Anand claims 2008 Morelia Linares

Morelia Linares final report and replayable games (updated)

World Champion Vishy Anand confidently brought this affair to its end by drawing the 6th consecutive game which was suitable for the clear first place. His play was light and easy and he rarely looked to be in trouble. The deadly Naidorf Sicilian and Semi-Slav mix provided him three fantastic wins with black pieces, and his only defeat came in the 2nd round after a weak moment against Aronian. Later during the tournament, he introduced safer openings, like Queen's Indian defence and Caro-Kann. Anand seems to be in wonderful shape and we can't wait to see him in Melodi Amber rapid/blindfold exhibition that starts next Friday.

Magnus Carlsen enjoys playing Morelia Linares, as said in an interview for Chessdom, and he scored well at the last year's event. A steady rise of the playing form, that started at the World Chess Cup and continued during the 2008 Corus where he tied first place, put him on the line as one of the main contenders for the winner's trophy. His opening preparation, flexibility, sharpness and determination were making opposition crack under pressure. This diligence was nicely illustrated in the games with Shirov and Topalov. However, Teimour Radjabov resisted the load in the last round and denied Carlsen's run for the first place by achieving a draw. Naturally, this enthusiasm can cause some setbacks, as it was seen in the second game against Leko. Nevertheless, Carlsen's attractive style and wonderful personality clearly set him as chess audience favorite in the future events.

Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov have finished on +1 score. While Aronian won in the first round in Linares (against Topalov), and then like Anand went on with 6 draws, Topalov had both brilliant and bitter moments. The ex-world champion won Mtel Masters and Vitoria in 2007, but he still has to raise his form for the incoming season. Teimour Radjabov was back after the last year's incident that forced him to withdraw from the event. The sequent rumours from the "anonymous sources" added to the damage and he struggled through the season to regain the confidence. Year 2008 had a gorgeous start as he won the World Rapid Cup and continued with fine play at the Corus. Here in Morelia Linares he engaged in opening experiments which brought him a win against Carlsen and loss against Shirov.

Vassily Ivanchuk beat Leko twice, but couldn't find a win against the others. Habitual time trouble cost him a nasty blunder in a winning position versus Aronian and a split against Carlsen. Alexei Shirov and Peter Leko ended on a last place tie. Shirov sat on a nice +1 from Morelia, but then simply crashed in Linares. Leko sparkled when facing Sveshnikov Sicilian but suffered from the lack of opening flexibility, particularly in the Ruy Lopez Marshall attack.

Morelia Linares will be rated for FIDE April list, and Anand is jumping over 2800 again. Vladimir Kramnik remains second, while Alexander Morozevich jumps on third. Veselin Topalov is next and Magnus Carlsen comes 5th with 32 points gain. Projected list here.

Goran Urosevic

Round 14 results:

Vishy Anand - Veselin Topalov draw
Peter Leko - Levon Aronian draw
Magnus Carlsen - Teimour Radjabov draw
Alexei Shirov - Vassily Ivanchuk draw

Final standings:

1. Vishy Anand 8.5
2. Magnus Carlsen 8.0
3-4. Levon Aronian and Veselin Topalov 7.5
5. Teimour Radjabov 7.0
6. Vassily Ivanchuk 6.5
7-8. Alexei Shirov and Peter Leko 5.5