Mexico R04: Aronian beats Leko, Anand and Kramnik lead

World Championship 2007 Mexico

The World Championship 2007 is taking place from September 12 to 30 in the Sheraton Centro Histórico Hotel in Mexico City. Eight players are qualified – the tournament is a double round robin. The prize fund is US $1.3 million.

Please note: on Monday, September 17th, a few hours after the end of the last round four game in Mexico, your ChessBase news staff is travelling from Hamburg to Mexico City. After a probably arduous journey of 19 hours we are scheduled to take residence in the Sheraton, where the Internet facilities, we are told, are excellent. However, our analytical report by GM Mihail Marin on round four will be delayed by about twelve hours. On the other hand Monday is a free day at the world championship, so the round five reports are only due Tuesday night. We will remain in Mexico and report from there until the end of the event. – So bye for now!

Round four express report

Current standings

---

Pictures and videos from round four

... after which Jorge Saggiante can move around freely in the players' area

Vladimir Kramnik facing his compatriot Alexander Grischuk

Levon Aronian, Armenia, vs Peter Leko, Hungary

Suffering his first defeat in this tournament: Peter Leko

Top seed and world's number one: Viswanathan Anand of India

Alexander Morozevich, who narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of Anand

---

Grito de Dolores – Mexican Independence day

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811)

September 16 is Mexican Independence Day. It is a major holiday in Mexico, in every city and town in Mexico. It marks the Grito de Dolores, the call for insurrection against the authorities of Mexico, issued by Miguel Hidalgo, a Creole parish priest in the small town of Dolores.

Hidalgo was the head figure and chief instigator of the Mexican Independence movement. He promoted the idea of an uprising by the native and mixed-blood peasantry against wealthy Spanish land-owners and aristocrats. On September 16, 1810 Hidalgo ordered the church bell to ring to gather his congregation. His call for insurrection ended with "¡Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe! ¡Viva Fernando VII! ¡Abajo el mal gobierno!" (Long live Our lady of Guadalupe and the king Fernando VII! Down with the bad government!).

Mexico's independence was recognized by the Spanish viceroy on September 27, 1821 after a decade-long War of Independence. Since the late 19th century, a re-enactment has become traditional: the President of Mexico rings Hidalgo's bell (now at the National Palace on the Zócalo in Mexico City) and repeats Hidalgo's words (or a variant thereof) every year at 11:00 P.M. on the night of September 15. On the following day, September 16, a military parade starts in the Zócalo and ends at Paseo de la Reforma.

We bring you images from the parade close to the Sheraton Hotel (where the world championship is being held).

A lasso demonstration performed by a rider...

... and on foot in front of an enthralled crowd

The colorful señoritas, many riding sidesaddle

Riding by with the grace and dignity of Mexican ladies

A uniform parade

A squad of the medical services

They are carrying muskets with bayonets

The technical force?

A vehicle of war...

... and soldiers in camouflage

---

Full Schedule and Results (first half)

Round 1: Thursday, Sept. 13th 2007, 14:00h Vladimir Kramnik  ½-½  Peter Svidler Alexander Morozevich  ½-½  Levon Aronian Viswanathan Anand  ½-½  Boris Gelfand Alexander Grischuk  ½-½  Peter Leko Games – Report	Round 2: Friday, Sept. 14th 2007, 14:00h Peter Svidler  ½-½  Peter Leko Boris Gelfand  ½-½  Alexander Grischuk Levon Aronian  0-1  Viswanathan Anand Vladimir Kramnik  1-0  Alexander Morozevich Games – Report
Round 3: Saturday, Sept. 15th 2007, 14:00h Alexander Morozevich  1-0  Peter Svidler Viswanathan Anand  ½-½  Vladimir Kramnik Alexander Grischuk  ½-½  Levon Aronian Peter Leko  ½-½  Boris Gelfand Games – Report	Round 4: Sunday, Sept 16th 2007, 14:00h Peter Svidler  ½-½  Boris Gelfand Levon Aronian  1-0  Peter Leko Vladimir Kramnik  ½-½  Alexander Grischuk Alexander Morozevich  ½-½  Viswanathan Anand Games – Report
Free day: Monday, Sept. 17th 2007	Round 5: Tuesday, Sept. 18th 2007, 14:00h Viswanathan Anand     Peter Svidler Alexander Grischuk     Alexander Morozevich Peter Leko     Vladimir Kramnik Boris Gelfand     Levon Aronian Games – Report
Round 6: Wednesday, Sept. 19th 2007, 14:00h Peter Svidler     Levon Aronian Vladimir Kramnik     Boris Gelfand Alexander Morozevich     Peter Leko Viswanathan Anand     Alexander Grischuk Games – Report	Round 7: Thursday, Sept. 20th 2007, 14:00h Alexander Grischuk     Peter Svidler Peter Leko     Viswanathan Anand Boris Gelfand     Alexander Morozevich Levon Aronian     Vladimir Kramnik Games – Report

---

Live coverage by Yasser Seirawan on Playchess

Playchess commentator GM Yasser Seirawan

The games of the World Championship 2007, which start at 14:00h local time (check the time in your location here), will be broadcast live on the official site and on Playchess.com server, where there will be daily live audio commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan, with a minimum of three one hour lectures per round, beginning approximately thirty minutes after play has started. For a charge of ten Ducats (about one Euro) a visitor gets a twelve hour pass to listen to the live lectures.

Ducats are the currency used on Playchess.com. You can purchase Ducats here. The amount will be credited to your playchess.com account. You need to allow one working day for processing. If you want your Ducats immediately you can order them using our Click&Buy service. Ducats can also be used to buy ChessBase products. Note that you can also purchase Ducats directly from Fritz or the Playchess client using the menu "Edit – Payments – Fill up account". This takes you to a special purchase page with your account name automatically passed on, to simplify the process.

Links

• Official World Championship web site – also available in Spanish
• Full overview on the world championship schedule (ChessBase)
• All ChessBase reports on the World Championship 2007

---

Download all games so far in PGN Download free PGN reader ChessBase Light The games are being broadcast on Playchess.com