Shirov wins 5th M-Tel Masters
Alexei Shirov won the 5th edition of the M-Tel Masters in Sofia by beating Carlsen in the last round. Wang Yue and Topalov drew their game while Ivanchuk finally managed to win a game, against Dominguez.
The 5th M-Tel Masters took place May 12-23 in a glass pavilion on the square in front of the National Theatre Ivan Vazov in Sofia, Bulgaria. The six-player double round-robin had Carlsen, Dominguez, Ivanchuk, Shirov, Topalov and Wang Yue playing. The time control was 90 minutes for 40 moves and then another hour to finish the game. According to the "Sofia rule" a draw offer could be made only through the chief arbiter in the case of a threefold repetition, perpetual check or a theoretically draw position.
Round 10
After most of the rounds had been pretty exciting, the fans weren't disappointed on the last day either. Both games Shirov-Carlsen and Wang Yue-Topalov, where the first prize was at stake, reached extremely sharp positions right out of the opening, while Ivanchuk and Dominguez seemed to be steering to a quick draw.
The first game to finish was Wang Yue-Topalov. As it turned out, the complications quickly led to a draw, when the Chinese GM went for a long and forced line that ended in a perpetual check. He could probably have tried for more at some point, but as he's shown on several occasions in Sofia, Wang Yue is the safety-first kind of player. For Topalov it meant that he couldn't win the tournament anymore.
Carlsen and Shirov would decide the battle for first prize in their direct encounter, with the Norwegian needing only a draw to keep his half a point lead. He had chosen the Sicilian Sveshnikov, an understandable choice since theoretically speaking Black is doing fine. Naturally Shirov went for the 9.Bxf6 and not the positional 9.Nd5, and soon an extremely complicated position was reached, with Black having sacrificed no less than three pawns in return for a beautiful pawn center, the two bishops and an open g-file.
Black's plan of doubling on the g-file was probably too slow, as after the alternative 25...e3! things remain highly unclear. In a position where White already had the better chances, Carlsen made another mistake with 27...Qc7? which loses a vital tempo. Suddenly it was all over, and Shirov had won! The Latvian GM overtook his direct opponent in the standings and recorded arguably his best perfomance of his career.
Ivanchuk then won his opposite-coloured bishops + rooks ending with an extra pawn - objectively Black should have been able to hold it, but the task proved too difficult for Dominguez at this quick rate of play.
Especially after his disappointing last place at his last super tournament, the Tal Memorial in August 2008, Shirov's victory comes a bit as a surprise, but certainly a pleasant one. His undefeated 6.5/10 (seven draws and three wins) is absolutely superb in this field, and good for a 2866 performance. Winning in Sofia also means direct qualification for the 2nd Grand Slam Final in Bilbao in September, where Shirov will compete with Grischuk, Karjakin and Topalov.
Shirov proudly showing his trophy, and Carlsen and Topalov their shared second prizes
Both Carlsen and Topalov ended with a 2800+ performance as well, and especially Carlsen scored a few very impressive victories. His first-round win against Topalov turned out to be a crucial game. After the Bulgarian won in rounds 4 and 5 he seemed to be going for another trademark comeback, but with four draws and one win in the second leg, he came half a point short this time.
The tournament will also be remembered as one of the worst ever for Vassily Ivanchuk. Together with his result in Nalchik last month the Ukrainian dropped an enormous amount of rating points and it's not clear whether it's a good thing that he will have many opportunities to win them back in the coming months. He admitted himself that he needs to rest, but he wants to play at the same time.
Wang Yue, the only player who has played more rated games than Ivanchuk over the past year, also gave the impression that he lacked energy. In his case, as a solid, positional player, this led to many boring games and quick draws. However, we shouldn't forget his impressive year 2008, and like Ivanchuk, the Chinese will surely be back with new successes to come.
Only Dominguez didn't win a single game in Sofia, which is remarkable considering his sharp and principled style combined with top-notch openings. Because of this he will certainly keep on being an interesting candidate to be invited for super tournaments.
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Founder and editor-in-chief of ChessVibes.com, Peter is responsible for most of the chess news and tournament reports. Often visiting top events, he also provides photos and videos for the site. He's a 1.e4 player himself, likes Thai food and the Stones.
Comments
pete
2 years 8 months ago
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well ... ain't that a surprise ... just like last year :). Congratulations to Shirov, too bad Topa could not win agains Wang ... the game was really wild.
master
2 years 8 months ago
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I do not see the games, this is stupid! How do I replay them? At least tell where can be viewed at other sites if here no possible.
And I do not want to install anything, Miscrosoft is virus!
Congrats Shirov, you are the best!
Thomas
2 years 8 months ago
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master, you can always try the tournament site - and some time soon Chessbase which, at this occasion, just gives the moves in plain text ... .
