Zurich: Two draws in round two
2/25/2013 – In a tournament where there are only two boards, the spectators run the risk that in both games the white pieces will be neutralized with some precise opening preparation and the games will simply wither into a stale draw. Luckily that was the case in only one of the games. Round two report with video commentary and postgame analysis.
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In one of the strongest tournaments of the year the World Champion Viswanathan Anand (India) is facing the former title-holder Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), last year’s World Championship challenger Boris Gelfand (Israel) and the rising star Fabiano Caruana (Italy). At the Savoy Hotel, Paradeplatz, Zurich, the four masters are playing a double round-robin tournament from 23 February to 1 March 2013.
Round two report
By GM Alejandro Ramirez
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2nd round: 34 February 2013 at 15:00
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| Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 |
½-½
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Viswanathan Anand | 2780 |
| Boris Gelfand | 2740 |
½-½
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Fabiano Caruana | 2757 |
Kramnik, Vladimir – Anand, Vishy ½ - ½
A strange opening move order led into a very standard Catalan setup. The variation improved by Kramnik has practical value, and I'm sure he would win the resulting endgames against 90% of grandmasters, but Vishy just happens to be in the other 10%. The Indian swiftly simplified the position and forced an easily drawn rook endgame.
Gelfand, Boris – Caruana, Fabiano ½ - ½
Caruana went into the round well prepared as he uncorked a great improvement over his game against Aronian in Moscow last year. Gelfand did not react in the best manner, and soon found himself in trouble. Despite having an open h-file against Caruana's king and a pawn phalanx in the center that was keeping the dark squared bishop at bay, his position had no active prospects and Black's pieces dominated the board. The Italian played a wonderful game until move 35, where he missed the winning blow 35... Bg4! A difficult move to see for sure, but the paralyzed nature of White's position would've caused it to collapse in only a few more moves. The mistake allowed Gelfand to get back in the game and within one move get complete equality.
Current standings
Live streams of the game
In the following videos GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug comment on the
games as they progress, and also interview the players after they are over.
Impressions on round two by Vijay Kumar
Schedule and results
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1st round: 23 February 2013 at 15:00
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| Fabiano Caruana | 2757 |
½-½
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Viswanathan Anand | 2780 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 |
½-½
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Boris Gelfand | 2740 |
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2nd round: 24 February 2013 at 15:00
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| Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 |
½-½
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Viswanathan Anand | 2780 |
| Boris Gelfand | 2740 |
½-½
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Fabiano Caruana | 2757 |
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3rd round: 25 February 2013 at 15:00
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| Viswanathan Anand | 2780 | Boris Gelfand | 2740 | |
| Fabiano Caruana | 2757 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 | |
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4th round: 27 February 2013 at 15:00
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| Viswanathan Anand | 2780 | Fabiano Caruana | 2757 | |
| Boris Gelfand | 2740 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 | |
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5th round: 28 February 2013 at 15:00
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| Boris Gelfand | 2740 | Viswanathan Anand | 2780 | |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 | Fabiano Caruana | 2757 | |
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6th round: 1 March 2013 at 13:00
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| Viswanathan Anand | 2780 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2810 | |
| Fabiano Caruana | 2757 | Boris Gelfand | 2740 | |
LinksThe games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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