Kings R6: Carlsen wins again

Magnus Carlsen increased his lead at the Kings Tournament in Medias, Romania to a full point. Today the Norwegian beat Ruslan Ponomariov with the black pieces, while Wang Yue-Gelfand and Radjabov-Nisipeanu ended in a draw. Commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco & videos.

The fourth Kings Tournament takes place in Medias, Romania from June 14 till 25. Against it's a 6-player, double round-robin, with two rest days. This year Carlsen, Gelfand, Nisipeanu, Ponomariov, Radjabov and Wang Yue play. The rate of play is 2 hours for the first 40 moves, one hour for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes plus an increment of 30 seconds per move.

The rounds start each day at 15.30 which is 14.30 CET and 08.30 EDT. They can run well into the evening, as we won't see ultra-short draws in this tournament - no draw agreement by the players are allowed before move 30, except for cases of a triple-repetition, a perpetual or a theoretically drawn position.

The event is organized by Romgaz and the Chess Club Society "Elisabeta Polihroniade”. This year the tournament is officially part of the Grand Slam, substituting the cancelled MTel Masters. Venue is the brand new Romgaz Center in Medias (near Bazna), but the organizers are considering to move back to Hotel Complex Balnear Expro in Bazna, where everyone is staying.

ChessVibes will be at the tournament from start to finish, providing videos for the official website:

Videos

Source files: (for iPhone users and others)

Round 6 Interview Andoni Madariaga Round 5 Interview Elisabete Polihroniade Round 4 Radjabov

Round 3 Interview Mayor of Medias Round 2 Round 1 Interview Tournament Director

Round 6

The by now traditional afternoon shower only started a few hours into the round, but it did affect the tournament. On the last board still in use, that of Ponomariov and Carlsen, suddenly drops of water were falling. Apparently the high roof of the playing hall wasn't a hundred percent water proof, and not prepared for this tropic weather. The players were moved to the board of Wang Yue and Gelfand, who had finished long before.

The game was no less tumultuous, with the world's number one on the edge of losing for the first time in the tournament. After the game he said that his pawn sacrifice on move 14 was based on missing something simple, and so the exchange sac on move 21, though strong, was born out of necessity.



Then Ponomariov made the mistake we have all made sometimes: he thought for a long time about 23.Kh1, and saw all kinds of tricks for Black, and then suddenly saw 23.Rf2. It seemed much easier, and so he went for it (too) quickly, missing 25...Qe8. Suddenly White was worse, and the Ukrainian couldn't save himself.

Radjabov and Nisipeanu played a very interesting game, which included an original rook switch, but it ended abruptly. In a position with all to play for the players suddenly agreed to a draw on move 30 - disappointing! Luckily they explain what's going on in the final position on the video that will be up in a few hours.



Gelfand comfortably equalized against Wang Yue in a Vienna, by chosing an older and less well-known line. It worked well, as the Chinese GM was soon out of book and couldn't find a way to keep an advantage.

Round 6 commented by GM Dorian Rogozenco

Game viewer by ChessTempo


Kings Tournament 2010 | Schedule & results
Kings Tournament 2010 | Round 6 Standings

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN via TWIC