GELFAND AND Ponomariov have drawn game one in the four-game World Cup finals. At stake is a spot in the Candidates. Top seed Gelfand has had a much smoother passage to the finals. Seventh seeded Ponomariov had to fight harder. In the semis, Gelfand beat Sergein Karjakin, 2-0 in nomal time while Ponomariov won a hair-raising tiebreaker after losing the first game to Vladimir Malakhov.
One man who might not be in the next Candidates is the likely world No:1. Magnus Carlsen pulled out of the Grand Prix (where two slots were available) before his surge up the ratings ladder in the past three months. At the London Chess Classic, the Norwegian Super GM needs a score of +3 to guarantee no:1 ranking. He's started with two wins against Vladimir Kramnik and Luke McShane.
London, which is played under Sofia (no draw) Rules and Bilbao Scoring (3-1-0) is a strong but unbalanced short event. The field is Carlsen, Kramnik, Hikaru Nakamara, Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Ni Hua, McShane and Howell in a single round-robin.
Carlsen has a nice draw with four whites. The collaboration with Kasparov, which started recently, has paid fast dividends in that Carlsen has widened his repertoire. The win versus Kramnik came from an English Opening, which he’s wheeling out for the first time. Sofia Rules also suit Carlsen because he has superb technique and the energy to play long games.
Carlsen’s performances over the past three to six months will turn the next Candidates Cycle into a joke if he doesn’t get a wild card. If he is accommodated, Carlsen would stand a chance of cracking the record for the youngest-ever champion (Kasparov was 22 when he won in 1985).
His best hopes of getting in lie in Gelfand winning the World Cup, since the Israeli GM may also qualify by virtue of rating. In that case, an extra spot would open up and Fide would probably offer him the wild card. Kramnik incidentally has a better shot at directly qualifying for the Candidates despite his lower rating because of the complex fine print of the rules.
The Diagram (Gelfand Vs Karjakin, WC 2009, Semifinal Game 2) marks a point where black decides to provoke a sacrifice. Karjakin was behind and may have decided this was his best practical chance. He missed something in his analysis for sure.
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White continued 17.Nxb5! axb5 18.Bh7+ Kf8 19.Bxb4+ c5 20.dxc5 Bc6 21.Be4 Nb8 22.Nh7+ Nxh7 23.Bxh7 g6!? This looks very good for White and the computers think it’s winning. Play continued. 24.Rd6 Re7 25.h4 h5?
Now it’s plain lost after 26.Bxg6! fxg6 27.Qxg6 Rxa2 28.Rcd1 Rf7 29.Qh6+ Rg7 30.Qf6+ Kg8 31.Rd8+ Kh7 32.Qf5+ Rg6 33.Qxh5+ Rh6 34.Qf5+ (1-0). It’s mate after 34. — Kg7 35. Qf8+ and 34. — Rg6 35. h5 is obviously dead as well.