Tal Mem: Mamedyarov & Ponomariov win

22 August 2008, 19.51 CET | Last modified: 19:54 | By Peter Doggers  | Filed under: Reports | Tags:

Today Ponomariov did what not many have managed to do, ever: the Ukrainian beat Leko in his beloved Marshall Gambit. In a difficult Scheveningen, Mamedyarov defeated Kamsky with Black and after three draws in the other games, Morozevich keeps his half a point lead in Moscow.

The Tal Memorial takes place 17-31 August at the GUM Exhibition Hall, located close to the Red Square, in Moscow, Russia.

After four draws, both Mamedyarov and Ponomariov scored their first wins today, going to plus one and a shared second place now, behind Morozevich. Admittedly, Ponomariov’s victory wasn’t exactly the result of the opening, and probably both Leko’s Black repertoire and the Marshall in general are still doing fine after today. It looks like two mistakes, based on a certain miscalculation, cost the Hungarian the game.

Mamedyarov simply played a very strong game against Kamsky’s Classical Qg3-Scheveningen, but the move of the day, and probably the tournament, was the American’s queen’s bishop fianchetto on g7!

Ivanchuk and Kramnik confirmed for the 376th time that the Petroff is a draw, Shirov defended well against Morozevich and Gelfand might have missed some winning chances in the ending. Tomorrow is a rest day in Moscow; round 6 will have Morozevich-Ponomariov.

Results round 5, August 22, 2008
Ponomariov – Leko 1-0
Kamsky – Mamedyarov 0-1
Morozevich – Shirov ?Ǭ?-?Ǭ?
Ivanchuk – Kramnik ?Ǭ?-?Ǭ?
Gelfand – Alekseev ?Ǭ?-?Ǭ?

Tal Memorial Round 5 Standings

				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1	Morozevich,A	2788	+103	*	½			½		1	1		½	3.5/5
2	Mamedyarov,S	2742	+78	½	*	½	½	½				1		3.0/5	8.00
3	Ponomariov,R	2718	+92		½	*		1	½	½	½			3.0/5	7.50
4	Ivanchuk,V	2781	+25		½		*		½	½	½	1		3.0/5	7.00
5	Leko,P	2741	+14	½	½	0		*		½			1	2.5/5	5.50
6	Gelfand,B	2720	+14			½	½		*		½	½	½	2.5/5	5.50
7	Kramnik,V	2788	-34	0		½	½	½		*			1	2.5/5	5.25
8	Alekseev,Evgeny	2708	-32	0		½	½		½		*	½		2.0/5	5.25
9	Kamsky,G	2723	-55		0		0		½		½	*	1	2.0/5	3.25
10	Shirov,A	2741	-229	½				0	½	0		0	*	1.0/5

Videos by Europe-Echecs:

Tomorrow is a rest day.
Pairings round 6, August 24, 2008:
Shirov – Alekseev
Mamedyarov – Gelfand
Kramnik – Kamsky
Leko – Ivanchuk
Morozevich – Ponomariov

Links:

• Official website
• Games in PGN

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