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Round 10 (March 10)
Kasparov-Anand 1/2-1/2
Kramnik-Leko 1/2-1/2
Khalifman-Shirov 1/2-1/2
Final standings:
1-2. Kasparov and
Kramnik 6.0
3-6. Anand, Khalifman, Leko & Shirov 4.5
Kasparov vs Anand
Kasparov must have had mixed emotions
going into this encounter. His natural inclination is to play for a win, but
beating the World no. 2 would have meant clear first for Kasparov and clear last
for Anand (provided the two other boards drew), which in turn would have been
the kiss of death (sponsorwise) for their upcoming WCC Championship
match.
As it turned out the game ended peacefully, but
it was clear that Kasparov was punching with bad intentions. It was
equally clear that the Indian was playing for a draw. After all, half a point
was all he needed to stay out of the basement.
View Kasparov-Anand
Kramnik vs Leko
I was really looking forward to this game,
since I was more than a little curious about the Grünfeld variation Khalifman
had used to beat Leko in round 8. Did this game constitute an outright refutation
of one of the main lines in this opening?
Well, even if it didn't, Khalifman's play with
White was certainly scary enough to force Leko to leave his favourite
defence to 1.d4 in the shop on this occasion. Leko's auxiliary defence turned
out to be a somewhat passive line of the Pirc/Benoni, and although Kramnik was
probably surprised, he had no trouble gaining the upper hand
through sensible play.
The critical moment arrived on move 19,
when Kramnik apparently overestimated his winning chances in the endgame.
Keeping the queens on would have left the Hungarian with some serious
problems to solve.
View Kramnik-Leko
Khalifman vs Shirov
Having suffered a humiliating defeat at
the hands of Vishy Anand the previous day, the FIDE Champion seemed content to
finish out with a quiet draw against the World no. 4.
I don't really understand why Shirov seems to
have scrapped the exciting Semi-Slav in favour of the full-blooded version, but
it's clear that he is currently restricting himself to playing solid, but
boring openings. This policy did not pay off too well in Linares, but it might
add something to his game in the long run. Who knows?
View Khalifman-Shirov
So, the tournament ended with Garry Kasparov
and Vladimir Kramnik on +2 and the rest of the boys on -1. All
attempts to find a clear victor failed, as the tiebreaks were equal, and the
co-winners refused to have the issue decided by flipping a coin. Kasparov
initially suggested they play some blitz games, but both players later claimed
that they were too tired to do any more fighting.
In the end, they were both declared winners of
the tournament, and in a surprising display of good sportsmanship
Kasparov agreed to let Kramnik take home the coveted Linares trophy.
Which means Kramnik now has one, while Kasparov has...uh, let me see...a
million of them.
On the a whole, I think this year's "Chess
Wimbledon" was a bit of a disappointment for Kasparov. For the first
time in ages he actually lost rating points, and the fact that he only
managed to score two wins in ten games must have left him feeling a bit
unsatisfied. Even when he's in bad form, he usually picks up more wins than this.
BUT...I think this result was good
for business, so to speak. If he'd won this event a couple of points ahead of
the rest of the gang, I seriously doubt anyone would be interested in sponsoring
a World Championship match. Although his scheduled match with Anand might be in trouble,
it's still conceivable that someone would be willing to pay for a match where he
plays Kramnik.
Although Vladimir is not one of the most
exciting players in the world, at present he's the only man around who seems
likely to be able to give Kasparov a run for his money in a title match. World
no. 2 Vishy Anand is certainly more entertaining to watch, but he hasn't
exactly been a tower of power in his recent appearances. A few years ago he was
arguably the strongest player in the world - right now he's
looking more like a pretender than a contender. Some Indian
companies might be willing to cough up some serious cash to organise a match
with Kasparov, but if they don't - forget about it.
And speaking of title matches: What about Alexei
Shirov, the man who earned the right to challenge Kasparov in 1998?
Well...there were no sponsors back then, and I seriously doubt that a
match Kasparov vs Shirov would attract much money at present. Shirov's strong
and has a very entertaining style, but I think the main problem is that he's never
beaten Kasparov. Not once in 18 games, folks.
I've also seen some raving on the newsgroups
that Peter Leko deserves a shot. With all due respect: Give me a break!
Although young Pete is very solid and comes fully equipped with his own
personal sponsor, he still has a lot of chest hairs to grow before he's
ready to take on Kasparov in match. At present he couldn't beat Kasparov with a baseball
bat. Come to think of it: When was the last time Leko actually won a game
against someone in the top 10?
An even less likely scenario is Kasparov
vs Khalifman. A so called "Reunification Match" is not in the cards as
long as the FIDE crown is carried by someone rated 200 points lower than
Kasparov. Make no mistake: "Khalif" did very well in Linares - he even
won a game, which is more than Leko did - but the fact that he finished
on -1, despite being in excellent form, pretty much says it all.
Maybe Victor Korchnoi was right when he
recently stated: "The man who will beat Kasparov, has yet to be born!"
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