Day 4 was another epic day of interesting chess, long endgames, and missed chances in Elista. Official site. Rublevsky told the world to stop underestimating him by striking back and leveling his match with Grischuk. He may look like Fred Flintstone and have a predictable opening repertoire, but let's not forget he won clear first at the 2005 Russian championship ahead of Svidler, Kramnik, Morozevich, and other people who get more respect than Rublevsky does on a good day. He's just very inconsistent in a mostly dull way, as compared to the spectacular way Morozevich is inconsistent. Today he played his Scotch again and smoothly took apart all of Grischuk's many pawn weaknesses.
That turned out to be the only decisive game of the day despite the early and late indications that buckets of blood were to be spilled. Kamsky again suffered against Gelfand and he was forced to give up the exchange and search for a blockade. GM Kaidanov on Chess.FM was almost sure Gelfand would find a way through, but Black kept it all under control and Gelfand wasn't going to risk his one-point lead with an unsound try. How tough is Kamsky? His openings look like they're out of Philidor's Analyse du Jeu des Échecs and he handles the clock like someone from an Audrey Niffenegger book. And yet he demolished Bacrot and is hanging on just a point down against the ultra-solid Gelfand. I don't think you can challenge for the world title just by surviving, but it's impressive nonetheless. Gelfand deserves kudos for controlling the play throughout, although his inability to land a KO blow so far could come back to haunt him should Kamsky finally get a playable game with white tomorrow.
Aronian-Shirov saw another surprising endgame miss, although it's hard to say exactly where and how Shirov could have converted his two pawn (!) plus. His rook ended up trapped on the kingside and Aronian's creative defense held the draw after 83 moves. Surely White has to play c4 at some point. A remarkable position and result after some fine play by Shirov to gain what looked like a decisive edge from a minimal plus. Aronian was again aggressive, tossing a pawn for activity early. Don't you wish they were playing a 12-game match? Leko came close to eliminating Bareev with black but couldn't find a safe enough endgame win and let his advantage slip away. He now only needs one draw in the last two games to get to Mexico and he didn't see any reason to risk today.
Grischuk-Rublevsky is the only match that can't end with today's fifth game. Leko only needs a draw with white to eliminate Bareev. Aronian and Gelfand have one-point leads.
Who is Audrey Niffenegger?
Audrey N wrote "The Time Traveler's Wife" and the beautifully colored graphic novel "The Three Incestuous Sisters" The latter reads as simply as a children's story. Strange, but I'm not sure what is "incestuous" about it. Ruben Fine and his colleagues would no doubt have an authorized explanation.
Rublevsky played a very good technical endgame against Grischuk. After giving up the doubled pawns on the c file and then snatching Grischuk's isolated pawn on h5, Rublevsky managed to transform one advantage for another. With all his remaining pawns connected on the kingside, it was much simpler for Rublevsky to drive home the win. Grischuk was reduced to probing weaknesses and possbily harrassing Rublevsk's king, but even that ran out. It was painful to watch a very good play like Grischuk reduced to treading water while Rublevsky constructed a winning endgame position. Oh, that last try for a stalemate was heartbreaking.
It seems tomorrow Kamsky will need to practically go all out for a win as in game 6 he will have the black pieces against super solid Gelfand, which it will be nearly impossible to win.
I'd like to see Kamsky play 1. e4 and play a King's Indian Attack (KIA) against Gelfand's Sicilian defense.
Is it only me or does it look as if Shirov has lost a considerable amount of weight?
If we go back to 1984, Kasparov survived his first match and then won the title!
I dont think we'll see the London from Gata :-)
I know the feeling, waking up and thinking: hey, let's do some more metaphors today.
4 .. Bf5 is a sign that Bareev has given up the match. It's a solid line but it very hard for black to create winning chances, especially against a solid player like Leko. Maybe his first concern is not to end the match with a loss.
4 .. Bf5 is a sign that Bareev has given up the match. It's a solid line but it very hard for black to create winning chances, especially against a solid player like Leko. Maybe his first concern is not to end the match with a loss.
More to the point, what in the world is Kamsky playing at? This trick's been known for about five years, and it looks as if not only does he not know it but he's arranged to toss a pawn for nothing into the bargain. He'll do well to prevent the match ending today at this rate.
"4 .. Bf5 is a sign that Bareev has given up the match. It's a solid line but it very hard for black to create winning chances, especially against a solid player like Leko. Maybe his first concern is not to end the match with a loss."
no one is that weak-willed
Leko-Bareev drawn. The candidate matches were smooth sailing for Leko. Great performance by Leko. He is presently one of the best match players in the world. Remember he also easily qualified for the Brissago match.
I don't understand why Bareev would take a short draw to lose the match. If his position was already that drawish by move 19 then why did he play into that line?
