Five draws in Moscow
Shirov needed to get rid of that annoying zero behind his name, and he did, against Gelfand. The four other games in the Tal Memorial saw the same results, but these were actually good fights.The Tal Memorial takes place 17-31 August at the GUM Exhibition Hall, located close to the Red Square, in Moscow, Russia.The leader Alexander Morozevich had Black against one of his closest rivals, Peter Leko. The Russian managed to surprise opponent in the opening (and Exchange Ruy Lopez) and gained the initiative at some point, but Leko, one of the best defenders of modern chess, stayed calm and confident and managed to draw in the end. There was an interesting fight between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Vassily Ivanchuk. By refusing a further repetition of moves a draw, Mamedyarov took some risks, but he did seem to have some chances against his opponent's king. In a position that clearly needs serious analysis, the Azeri decided to go for perpetual.Vladimir Kramnik failed to get an advantage with White against Ruslan Ponomariov, and it was the Ukrainian who got some pressure. However, White's position was quite easy to hold.Against Kamsky, Alekseev got close to a win, but he couldn't convert an ending with an extra pawn. Thus, the situation in the tournament table has not changed: Alexander Morozevich is still leading with half a point.
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Peter Doggers is Chess.com’s Senior Global Correspondent. Between 2007 and 2013, his website ChessVibes was a major source for chess news and videos, acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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