Zultan
2 years 8 months ago
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@master,
maybe you should wait with complaining before all the games to end, because no one is allowed to publish games before that. When this post appeared Ivanchuk was still playing Dominguez, but Shirov was already the certain winner.
ChessGirl
2 years 8 months ago
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Congratulations, Shirov!!!! I´m so happy he won :)
leigh
2 years 8 months ago
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Yue Wang is a wall, whoever passed him, would be champion.
Last time, linare, he blocked Carlson;
This time, he blocked Topalov.
Arne Moll
2 years 8 months ago
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If I'm not mistaken Shirov also reached another milestone: his all-time high in terms of (virtual) rating.
guitarspider
2 years 8 months ago
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Great to see Shirov win!
Bert de Bruut
2 years 8 months ago
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Are you kidding?? "It may take days to come to a definite conclusion"... if chess was that easy, the game wouldn't have been played for a long time already!
christos (greece)
2 years 8 months ago
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Yes Arne, Shirov had a peak rating of 2755. And his current live rating (2764) will probably be his rating on the July list, since that list will include tournaments submitted until the end of May.
Steve
2 years 8 months ago
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Would've liked to see Carlsen win another, but so glad to see Shirov take the prize. Let's hope this is a new beginning for one of the finest attacking chess players of this era.
SDX
2 years 8 months ago
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The last alinea contains an error:
Like Ivanchuk, Dominguez didn’t win a game(...)
Peter Doggers
2 years 8 months ago
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Oops, corrected. Thx.
ceann
2 years 8 months ago
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It shows how false these ratings really are, No one can honestly say Shirov is a better player now than he was over 10 years ago, but the ratings do!!!
A joke. GM's now are ALL TOURISTS now compared to KASPAROV
Felix Kling
2 years 8 months ago
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I would say Shirov became better recently. Of course his style became more sophisticated and less agressive (speculative sacrifices...) than 10 years ago, but I would think the rating reflects his development pretty well in terms of playing strength. He seems to be well prepared and simply plays good chess at the moment :)
christos (greece)
2 years 8 months ago
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"No one can honestly say Shirov is a better player now than he was over 10 years ago"
I can say that. I think most players have become stronger by training a lot with computers. I remember an interview where Anand said that the computer shows him new paths and new ways of thinking. Thanks to strong computer programs everyone understands chess better than in the past.
Jeans
2 years 8 months ago
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Look at that smile holding the trophy!
Just wonderfull. Alexei Shirov, thank you.
Thomas
2 years 8 months ago
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I like Shirov's games, I like his books, and I am pleased that he (rather than Topalov) won MTel. Still I wouldn't consider myself as a fan of Shirov, as this might imply losing objectivity.
End of disclaimer, now some facts concerning the present discussion:
1) the long-term context: since 2000, Shirov's rating graph displays sort of a "W" with highs in 2000 (~2750), 2003 (~2735) and since July 2007 (fluctuating around 2740). Lows in between intermittently went "all the way down to" 2697.
2) the short-term context: Shirov had relatively bad performances in his 2008 supertournaments (Morelia-Linares 5.5/14, Tal Memorial 3/9), followed by a good one at MTel 2009.
What does this mean?
Is Shirov better now than 10 years ago? IMO a futile question - ELO rating just reflects his strength relative to his opponents, and there may be issues of rating inflation. I tend to agree with Felix that he changed his style a bit. However, the fact that he revived the Botvinnik variation suggests that, at least, he still remembers his younger years :)
Did Shirov "recently" become better? I would say evidence from one tournament is quite inconclusive - either way. Looking at the other end of the MTel table, one bad result for Ivanchuk (or even several consecutive ones) do not, or not necessarily, mean that his best days are history.
That being said, I hope that Shirov will play in Bilbao as he did in Sofia, and not as in 2008 - both for him, and for the tournament as a whole.
[for a more detailed analysis I would have to look at Shirov's games from 2008, but don't have enough time at the moment ...]
Thoth
2 years 8 months ago
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Shirov should have held aloft the bottle of wine instead of the trophy, lol.
I'm especially happy to see his live rating is now higher than Kramnik's. :)
VB
2 years 8 months ago
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No doubt for me that Shirov's chess currently is excellent!!! Congrats!! Carlsen also showed an upward potential. Nice tourney.
Brian Wall
2 years 8 months ago
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Shirov is my hero and I have been writing about Chess and telling everyone how Fire on Board changed my whole Chess style for almost 10 years now. Having Shirov and Shabalov around is like Tal risen from the dead. I am ecstatic to see Shirov #5 in the world rankings. I used to be in shock that Petrosian and Tal were both 2640, how could two such different styles converge on the FIDE rating list.?Now I am amazed that Shirov's insane style edges the Super Technician Vladimir Kramnik. Chess is like the beach, there is something there for everyone.
Brian Wall
Thornton, Colorado, USA
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