Oh well.
rdh: yeah. Kamsky's game looks bad after 19...Ne6. A few adventures may be possible but +/- seems fair.
Mig, is it time to bring the chicken factor back? The only one playing on is Kamsky, and that being a pawn down for what seems close to nothing.
Kamsky is obliged to play on. Gelfand is not interested in a draw, he wants to finish the match today.
What is kamsky playing???? Man, it seems like he's not got out of the opening so far with a playable position against Gelfand. :-(
Kamsky has to be the one playing on. After 20.Qxd5 Qxd5 21.Nxd5, the position would be dead equal with no winning chances for either side. With 20.Qh4, it clearly was Kamsky trying to keep the position complicated. Gelfand surely would be happy to take a draw in Kamsky's final game as White.
"Chess is the Time-Killer: The Clock Management Secrets of Friedrich Saemisch, Vassily Ivanchuk, and Gata Kamsky"
after 21..Rc2 black has an advantage. Black occupies the second rank and white is tied down
Peace...
It appears that Kamsky is determined to lose the match today, as his c5 push was both abnormal and unnecessary for the middlegame position he reached. (Targeting the d5 pawn instead with a knight retreat is more common, when white stands a chance of creating an extra passed pawn, although it almost never goes anywhere.) Instead, Gata chose to give up a pawn for no reason, declining to recapture on d5 and go into a drawn position because he is not confident of playing for a win against Gelfand with black. True, the task ahead of him would have been daunting, but first he had to make it that far, and there were no winning chances left for him in the position after pitching the pawn. Now, he will lose the match by virtue of having lost twice with white, a sad way to end the event after such a dominant performance in the first round.
Hotep,
Maliq
anyway, congratulations to Gelfand. He deserves to win the match, he dominated in every game.
No offence to Kamsky, but I'm glad that Gelfand will qualify. At least there will be one Sicilian lover in the WC tournament.
Maliq,
"Targeting the d5 pawn with a knight retreat" would fail to dxc4, as the knight on b8 defends Qd7. Meanwhile, capturing on d5 gives white nothing. So it looks like black was already equal...
Such terrible opening play throughout the match---broken laptop or not, how can he have prepared so little? Very disappointing.
"Meanwhile, capturing on d5 gives white nothing."
But the alternative Kamsky chose gave him less than nothing.
Mig, I hope you get a chance to talk to Gata and ask him about some of the dubious choices he made in this match. I also hope he works on opening preparation harder so we will have another championship-level GM competing, Kamsky is clearly a capable calculator and tactician.
Nonetheless, I am very happy with Mr. Gelfand's victory.
Peace...
Yes, random spectator, black is equal the moment he can safely play ...d5 against the c4/e4 bind. I have played the white site of similar positions many times, so the moment Gelfand played ...d5, I had two thoughts: a) Black has equalized unless he loses his mind, and b) Kamsky cannot be considering anything other than exd5. Gata took his time, which is fine, but then he did not follow up well. Nb5 is a common treatment for such a position, with the steed then coming to d6 and recapturing on c4 in order to keep the fight going. The pawn push to c5 was not losing, though, as the d5 pawn was still there for the plucking, but Kamsky inexplicably chose instead to refuse to recapture and just give Gelfand a free passed pawn so that he wouldn't have to fight for a win with black tomorrow. Truly, as one who has played many a Bind position, if it is known that black will end up with a passed d-pawn against such a setup, this is almost enough to resign just out of embarrassment!
I am still a fan of Kamsky, and I will not let his poor performance in this phase of the event overshadow his strong showing in the first round. Clearly, he still has a way to go with regard to opening play if he is going to regain status as a challenger for the title. I just wish that he would have set the stubbornness aside, acknowledged that he could not win today, and set about trying to do so tomorrow. (If this game had occurred in a do-or-die situation, it would have been understandable, but to have it play out so when there was still one game to go makes one shake his head.)
Hotep,
Maliq
I think Kamsky's problem is that there were so many years when he wasn't working on chess. He's playing guys who are equally talented, but who DID keep up their chess. It's hard to catch up when you're 34 years old. Obviously Gata has enough raw ability that he's going to win some games, and he's good enough that no opponent can take him for granted. But I don't know how one goes about "catching up" on openings, given that the guys who are already ahead of him aren't resting on their laurels.
Kamsky just resigned, and not a moment too soon! Once he played the forced capture 54. Qxf2, Gelfand has Qe4+ Mate! A cute little tactic at the end. where Black was able to pull off an Epaulette Mate, of sorts.
After Gelfand played 11....d5!, Kamsky already had little to play for. It looks like Gelfand's confidence has increased game by game. In any case, he's in, and he's won the match with +2=3, for 3.5/5. Bareev went down without a fight. Maybe Judit would not have played any better, but she would not have gone down without a fight. Facing a must win situation as Black, one would think that Bareev might resort to a different defense.
