Tal Memorial - Round 3

Submitted by SonofPearl on Sat, 11/07/2009 at 1:38pm.

At last some decisive games at the Tal Memorial in Moscow! The quality has been very high so far, but there's nothing like some blood on the board to raise the pulse rate!

Fittingly, it was world champion Anand who was first to bag a victory, pouncing on an inaccuracy from Svidler.

Next up was Aronian, who out-prepared and outplayed Leko in a sharp Anti-Meran gambit.

But the most impressive win was arguably a truly amazing display from Kramnik (pictured) against Morozevich. Is this an all-new agressive Kramnik with the black pieces? We want more!

So at last there is a leaderboard worth showing...

Anand, Viswanathan	IND	2788	2
Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	2772	2
Aronian, Levon	ARM	2786	2
Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2739	1½
Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2801	1½
Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	2739	1½
Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2758	1½
Svidler, Peter	RUS	2754	1
Leko, Peter	HUN	2752	1
Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	2750	1

Round 4 starts tomorrow at 3pm local time as usual. Live coverage at the official site here.

» more Chess event coverage

| 4388 reads | 21 comments |

2 votes:

Comments:

by Gary_Seven - 2 years ago
Columbia United States

Member Since: Feb 2009
Member Points: 745

Yes,General Lee,e-4 probaly not used,because,maybe these players like to try something different and to some,successful. Krammik,most likely,not be champion anymore,outside russia.

by General-Lee - 2 years ago
Elizabethtown United States

Member Since: Apr 2009
Member Points: 269

Am I the only one who's noticed that 1. e4 seems to be extinct in this tournament? It's the Tal memorial! Let's see some fireworks!!

by iliosis - 2 years ago
Pskov Russia

Member Since: Jan 2009
Member Points: 1372

Round 4: All draws, except Kramnik beats Svidler!

by channet - 2 years ago
United Arab Emirates

Member Since: Jun 2009
Member Points: 502

game of tournament would be carrlsen vs anand,but in spite of all these plyrs aronion is the most consistent of all now adays even though carlsen had a magic run in china

by bondiggity - 2 years ago
United States

Member Since: Jun 2008
Member Points: 1769

Things aren't looking too bright for Carlsen. I mean after 4 rounds, he has 4 draws. And 3 of those 4 are with the white pieces. Its definitely going to be tough for him, especially considering Kramnik has now already won 2 games.

by Nytik - 2 years ago
Southampton United Kingdom

Member Since: May 2008
Member Points: 5828

I would say that the three who have escaped Carlsen with a draw are lucky, except that by all rights Kramnik should have won his game against him in Round 2. Hopefully Magnus begins to pick up the pace in these later rounds...

by gabrielconroy - 2 years ago
Bristol United Kingdom

Member Since: May 2008
Member Points: 2149

bertvl: I think it's just to prepare Nf3 without worrying a Bg4 pin. Especially important since the fight to control e5 and d4 is critical in this position.

by kunduk - 2 years ago
kolkata India

Member Since: Feb 2009
Member Points: 964

just great..

by white_elias - 2 years ago
qatar Lebanon

Member Since: Apr 2009
Member Points: 4

go anand ur thw best

by Don3 - 2 years ago
Rourkela India

Member Since: Dec 2008
Member Points: 242

Why only d4?

Anand is a e4 player but now he is also playing d4!

by bertvl - 2 years ago
Denver USA Netherlands

Member Since: Oct 2008
Member Points: 10

Can someone shine some light on Anand's 8.h3, I have stared at that but do not get the why.

by offtherook - 2 years ago
Miami, FL United States

Member Since: Feb 2009
Member Points: 1089

Why is the Grunfeld so popular all of a sudden? OK, I know e4 has been out of style at super-GM level lately, but I thought everyone was playing semi-Slavs or Queen's Indian.

And bravo to Kramnik. Every once in a while he pulls out a game like this to let the world know that yes, he is still freaking awesome at chess. If he could play like that all the time, he would be a much bigger obstacle to Carlsen's world championship ambitions.

by billionofans31 - 2 years ago
water village .B.S.B Brunei

Member Since: Jul 2008
Member Points: 1170

i like to play too!!!

by pawnkeeper - 2 years ago
Los Angeles United States

Member Since: Feb 2009
Member Points: 1012

Interesting, All five games start with D4. My opening.

by staggerlee - 2 years ago
United States

Member Since: Mar 2008
Member Points: 891

Exciting stuff!

by banjoman - 2 years ago
Edmonds, WA United States

Member Since: Dec 2008
Member Points: 120

Kramnik checkmates Moro as follows:

46. Ke2 Re1+

47. Kd2 Qe3+

48. Kc2 Rc1+

49. Kb2 Qc3+

50. Ka2 Ra1#

I don't know if this mating pattern has a name, but I like to think of it as the "Queen-Rook Frog March."

by Archaic71 - 2 years ago
Texas United States

Member Since: Nov 2008
Member Points: 853

queens gambit x 5

by bondiggity - 2 years ago
United States

Member Since: Jun 2008
Member Points: 1769

Kramnik already has played Carlsen (Round 1) and Anand (Round 2). Both games ended in a draw, though he had very good winning chances in the game against Carlsen

by iliosis - 2 years ago
Pskov Russia

Member Since: Jan 2009
Member Points: 1372

O wow, Kramnik has awakened, I want him to play Anand or Carlsen :)

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