Mtel R2: Bad luck strikes

by ChessBase
5/13/2005 – You might not be superstitious, but it was bad luck for fans and organizers when all three games were drawn today, Friday the 13th. Kramnik-Anand was a drowsy Petroff. Ponomariov and Polgar drew a rook endgame. We also saw the first GM draw, a quick repetition between Topalov and Adams. Games, results and tables.

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Super GM Tournament
in Sofia

World's top six players
clash in the M-Tel Masters

May 11 to 22, 2005
in the Grand Hotel Sofia, Bulgaria

The Mtel Masters Super Tournament is under way. It is a category 20 event with an Elo average of 2744. The time controls are classic (up to seven hours per game) and the tournament is a double round robin (every player plays every other player twice). There is a special rule in place at this Super Tournament: draw offers are not allowed, i.e. draws by mutual agreement between the players are forbidden, only technical draws may be given by the arbiter.

Three draws on Friday the 13th

Let us start by counting the moves played so far: Judit Polgar leads with 152 moves in two games, followed by Ponomariov with 148, Adams with 100, Anand and Kramnik with 92 each, and Veselin Topalov trailing at 86. That was the balance after one explosive, fighting round, and then one that reminded us of the days before the Mtel anti-draw rule. What the players basically proved is that they – or the current status of chess expertise – can circumvent any attempts to force exciting, crowd-pleasing chess.


Vladimir Kramnik

Kramnik vs Anand is a paradigm for this situation. In a super-solid Petroff neither of the players gave the other a chance to get anywhere near a window of success. After 32 moves they had hoovered the board of all pieces, leaving only opposite coloured bishops and symmetrical pawns and a position that no reasonable arbiter could require them to play on in. The result was a draw.


Veselin Topalov

Topalov vs Adams took a different course. Britain's top GM sacrificed a pawn on move 14 and used his ample compensation to force a draw by repetition on move 26.


Ponomariov vs Polgar under the giant Mtel logo (Photos by Olena Boytsun)

Ponomariov vs Judit Polgar, finally, was actually hard-fought, but mainly because the former world champion, who had lost his first round game, desperately wanted the point against the toughest lady in chess. In a rook ending with four vs three pawns on the kingside young Ruslan played on for 43 manoeuvring moves before accepting that his opponent knew exactly how to hold such positions. Draw in 78.


Attacking and defensive rook manoeuvres in Ponomariov-Polgar

Round 2 (Friday, May 13, 2005)
Ruslan Ponomariov
½-½
Judit Polgar
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Michael Adams
Vladimir Kramnik
½-½
Viswanathan Anand
Games – Report

Current standings

Schedule and results

Round 1 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)
Vladimir Kramnik
1-0
Ruslan Ponomariov
Viswanathan Anand
½-½
Veselin Topalov
Michael Adams
½-½
Judit Polgar
GamesReport
Round 2 (Friday, May 13, 2005)
Ruslan Ponomariov
½-½
Judit Polgar
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Michael Adams
Vladimir Kramnik
½-½
Viswanathan Anand
Games – Report
Round 3 (Saturday, May 14, 2005)
Viswanathan Anand
-
Ruslan Ponomariov
Michael Adams
-
Vladimir Kramnik
Judit Polgar
-
Veselin Topalov
Games – Report
Round 4 (Sunday, May 15, 2005)
Michael Adams
-
Ruslan Ponomariov
Judit Polgar
-
Viswanathan Anand
Veselin Topalov
-
Vladimir Kramnik
Games – Report
Round 5 (Monday, May 16, 2005)
Ruslan Ponomariov
-
Veselin Topalov
Vladimir Kramnik
-
Judit Polgar
Viswanathan Anand
-
Michael Adams
Games – Report
Round 6 (Wednesday, May 18, 2005)
Ruslan Ponomariov
-
Vladimir Kramnik
Veselin Topalov
-
Viswanathan Anand
Judit Polgar
-
Michael Adams
Games – Report
Round 7 (Thursday, May 19, 2005)
Judit Polgar
-
Ruslan Ponomariov
Michael Adams
-
Veselin Topalov
Viswanathan Anand
-
Vladimir Kramnik
Games – Report
Round 8 (Friday, May 20, 2005)
Ruslan Ponomariov
-
Viswanathan Anand
Vladimir Kramnik
-
Michael Adams
Veselin Topalov
-
Judit Polgar
Games – Report
Round 9 (Saturday, May 21, 2005)
Veselin Topalov
-
Ruslan Ponomariov
Judit Polgar
-
Vladimir Kramnik
Michael Adams
-
Viswanathan Anand
Games – Report
Round 10 (Sunday, May 22, 2005)
Ruslan Ponomariov
-
Michael Adams
Viswanathan Anand
-
Judit Polgar
Vladimir Kramnik
-
Veselin Topalov
Games – Report

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