Peter
Kramnik, Vladimir ½-½ Le Quang Liem
Naiditsch, Arkadij 0-1 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar

 

The official site can be found here.

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of the official site.

 

Comments:

by Don3 - 18 months ago
Rourkela India
Member Since: Dec 2008
Member Points: 242

Ponomariov-Leko was a important theoritical endgame and I enjoyed it.

by WanderingWinder - 18 months ago
United States
Member Since: Jul 2008
Member Points: 1109

Regarding the 15 minute delay on the official site - was anyone able to get any moves from there at any point yesterday? I was not - all I got was a blank screen telling me about the delay and that a link to the server would appear at some point, etc. and then the page stopped loading at all for me.

by rabong - 18 months ago
laoag city Philippines
Member Since: Feb 2010
Member Points: 2

ponomariov is the dark horse in the tournament, in the end he will reign.

by SirakD - 18 months ago
Germany
Member Since: Jun 2010
Member Points: 79

This tournament should be to see on TV!! :-)

by uhavebeenserved - 18 months ago
las vegas United States
Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 244

vlady is over the hill, anyone with basic intelligence knows he is done

by hicetnunc - 18 months ago
Neuilly-sur-Seine France
Member Since: Aug 2007
Member Points: 5370

Very good start for newcomer Le Quang ! Smile

by Pavrey - 18 months ago
Mumbai India
Member Since: Jun 2007
Member Points: 872

Well played Mamedyarov - I am backing him for the title

by Dekker - 18 months ago
Limmen Netherlands
Member Since: Sep 2007
Member Points: 3682

@ jlueke: No a Q vs Q with few pawns is at high level always a draw.

It was though an incredible endgame! Thanks for posting.

by philidor_position - 18 months ago
international International
Member Since: May 2009
Member Points: 2986

Two wishes: Kramnik to win by breaking the 2800 barrier once more, and Mamedyarov to end in the last place with a ridiculous result, simply because he has one of the lowest sportmanships on the chess scene (after topalov).

by JohnWer1 - 18 months ago
United States
Member Since: Apr 2010
Member Points: 0

all are good

by jlueke - 18 months ago
Saint Paul United States
Member Since: Mar 2009
Member Points: 2211

So did the arbiter declare there were no winning chances in the Kramnik-Liem game?

by TadDude - 18 months ago
Canada
Member Since: Jan 2008
Member Points: 3649

"Akadij Naiditsch displayed courage when he played a well-known Najdorf line that Nigel Short had refuted fourteen years ago. "

"For fourteen years, this position has not been played by a single GM, so the question was whether Naiditsch had found something that might revive the opening. Unfortunately, it would seem not, and after leaving theory he had a difficult position that he eventually lost."

So did Naiditsch throw the game?

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6515

by WGM Natalia_Pogonina - 18 months ago
Saratov Russia
Member Since: Jul 2009
Member Points: 2233

Vlady will show who the boss is in the rounds to come. Laughing

by Santis - 18 months ago
Tasikmalaya Indonesia
Member Since: Dec 2009
Member Points: 362

Excellent job by Le Quang Liem! A perfect defense against Kramnik in the endgame. What a draw! 

by Loch_Chess_Monster - 18 months ago
United States
Member Since: Aug 2009
Member Points: 110

What a tedious endgame for Kramnik. I just noticed he's 2790. It would be cool if he could break 2800.

 

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