Anand draws Topalov, Radjabov scores first win

Morelia Linares 6th round report and replayable games

Round 6 results:

Veselin Topalov - Vishy Anand 1/2 - 1/2
Levon Aronian - Peter Leko 1/2 - 1/2
Teimour Radjabov - Magnus Carlsen 1-0
Vassily Ivanchuk - Alexei Shirov 1/2 - 1/2

Round 6 standings:

1. Vishy Anand 4.0
2. Levon Aronian 3.5
3-5. Alexei Shirov, Veselin Topalov and Teimour Radjabov 3.0
6-8. Magnus Carlsen, Peter Leko and Vassily Ivanchuk 2.5

Veselin Topalov attempted to repeat the Romanishin variation of Nimzo Indian defence that brought him wonderful win against Aronian, but Vishy Anand deviated and opted for more solid 5...b6. The middlegame was dynamically balanced, Topalov tried to inflict some damage on the black king's shelter, and Anand was constantly offering queens' exchange in order to reduce opponents attacking potential. At the end, all pieces were exchanged but the queens and Anand found perpetual check for his first draw with black pieces in this tournament. He still remains sole leader, half point ahead of Aronian.

Alexei Shirov introduced a dazzling 8...g5 novelty to Vassily Ivanchuk's rare Qd2 in the Semi-Slav opening. This brave decision (g-pawn is usually moved only one square ahead) completely paralyzed white's central activity and Ivanchuk had to do some damage control in order to escape with a draw, which was agreed on 27th move.

Alekhine defence served its purpose and Magnus Carlsen was back to usual 1...e5 in a game against Teimour Radjabov. This time, however, he left his favorite Marshall Attack on the shelve and tried Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez, which was already seen earlier in Radjabov's game against Topalov. Instead of challenging opponent's preparation, Radjabov used Azeri secret recipe - improvisation. Already on move nine, the position was dead equal, but still playable with lots of resources. Carlsen stood well, until the pawn grab took him into certain passivity and the mistake on 25th move allowed Radjabov to claim the advantage with cute 27. Ba6! Already then, it was hard to include anything else than Radjabov's win into the equation, since black didn't have counterplay at all. Radjabov converted advantage on move 43 for his first win in Morelia.

The game between Levon Aronian and Peter Leko was the weirdest on this day. Aronian launched a stunning 9. Qa4! in the Symmetrical English, offering f2 pawn en price and with check. Leko dived into the deepest though seen in Morelia so far - almost an hour and a half long. He should be applauded for coming up with the strongest possible response, ignore f2 pawn and attack white bishop with 9...g5! He had a clear plan of expanding on the kingside, brining his king into safe place and launching offensive on the queenside, but he had to blitz through to the time control with only about 35 minutes for 30 moves. He managed to do so and Aronian's fighting moral probably dropped at this point as he stopped with active operation. Righteous draw was signed soon after.

Goran Urosevic

Round 7 pairings:

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

Join us on Saturday at 16:30 EST / 22:30 CET for the live commentary on the 7th round of Morelia-Linares. See you there!