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Round 7 (March 7)
Kasparov-Khalifman 1/2-1/2
Anand-Kramnik 1/2-1/2
Leko-Shirov 1/2-1/2
Standings: 1-2.Kasparov & Kramnik 4.5
3.Leko 3.5 4-5.Khalifman & Shirov 3.0 6.Anand 2.5.
Kasparov vs Khalifman
The WCC Champion is clearly stronger
than the FIDE Champion (ask anyone who's not on heavy medication), but Kasparov
seems unable to prove this in head to head combat. With white I was
expecting him to carve Khalifman up like a Christmas turkey and then stomp
around the press centre, chanting "Oh Mama! Oh Daddy! I am a big ol' Baddy!".
But Khalifman once again proved himself to be a
tough little cookie. Kasparov achieved a comfortable edge out of the
opening, but was unable to prevent Khalifman from hosing the queens off the
board. Yes, Khalifman was still worse, but compared to some endings he's
been defending so far in this tournament, the one against Kasparov seemed like a
walk in the park!
View Kasparov-Khalifman
Anand vs Kramnik
Not wanting to jeopardise his comfortable +2
score, Kramnik once again opted for the relative safety of the Petroff
Defence. Anand improved on current theory with an interesting pawn
sacrifice, but Kramnik was able to calm things down with a positional exchange
sacrifice á lá Petrosian.
View Anand-Kramnik
Leko vs Shirov
Leko surprised everybody except his
trainer by playing 1.c4, thus avoiding any opening preparation Shirov may
have done prior to this encounter. The Spanish ace tried to bring the battle
onto his home turf by choosing a King's Indian setup, but the young
Hungarian had no trouble gaining an edge through pure improvisation.
Leko proceeded to strategically outplay
Shirov in very convincing fashion, and the latter admitted after the game that
he had been close to resigning after the first time scramble.
On this occasion, however, Leko seemed to have
left his endgame technique in the locker room.
View Leko-Shirov
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