Carlsen only player to win

Carlsen is the only player who won his first round game in Morelia. Hij sacrificed a piece for two pawns, when Morozevich soon decided return the favour for a pawn. On move 40 the Russian sacrificed a second pawn, when Magnus collected the full point in an ending with opposite coloured bishops. The first round also saw the clash between the numbers one and two of the rating list: Topalov and Anand. A month ago, Topalov also had White, and Anand suffered a psychologically heavy loss. It was Topalov who first deviated from that game, as if saying: “I’m the one who’s dealing the cards”. Anand this time didn’t have trouble holding the draw. Thanks to excellent preparation by Aronian, Svidler didn’t get much against the Marshall gambit, and the game was drawn soon. Ivanchuk played a great Scotch game against Leko, and got very far, but he used much time on the clock. A knight sacrifice finally led to a repetition of moves. The games from the first round with commentary!

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Great pictures by Nadja Woisin can be viewed at the Spanish version of Chessbase. They now seem to have discovered filming too, because you can watch some videos there as well! And Magnus Carlsen’s father is doing a great job so far too.