TOP SEED Boris Gelfand edged Ruslan Ponomariov to take the World Cup and a place in the next Candidates. Gelfand held his nerve after the four normal games were drawn without much excitement. Gelfand won the second rapid tiebreaker and lost the fourth. Then, he won the second blitz, lost the third and finally won the fourth and last blitz game.
The unassuming 41-year-old Israeli-Belorussian GM could be a dangerous force in the Candidates. He was second to Anand in the Mexico World Championships and he’s a great match player since he’s well-prepared, and pretty unflappable. His entry into the Candidates may just create space for Magnus Carlsen.
The Candidates qualification process is complex and non-transparent and has been changed several times. Suffice it to say that by winning the WC, Gelfand leaves room for somebody to be picked on the basis on rating. That somebody could be Carlsen, who starts January 2010 as no:1 with 2810 points.
Carlsen ensured the no:1 rank by winning the London Classic with +3, =4 ahead of Kramnik (+3,=3,-1). The Kramnik-Carlsen first round encounter, which Carlsen won, proved decisive. Adams and David Howell both made +1,=6 to share 3rd-4th and Nakamura, Short, Ni Hua and McShane brought up the rear.
The Norwegian’s performance transcended superlatives. He was authoritative in his wins against Kramnik, McShane and Ni Hua. More than that, he twice produced stunning rearguard actions to hold what seemed lost positions against opponents of the calibre of Michael Adams and Nigel Short. Defensive tenacity is one of the hallmarks of a potential champion.
Of course, neither Anand nor Topalov would be inclined to surrender to Carlsen without a struggle, assuming the Norwegian GM does make the Candidates and qualify as challenger. One of them will be the incumbent and the other will also have a spot in the Candidates. The terms for the Anand-Topalov Title Match have been released. There’s Euro 2 million at stake with the First Game starting in Sofia on April 23 and Tiebreaks (if any) on May 12.
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The Diagram, BLACK TO PLAY, (Short Vs Carlsen London 2009) is from the last round. Black can simply knock off 54 — Qxf6 after which he has all the winning chances. Instead he played 54...Qd1+? 55.Kb2 Qh5 56.c5! The pawn is immune due to the mate threat 56.-Qxc5 57.Qg2+ with either Qg7# or Qa8#. The situation has changed radically since the c5-passer coupled to the mating threats puts black under severe pressure.
Both sides were down to seconds as Carlsen continued 56...h3 57.c6 a4 58.Ka2! Qd1!! Now this may be the only clear draw. Play continued 59.Qe8+ Kh7 60.Qxf7+ Kh6 61.c7 Qc2+ 62.Ka3 h2! 63.Qg7+ Kh5 64.Qh8+ Kg6 65.Qg8+ Kxf6 66.c8Q Qxc8 67.Qxc8 h1Q 68.Qa6+ Ke5 69.Qb5+ Qd5 70.Kxa4 Qxb5+ 71.Kxb5
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