Corus 2009 Round 5
While round 4 brought 7 draws in the A-group, there was plenty of blood shed in round 5.
Home favourite Van Wely continued his principled discussion of the KID with Radjabov and succeeded brilliantly this time. The position after 20 moves is apparently not new, but a few moves later black was beyond hope and resigned at move 31.
Dominguez brought home his first victory against hapless Morozevich who has three black losses so far.
A healthy pawn up Dominguez found a nice and decisive combination to finish the game.
Aronian grind down Movsesian and Karjakin did the same to Stellwagen to secure 4 white wins in A today.
Magnus surprised Ivanchuk playing a sideline in the Ruy Lopez (9...a5). After Na3 white was maybe slightly better, but as Ivanchuk admitted after the game, he had missed 14....Ra8! more or less solving blacks problems.
Magnus found another only-move with 16...c5 and when Ivanchuk chose to allow the closure of the queenside, the internet audience seemed to favour white.
Ivanchuk for a while thought he was better, but after blacks sacrifice 18...Nxe5 with the plan to bring his queen to g6 black is at least equal. White discovered the potential problems and found the defence 20.Nfd2 fxe4 21.Qh5 which says a lot about his unique chess understanding.
Magnus could not find anything better than Be8 Qe2 Bd7 Qh5 Be8 etc during the game, but later he has been made aware of the alternative Rf5! Instead of Be8 which may have made the plan Qd8-e8-g6 possible after all.
In any case he was not unhappy with the result as black against Ivanchuk.
Karjakin is the sole leader with 3.5/5 ahead of Smeets, Dominguez, Aronian and Kamsky at 3 points in the A-group.
Magnus has 2,5 points and tomorrow he has white against leader Karjakin.
Lets hope for a good and interesting fight!
Henrik Carlsen,
Wijk aan Zee, January 22st, 2009
Home favourite Van Wely continued his principled discussion of the KID with Radjabov and succeeded brilliantly this time. The position after 20 moves is apparently not new, but a few moves later black was beyond hope and resigned at move 31.
Dominguez brought home his first victory against hapless Morozevich who has three black losses so far.
A healthy pawn up Dominguez found a nice and decisive combination to finish the game.
Aronian grind down Movsesian and Karjakin did the same to Stellwagen to secure 4 white wins in A today.
Magnus surprised Ivanchuk playing a sideline in the Ruy Lopez (9...a5). After Na3 white was maybe slightly better, but as Ivanchuk admitted after the game, he had missed 14....Ra8! more or less solving blacks problems.
Magnus found another only-move with 16...c5 and when Ivanchuk chose to allow the closure of the queenside, the internet audience seemed to favour white.
Ivanchuk for a while thought he was better, but after blacks sacrifice 18...Nxe5 with the plan to bring his queen to g6 black is at least equal. White discovered the potential problems and found the defence 20.Nfd2 fxe4 21.Qh5 which says a lot about his unique chess understanding.
Magnus could not find anything better than Be8 Qe2 Bd7 Qh5 Be8 etc during the game, but later he has been made aware of the alternative Rf5! Instead of Be8 which may have made the plan Qd8-e8-g6 possible after all.
In any case he was not unhappy with the result as black against Ivanchuk.
Karjakin is the sole leader with 3.5/5 ahead of Smeets, Dominguez, Aronian and Kamsky at 3 points in the A-group.
Magnus has 2,5 points and tomorrow he has white against leader Karjakin.
Lets hope for a good and interesting fight!
Henrik Carlsen,
Wijk aan Zee, January 22st, 2009
Comments:
Posted by: Mekal
Odd game today against Karjakin. Magnus seems determined to outhink himself in winning positions :(
Posted by: Joe
Maguns needs to take his time in winning positions. Playing on opponents time has its advantages, but you better be sure about your opponents resources.
Posted by: Alexandru
Henrik,
One of the tournaments last year where Magnus impressed me the most was his Grand Prix event, especially those rounds in the middle, after his loss and before those wins in the last couple of rounds. There was a lot at stake, due to the importance at that time of the Grand Prix in this World Championship cycle, he was chasing the leaders, and it was clear that he needed some wins in order to catch up with them. But with all this tension he still showed a huge amount of patience during those rounds. I think that Magnus having already gone through that kind of experience is well prepared to continue full force and win this tournament.
Good luck and best wishes,
Alexandru
One of the tournaments last year where Magnus impressed me the most was his Grand Prix event, especially those rounds in the middle, after his loss and before those wins in the last couple of rounds. There was a lot at stake, due to the importance at that time of the Grand Prix in this World Championship cycle, he was chasing the leaders, and it was clear that he needed some wins in order to catch up with them. But with all this tension he still showed a huge amount of patience during those rounds. I think that Magnus having already gone through that kind of experience is well prepared to continue full force and win this tournament.
Good luck and best wishes,
Alexandru
Posted by: Tod
It is a bit strange: Magnus seems to play his positions very creative and well - but when it is time for "showdown" he seems to miss the best lines....I mean; The game against Karjakin, 35..QXg6 is a pretty nice line, with a sure win for white. Anyway...Keep out the spirit! Best reg. Tod K.
Posted by: Tony
Good luck for the last few rounds Magnus. Take each game one at a time. You can do it ;)
Posted by: Bobby F.
So far, the number of points doesn't reflect the quality of Magnus playing in this tournament. That is something which happens now and then in all kinds of sports. It's a part of the game.
However we have been enjoying some VERY exciting games. Also, Magnus have shown that time trouble belongs to the past. (In contract to some other players who never learn...).
Finally, I am VERY HAPPY to see that Magnus has not "overpressed" or taken too high riskes. That's another lesson learned from last year.
So, all in all, just play on and the rewarding points will come sooner or later. It's still many games to be played in this tournament.
However we have been enjoying some VERY exciting games. Also, Magnus have shown that time trouble belongs to the past. (In contract to some other players who never learn...).
Finally, I am VERY HAPPY to see that Magnus has not "overpressed" or taken too high riskes. That's another lesson learned from last year.
So, all in all, just play on and the rewarding points will come sooner or later. It's still many games to be played in this tournament.
Posted by: Evig optimist
Well I really liked it when he overpressed last year. I took it as a sign of youth and desire to win. And that did give great results.
Posted by: Daniel
I am still rooting for a +5 score from Magnus! 5 rounds left bring home 5 wins!
Posted by: Rolfo
Oh, that is very optimistic.
An early
win in the remaining rounds will help a lot, making it easier..
What about
+2 in the end, it will be a terrific result in this company
An early
win in the remaining rounds will help a lot, making it easier..
What about
+2 in the end, it will be a terrific result in this company
Posted by: Billettøren
Jeg registrerer at Magnus har flere tilhengere på facebook enn lyn har på sine hjemmekamper...
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