21st International Chess Tournament
Linares Feb. 19 – March 5, 2004 |
Linares Round 5
Round 5 (Monday, February
23, 2004) |
Teimour Radjabov |
½-½ |
Francisco Vallejo |
Peter Leko |
½-½ |
Veselin Topalov |
Garry Kasparov |
½-½ |
Vladimir Kramnik |
|
|
Round 6
(Wednesday, February 25, 2004) |
Veselin Topalov
|
|
Garry Kasparov |
Francisco Vallejo
|
|
Peter Leko |
Alexei Shirov |
|
Teimour Radjabov |
Games
– Report |
|
Don't be fooled by the table above this sentence. We had another three draws
in Linares today and for those who are keeping track that means 12 split points
in a row. The only decisive game of the event, that's 1/15, was Leko's win over
Radjabov in the first round. But don't be fooled because today's draws weren't
like many that we've seen so far.
All three draws were hard fights with chances for both sides. Every game made
into the second time control. Kramnik must be exhausted after playing his first
game to last longer than 23 moves. He was also under considerable pressure from
Kasparov for most of the way. The game was drawn due to a combination of Kramnik's
typically stellar defensive play and Kasparov's severe time trouble.
After
a long squeeze Kasparov a positional advantage but just six minutes for 12 moves.
He reached move 40 safely but he couldn't stop Kramnik's pieces from getting
active enough to force a repetition draw.
Diagram: Kasparov-Kramnik after 41...Ng3
Earlier it was White with the raking bishops, now it's Black's that allow Kramnik
to draw with an unavoidable knight sacrifice.
42.Nd3 Nxe4 43.fxe4 [43.Nxf4? Nxf2 44.Kxf2 (44.Nxe6? Nd1 45.Nd8 Bd5
46.Bc1 Be7) 44...Bxf4] 43...Qxe4 44.Qg2 ½-½ [44.Qg2 Qe3+
45.Qf2 Qe4 46.Qg2]
See this and more analysis on the online
replay/download page.
Leko decided that what almost worked against Kasparov wasn't good enough for
Topalov, or he was just worried about an improvement. He diverged from his round
three game against the world #1 and followed a Najdorf line that Topalov defended
last year against Anand. This suited the Bulgarian fine and Leko's kingside
chances ground to a halt.
Then the Hungarian decided radical measures were necessary and gave up a pawn
to activate his pieces. Black accepted the material and looked ready to go into
a winning endgame until he was bitten by the move 40 bug. Topalov's last move
of the time control allowed Leko to escape into a drawish pawn-down endgame.
As could be expected, Radjabov played much more aggressively against Vallejo
than he has against the top-tenners. A combination resulted in the unusual material
balance of two rooks versus three minor pieces with queens still on the board.
The Azeri was hasty in swapping material and then couldn't hold on to the queenside
pawns that provided his only real winning chances in an endgame. Vallejo got
an easily drawn knight vs rook endgame to split yet another point.
Just
as Kramnik was forced into gear he'll have to consecutive rest days to cool
off again! Topalov-Kasparov and Shirov-Radjabov look like great fights on paper;
we'll have to see how they come out on the board.
Don't miss our live radio commentary at Playchess.com
during the games. You never know who will drop in! During round five former
US Women's Champion Irina Krush braved a cold and missed breakfast (at
11:30am!) to share her thoughts on the games, her own tournament experiences,
and much more.
The show starts on game days at 10am EST, 1600 CET. (Changes announced.) If
you haven't checked out Playchess.com you can go
here download and install the software for a free trial.
Pictures from round five
Hungarian GM Peter Leko had a narrow scrape against Bulgaria's Veselin
Topalov
The youngest against the local boy
A firm handshake at the start of the top game Kasparov vs Kramnik
The toughest game between the world's number one and two
Spectators watch as Kasparov toils
Pictures by Jesús J. Boyero Gabarre
All results so far
Round 1 (Thursday, February
19, 2004) |
Francisco Vallejo |
½-½ |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Alexei Shirov |
½-½ |
Garry Kasparov |
Teimour Radjabov |
0-1 |
Peter Leko |
|
|
Round 2 (Friday, February 20, 2004) |
Kasparov, Garry |
½-½ |
Teimour Radjabov |
Vladimir Kramnik |
½-½ |
Alexei Shirov |
Veselin Topalov |
½-½ |
Francisco Vallejo |
|
|
Round 3 (Saturday, February
21, 2004) |
Alexei Shirov |
½-½ |
Veselin Topalov |
Teimour Radjabov |
½-½ |
Vladimir Kramnik |
Peter Leko |
½-½ |
Garry Kasparov |
|
|
Round 4 (Sunday, February
22, 2004) |
Vladimir Kramnik |
½-½
|
Peter Leko |
Veselin Topalov |
½-½ |
Teimour Radjabov |
Francisco Vallejo |
½-½
|
Alexei Shirov |
|
|
Round 5 (Monday, February
23, 2004) |
Teimour Radjabov |
½-½
|
Francisco Vallejo |
Peter Leko |
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov |
Garry Kasparov |
½-½
|
Vladimir Kramnik |
|
|
Round
6 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004) |
Veselin Topalov
|
|
Garry Kasparov |
Francisco Vallejo
|
|
Peter Leko |
Alexei Shirov
|
|
Teimour Radjabov |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
7 (Thursday, February 26, 2004) |
Peter Leko
|
|
Alexei Shirov |
Garry Kasparov
|
|
Francisco Vallejo |
Vladimir Kramnik
|
|
Veselin Topalov |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
8 (Friday, February 27, 2004) |
Vladimir Kramnik
|
|
Francisco Vallejo |
Garry Kasparov
|
|
Alexei Shirov |
Peter Leko
|
|
Teimour Radjabov |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
9 (Saturday, February 28, 2004) |
Teimour Radjabov
|
|
Garry Kasparov |
Alexei Shirov
|
|
Vladimir Kramnik |
Francisco Vallejo
|
|
Veselin Topalov |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
10 (Sunday, February 29, 2004) |
Veselin Topalov
|
|
Alexei Shirov |
Vladimir Kramnik
|
|
Teimour Radjabov |
Garry Kasparov
|
|
Peter Leko |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
11 (Tuesday, March 2, 2004) |
Peter Leko
|
|
Vladimir Kramnik |
Teimour Radjabov
|
|
Veselin Topalov |
Alexei Shirov
|
|
Francisco Vallejo |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
12 (Wednesday, March 3, 2004) |
Francisco Vallejo
|
|
Teimour Radjabov |
Veselin Topalov
|
|
Peter Leko |
Vladimir Kramnik
|
|
Garry Kasparov |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
13 (Thursday, March 4, 2004) |
Garry Kasparov
|
|
Veselin Topalov |
Peter Leko
|
|
Francisco Vallejo |
Teimour Radjabov
|
|
Alexei Shirov |
Games
– Report |
|
Round
14 (Friday, March 5, 2004) |
Alexei Shirov
|
|
Peter Leko |
Francisco Vallejo
|
|
Garry Kasparov |
Veselin Topalov
|
|
Vladimir Kramnik |
Games
– Report |
|