Kramnik and Ni Hua win in round 6 London
15 December 2009, 3.07 CET | Last modified: 12:41 | By Peter Doggers | Filed under: Reports | Tags:
Attention: last round, and our live commentary, starts at 13:00 CET today!
Again Vladimir Kramnik is just one point behind Magnus Carlsen in the standings of the London Chess Classic after beating Nigel Short today. Carlsen himself escaped with a draw against Adams, and kept the lead with 12 points out of 6 games. Luke McShane had a good position against Ni Hua but misplayed it terribly and even lost.
The London Chess Classic takes place December 8th till 15th in Kensington, Londen. Venue is the Auditorium of the Olympiad Conference Centre. The time control is 2 hours for 40 moves, then 1 hour for 20 moves and then 15 minutes plus 30 seconds increment to finish the games. Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Hikaru Nakamura, Nigel Short, Michael Adams, Ni Hua, Luke McShane and David Howell play.
Round 6 by John Saunders
The penultimate round was full of exciting chess. It featured two decisive games and the number should arguably have been three had things gone Michael Adams’ way. Vladimir Kramnik’s win against Nigel Short took him within one point of Magnus Carlsen which means that these two cannot be caught by anyone else but either of them could still win the tournament.
Magnus Carlsen had a narrow escape when he played a strange opening and overreached against Michael Adams. The English super-grandmaster sacrificed a piece for a dangerous counter-offensive. For some time it seemed as if Carlsen would lose and endanger his chances of appearing at the top of the January 2010 FIDE Rating List (he needs at least two draws or one win from the last two games to be sure of this). But Michael hesitated, repeated the position a couple of times and ultimately missed a chance of finishing the game quickly. He still emerged with a strong position but Carlsen managed to hold the draw, ensuring that he would stay top of the table going into the last round.
Games with notes by John Saunders
Game viewer by ChessTempo
Vladimir Kramnik beats Nigel Short using a strong novelty
David Howell and Hikaru Nakamura drew in round 6
A good start but a bad finish for Luke McShane against Ni Hua
A narrow escape for Magnus Carlsen against Michael Adams
According to several sources Carlsen already secured his no. 1 spot on the next FIDE rating list because even when he'd lose in round 7 he'd end up with the same rating as Topalov and he'd take the spot based on the number of games played
You can still replay IM Merijn van Delft’s live commentary of the 6th round in London and the tiebreak of the World Cup final between Gelfand and Ponomariov. We’re covering the World Cup and the London Chess Classic for free; starting from 2010 our live commentary will be subscription-based. You’ll find more info here.
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London Chess Classic 2009 | Pairings & results
London Chess Classic 2009 | Standings (’football system’)
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Carlsen was extremely lucky to hold this game. Why Adams refrained from …dxe3 with a crush is a mystery. It must have been a case of “chess blindness” since he had at least two chances to do it! Carlsen needs to use caution tomorrow, since Short is in last place now in a tournament on his home turf and will come out swinging with White.
Kramnik is playing with the serenity of a computer as he calmly takes the pawns – and just as calmly brushes away the puny threats of his opponents as if they were no more than gnats bothering his eyes. He revitalized an old line which had been thoroughly discredited.
Sympathy for McShane, who had the better of it and could have had the draw for the asking until after he had completely blown the position.
The starting time give above for the last round is incorrect, Peter.
It begins 2 hours earlier than the other rounds at 12:00 London Time, so 13:00 CET.
Carlsen was not lucky, het was simply examining how far he can stretch his luck
Objectively, his game vs Ni Hua already looked suspicious and vs Adams he just played ridiculous, but hey, that’s what can happen when everything seems to always work your way: you get cocky! Now, having learned there are limits to his abilities, I expect a more down to earth approach in his final game vs. Short…
Naka won’t be happy with a winless score and will push hard against Kramnik, and the likely result will be his losing a worse endgame after a couple of mistakes. After being crushed already in the opening by Kramnik, Short will go for something solid to hold the draw against Carlsen, and with white he should make it. In Ni Hua vs Howell the latter will complete his all draws score, while Adams will squeeze McShane until it’s 1-0 to avoid that he too will end up with all draws.
Thx chris, corrected.
Carlsen was reckless, with a coffee-house opening formation, and with over an hour to spare on the clock, compared to Adams. He didn’t take it seriously – he’s dropped two games in this tourney, because of his wavering focus. Against Howell, even I saw the easy win in move 52, just as I could see that Carlsen was bored in his game against Adams and wanted to set up something fun.
Luke McShane played a terrible game against Nakamura, and how that could become game of the day is a mystery. McShane went in and out of trouble without a plan against Naka, and it was only Naka’s miscalculation in the opening that gave him any chances to begin with.
That day Kramnik played a fantastic Petroff (never thought I’d write that), and today he was just as solid. Carlsen is young, and insanely gifted – but so uneven as to make one shake one’s head.
It’s a pity that you dont allow your video’s to be emdedded. It could generate extra traffic for you as wel.
The 3-1-0 system can actually make a difference if Kramnik wins and Carlsen draws.
Carlsen didn’t play a coffee house opening formatation at all.
That formation is thematic in that kind of structure.
Indeed he was reckless (as he admitted after the game) as he should have finished his force mobilization before starting pushing his pawns on the kingside.