The momentum seems to have shifted in the Grischuk--Rublevsky match. Rublevsky achieved a quick draw with Black, and will have the White pieces in Game 6. Shirov is white against Aronian, in a must win situation. Reason enough to tune in!
rublevsky is "the son of luck".he won against pono,inspite of never dominated a single game,and he suposed to be 0,5-2,5 against grischuk in the first 3 games.he is good at just hanging in there.grish is much better.go grish!!!!
rublevsky is "the son of luck".he won against pono,inspite of never dominated a single game,and he suposed to be 0,5-2,5 against grischuk in the first 3 games.he is good at just hanging in there.grish is much better.go grish!!!!
Yeah, catching up on debuts is tough, but you don't really need to study the stuff that was in vogue last year but has since been rebuffed/refuted. Plus, no longer wasting an hour on the first five moves is quite achievable progress.
"Chess is the Time-Killer: The Clock Management Secrets of Friedrich Saemisch, Vassily Ivanchuk, and Gata Kamsky"
-- Posted by: Ernest Tomlinson at June 11, 2007 10:36
LMAO!
Samisch once played a tournament in which he lost every game on time. Unbelievable.
In Aronian-Shirov I think Aronian had some chances after 32 Nf4 Ke7 (other moves seem much worse) 33 Ne6 a5 (stopping Bb4 33..Qf1+ 34 Kh2 a5 35 Nc5 Rxc5 36Qxc5+ Kd7 37 Qd4 is nice for white)34 Nc5! now black has Qf1+ leading the line above but 34 ..Kd6!? gives him a way out although he has to be accurate. There didnt seem to be any risk for him to play on.
...
Plus, no longer wasting an hour on the first five moves is quite achievable progress.
-- Posted by: Yuriy Kleyner at June 11, 2007 12:37
LOL!
I still cannot believe that in Game 3 Kamsky took 20(!) minutes to play 5 Bf1-b5 in the London System(!) and that he then had to play 25 moves in 10 minutes(!)to reach the first time control.
The worst time management I have ever seen in a GM game.
I was rooting for Kamsky. Sorry he couldn't make it to Mexico.
On the flip side Anand's nemesis won't be there. I am looking forward to a good showing for Anand without him having to deal with Kamsky pysching him out.
I was rooting for Kamsky. Sorry he couldn't make it to Mexico.
On the flip side Anand's nemesis won't be there. I am looking forward to a good showing from Anand without him having to deal with Kamsky pysching him out.
Extraordinary from Kamsky. This 11 ....d5 method is SO well known. I'm an amateur who doesn't play this position for either side, and even I know that. And two minutes wtih a database would have told kamsky the same.
You've got to conclude that he simply hasn't prepared for this match in any way at all. I wonder why - is there not enough prize money in Mexico? It's not like he's hoovering it up elsewhere.
While Kamsky is certainly the worst example there were other curious colossal cases of time mismanagement at the event. One would hope some journalist asks the GMs why this happened. Most baffling, some of the positions that gave GMs pause weren't ones that required heavy calculation or decision making. I understand Aronian and Shirov running out of time in their battles...some of this other stuff, not so much.
Bizarre performance from Kamsky.
His approach to the Nadorf and his display of the London makes one recall the typical bald, and 2000 rated, player who was once a promising junior now is a "wood pusher" at the local club each saturday evening.
Bareev..he drew magnificiently, as if told by Leko what to play.
Judging by the way they played out their chance these two, Bareev and Kamsky, simply didn't deserve to be in Elista playing for the WCC.
I think Kamsky needs a good coach. And he needs to work a lot. His openings are really awful.
Regarding Kamsky, I think Mark Shepard's last post is on target. Kamsky's best years of chess were during his hiatus if you know what I mean.
As much time as he recently took off to prepare for the candidate matches, I would have thought that his opening prep would have been better; especially game 3 with the London. That opening practically plays itself the first dozen moves or so.
I believe his father was too much of an influence on him earlier, and it cost him his best years and now it will always be a case of "catching up."
See, that explains it only up to a point to me. You guys obviously don't have GM-level preparation/knowledge and yet you wouldn't spend the 40 minutes on the first few moves in London or try for well-known to be not very favorable lines or stare at the board for an hour and a half in a peaceful Slav position. I wonder if Kamsky's absence gave him a bit of paranoia that his opponent might be familiar with something he doens't know...and I already tried to explain Bareev's troubles in a different thread.
Talking of time trouble, Shirov has 8 min left for 15 moves..
Amazing the number of games that Shirov has been in time trouble. Aronian seems to have equalized with relative ease. Draw agreed, so Aronian wins the match.