MTel R3 Express: Cowboy beats Indian to take the lead

by ChessBase
5/14/2006 – We can't think of many taller orders in the chess world than beating a hot Vishy Anand with black, but that's just what Gata Kamsky did. In two games against Anand since making his comeback, Kamsky is two for two. The American's win also put him in the clear lead with 2.5/3 when the other games were drawn. Games and wrap-up.

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Round three express

Round 3: Saturday, May 13, 2006

Ruslan Ponomariov 
½-½
 Veselin Topalov
Etienne Bacrot 
½-½
 Peter Svidler
Vishy Anand 
0-1
 Gata Kamsky

All games so far in PGN

Standings

Round 3 wrap-up: This may not be the Gata Kamsky of 1995, but don't tell that to Vishy Anand. From what we can tell, this new version (contact lenses, better haircut, 2-0 score against Anand) is even more dangerous than the Kamsky who rose to face Karpov in a 1996 FIDE world championship match after splitting a pair of candidates matches with Anand. (Anand beat Kamsky in the cycle that led to Kasparov. Both lost their respective world championship matches.) The Indian star was leading the MTel tournament after starting out with two beautiful wins with black. But just like last January at Corus Wijk aan Zee, Kamsky knocked Anand out of the lead.

The difference is that this time Kamsky doesn't have a pile of losses to go with the victory. He's in first place at the strongest tournament of the year after three rounds. He achieved a favorable rook endgame with black out of a Ruy Lopez (classical play was ever his strong suit) and Anand was unable to defend. 51.Rd5 is our humble suggestion for a late improvement. It's totally lost after 52.Kg4 Rd6! It looks like it's time to stop talking about Kamsky as a special comeback case and just be afraid, be very afraid. He has another stern test in round five, however: black against FIDE champ Topalov.

Topalov held Ponomariov to a draw, or maybe it was the other way around? An unbalanced endgame got wild and crazy and it was Super Mariov and his extra piece forcing the repetition against Topalov's pawns. Peter Svidler's Grunfeld is out of the shop after being totalled in Linares. A sharp game against Bacrot led to many exchanges and a relatively short draw.

Games annotated by GM Mihail Marin tomorrow in separate article


Picture gallery


Kamsky (left) about to raise his 21st century score against Anand to 2-0


Ponomariov and Topalov drew and exciting endgame with mutual chances

Schedule and results

Round 1: Thursday, May 11, 2006

Peter Svidler 
½-½
 Veselin Topalov
Ruslan Ponomariov 
½-½
 Gata Kamsky
Etienne Bacrot 
0-1
 Vishy Anand

Round 2: Friday, May 12, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
0-1
 Vishy Anand
Gata Kamsky 
1-0
 Etienne Bacrot
Peter Svidler 
1-0
 Ruslan Ponomariov

Round 3: Saturday, May 13, 2006

Ruslan Ponomariov 
½-½
 Veselin Topalov
Etienne Bacrot 
½-½
 Peter Svidler
Vishy Anand 
0-1
 Gata Kamsky

Round 4: Sunday, May 14, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Gata Kamsky
Peter Svidler 
   Vishy Anand
Ruslan Ponomariov 
   Etienne Bacrot
GamesReport

Round 5: Monday, May 15, 2006

Etienne Bacrot 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Vishy Anand  
   Ruslan Ponomariov
Gata Kamsky 
   Peter Svidler
GamesReport

Round 6: Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Peter Svidler
Gata Kamsky  
   Ruslan Ponomariov
Vishy Anand 
   Etienne Bacrot
GamesReport

Round 7: Thursday, May 18, 2006

Vishy Anand 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Etienne Bacrot 
   Gata Kamsky
Ruslan Ponomariov 
   Peter Svidler
GamesReport

Round 8: Friday, May 19, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Ruslan Ponomariov
Peter Svidler 
   Etienne Bacrot
Gata Kamsky 
   Vishy Anand
GamesReport

Round 9: Saturday, May 20, 2006

Gata Kamsky 
 
 Veselin Topalov
Vishy Anand 
   Peter Svidler
Etienne Bacrot 
   Ruslan Ponomariov
GamesReport

Round 10: Sunday, May 21, 2006

Veselin Topalov 
 
 Etienne Bacrot
Ruslan Ponomariov 
   Vishy Anand
Peter Svidler 
   Gata Kamsky
GamesReport

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