Marvellous Morozevich Takes The Lead
He's unpredictable. He's enigmatic. He's definitely not your average GM and today the magical Alexander Morozevich thrashed Vladimir Kramnik to take the sole lead on 2.5/3 in the Tal Memorial in Moscow.
Morozevich (pictured) was clearly out for blood against Kramnik, playing an early g4 and inviting a sharp struggle. Both kings sought safety on the Queenside, but Kramnik's looked vulnerable in the face of Moro's pawns at b4, c4 and c5.
The sweet pawn push 23.c6 exposed Kramnik's king to multiple threats that he failed to answer and suddenly the game was over. Certainly a game of which the great Misha Tal would have approved! 
The only other decisive game of round 3 saw Peter Leko piling on the agony for Alexei Shirov to leave the Latvian (who now plays for Spain) with three duck eggs to start the tournament. You've got to admire Shirov's uncompromising style, but when it goes wrong it's Shirov who ends up getting burnt by the "Fire On Board".
The results in round 3:
| Morozevich, Alexander | - Kramnik, Vladimir | 1-0 | 31 | D45 | Anti-Meran Variations |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | - Alekseev, Evgeny | ½-½ | 23 | C42 | Petroff's Defence |
| Leko, Peter | - Shirov, Alexei | 1-0 | 45 | B90 | Sicilian Najdorf Variation |
| Ponomariov, Ruslan | - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | ½-½ | 87 | A33 | English Symmetrical |
| Kamsky, Gata | - Gelfand, Boris | ½-½ | 61 | C43 | Petroff's Defence |
The standings after round 3:
| 1 | Morozevich, Alexander | RUS | 2788 | 2½ |
| 2 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2781 | 2 |
| 3 | Leko, Peter | HUN | 2741 | 2 |
| 4 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2742 | 1½ |
| 5 | Gelfand, Boris | ISR | 2720 | 1½ |
| 6 | Ponomariov, Ruslan | UKR | 2718 | 1½ |
| 7 | Kramnik, Vladimir | RUS | 2788 | 1½ |
| 8 | Kamsky, Gata | USA | 2723 | 1½ |
| 9 | Alekseev, Evgeny | RUS | 2708 | 1 |
| 10 | Shirov, Alexei | ESP | 2741 | 0 |
