Dortmund Round 3: Bologan leads after beating Anand

Bologan outplays Anand to take clear lead

Round 3: Sat. Aug. 2, 15:00h T. Radjabov 1/2 P. Leko V. Bologan 1-0 V. Anand V. Kramnik 1/2 A. Naiditsch Game replay and download

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Viktor (aka Viorel) Bologan doesn't pay much attention to the polls. He knows it's the election that matters and he's ahead on points right now. Who cares that Anand got 44% of the votes to win the tournament and that he got exactly zero? On Saturday the Moldovan showed that the only numbers that matter are 1-0. He beat Anand in convincing fashion to take the first clear lead of the event with 2.5/3.

Standings after round three

So far, Bologan is living the dream and is leading the first supertournament of his career. Whether or not we can say that after seven more rounds is somewhat beside the point. He came to play and has already shown he will not be outclassed. In a recent interview in New In Chess magazine, GM Ivan Sokolov said that the only difference between a 2650 and a 2700 is that the "elite" make fewer mistakes. Coincidence that Bologan's latest rating is exactly 2650? The underdog will have to keep avoiding mistakes to keep the lead in Dortmund. He has black against Leko tomorrow.

For Anand it meant two losses in a row and sole ownership of the Dortmund cellar. This is not an unfamiliar position for Vishy, surprisingly enough. The last time Anand lost two games in a row it was in the eight and ninth rounds of Dortmund, 2001, (to Topalov and Kramnik) where he finished in last place. Before that he lost two in a row in Linares, 2000. To add to his woes Anand has Kramnik tomorrow, although the Indian will have white.

Bologan showing his game against Anand

After the game Bologan said, "Anand had tortured me many times and this time I got one back." He must have a good memory because they haven't played since Vishy eliminated him in the FIDE KO in 2000 in two games. Before they they played two rapid games in 1996 and one game in Calcutta way back in 1992. Not a lot of torture despite the +3 =2 -0 line for Anand.

Bologan was well prepared for the opening and it showed on the board and the clock. Said the winner, "It (Caro Kann) wasn't a big surprise, with Rustam Dautov as his second these days." The German Dautov not only plays the Caro but regularly analyzes games in that defense for ChessBase Magazine.

He'll have some work to do on this popular line the way White's attack arrived before Black's in this game. Anand played 13...Qa5 instead of the 13...0-0 he used against Kasparov and Polgar earlier in the year. A typical opposite-side castling attack and counterattack was underway and it wasn't clear who was going to arrive first.

What is clear is that 27.Bc7! slowed Black's progress considerably and gained several tempi for White's attack. Play continued 27...Qa5 28.f4 Nh7 29.g5 hxg5 30.fxg5 and the g6 threat is very hard to deal with.

Kramnik played on trying to turn nothing into something in an endgame against Naiditsch but had to settle for a draw after 89 moves. Like a magician he transformed a tiny space advantage into real chances and made one of Black's pawns disappear. Both players deserve credit. Kramnik for turning a boring position into an endgame master class and Naiditsch for surviving it! The German teen must have felt like he'd just lived through a close encounter with a tidal wave.

Leko admitted that his game with Radjabov wasn't quite as hard fought. The Hungarian said he hadn't been afraid of White's play in the center. After the short draw Leko summed up with, "We weren't all out to get the truth of the position today." Leko is the only player to have drawn all of his games so far. This was Radjabov's first draw of the event. They are tied for 3-4.

Mig

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