by Aviv Friedman

Another super event is coming to a close. After yesterday's anticlimactic one-sided game, we already have a winner. Even if Kasparov loses today to Shirov (not likely), and Ponomariov beats Anand (also not likely), the tiebreaks are in Gazza's favor. First tiebreak is the number of wins - that is even at 3 right now. Next is the number of wins with black - as we well know black has yet to win a game in this event! Next is the personal result between or among leaders… That is bad news for 'little Karpov'. Naturally, I am writing these lines before the start of the round, so by the end, these might not matter.

A Summary of the tournament: (and indeed, the tiebreaks did not matter):

The winner, Kasparov at 38, still going strong, leaving very little doubt about who is the best on the scene. As usual, he was prepared thoroughly for every game, hungry for the kill, and is at his best in the 'money games'. It might be true that he did not shine as he has in some past events; he scored plus 4 in Linares (his expected score) but has been known to score +7. Last year he had 7.5/10 for a +5, leaving all of his competitors far in a dust cloud 3(!!) points behind! This year, he was actually in some danger in a few games (Vallejo and Adams for example) and didn't maximize his chances (Anand and Ponomariov as he usually does. So maybe the veteran lion is a bit tired, but far from fading away. For those who eagerly await some changes at the top, I would suggest having a long breath, since it 'ain't happening' that soon!

FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov left a very strong impression in his debut in 'the land of the giants', taking a few scalps with him. Kasparov might not admit it, but this guy is no fluke. His performance, his strong nerves and youth signal as loud as a train approaching a crossing, that he is here to stay, and is made from the real stuff. When one thinks he is only 18, it is not unfair to predict that the day will come when he will be at the very top, maybe even the leader of the pack.

For Mickey Adams this was a somewhat unusual tournament. The solid Brit is not usually one's candidate for the player with the most decisive results, but that was the case here. His patient, maneuvering, slow-building game makes him a tough opponent for anyone. Here he had 2 bad losses to Kasparov and Pono, and if not for that one accident with Ivanchuk, his score might have been sufficient for second place. His status in the elite is justifiably high and he still seems to enjoy the mega events.

What's happening with Vishy Anand? Is the theory of some of the top players in Corus corect that he is having a little burnout? Here, he lost against Adams a game he usually wouldn't, and with white played a few lackluster games (Adams, Ponomariov for instance). The signs came as early as round 1 when he barely saved a lost game against Shirov, and couldn't beat Vallejo with white. His highlight was beating Shirov, but that had a lot more to do with the latter's hara-kiri then Anand's own shining. We didn't see the usual preparation and zeal from the super-talented Indian. I hope this is only a temporary slump. One should be keeping an eye on the 32 year old as he has quite a busy schedule for the rest of 2002.

Next comes Vassili Ivanchuk, for whom this year has not started so well. Losing to Ponomariov at the FIDE finals was quite a lot for the Ukrainian. To add insult to injury, his first round game against the very same rival ended like that match - in defeat. Recovery was long, but Vasia did show some good chess. His thrashing of Vallejo reminded all what he is capable of. His game against Shirov, which ended in a tragic loss, was also reminiscent of his great ability. I am certain that with a different pairing in the start, his score would have been higher - even if he still lost to Pono.

The tournament's discovery must be young Paco Vallejo. A pleasant surprise to all, Spanish and foreign, this confident young man has undeniable talent, a great fighting spirit and the ambition of an ivy-league graduate! Even Kasparov, who is hardly generous in complimenting anyone from the younger generation, had good things to say about him. He commended his resourcefulness and claimed his talent is a certain ticket into the 'top 10 list' of chess players if he did two things: 1. Change his opening repertoire and 2. Learn to manage his time better and avoid these hair-raising time troubles. Kasparov went on to say that Paco is more talented than Bacrot for example, but for now Bacrot works harder. I was told the youngster is already 'on top of things' and stated that next year all will get to see the 'real Vallejo'. After a strong start of drawing all the stars in the first half of the event, he lost two games, but -2 in such an event is far from failure. Considering he missed some chances, for example his first game against Ivanchuk, and against Kasparov in the one he lost, we can be impressed.

Last and very disappointed is Alexey Shirov. For the "other magician from Riga" not much went his way. Yes, he did get a nice gift from Chuky, but that is all the good that one can say about this event's showing. The super-sharp and aggressive Shirov never got his rhythm going. Scoring only one win is as untypical as it is demoralizing for a player who often produces battles that leave the viewer thinking he witnessed an ultimate fighting bout. Perhaps the birth of his 3rd child in January, and his recent move back to Riga, Latvia had something to do with his lack of success here.

Last round synopsis:

Click to replay Ponomariov - Anand:

Ponomariov - Anand:   Once again, Pono did not shy away from facing the Marshall Attack of the Ruy. The spirit of youth, or the will to prove to the rest that he is never scared? Either way, Vishy took no more than 5 minutes for the whole game! The players followed the interesting game Smirin - Grischuk 2001 (a must-see game). Instead of that game's 17.Re6?? that loses, Pono played the better 17.Bxd5+ and then 18.Re6, but after 18…f4! Black draws. This is a fun game to go over with an analysis engine, since these are way off the correct assessment due to the combination of the unbalanced material, and the limited horizon that doesn't appreciate black's play and initiative. Only when left to churn some, do they get closer to the truth. The burden is still on white to find something in this specific line to make it playable again at the high levels.

Click to replay Adams - Ivanchuk:

Adams - Ivanchuk:   The Paulsen Sicilian gets one last try in this tournament, this time from Ivanchuk. 11.Be3 is new, 11.Nxc6, which is more usual, has been seen before. The game wasn't too lively, white was nagging black's weak queenside pawns, but never really seem to have had anything. Eventually, on move 22, Chuky decided to just suffer a bit to accelerate the draw by going 22…Qh6. Black might have looked a bit ugly in that endgame, but with such scattered pawns, even winning the 'e' pawn was not going to be enough, unless black blundered. As a matter of fact, on the last move, 46.Rh8 in a dead drawn position, Chuky didn't move for close to 10 minutes. He turned to his side, as if annoyed that no draw offer accompanied that move. He stared away from the board, but not in his usual concentrated way. It was clear he was miffed. When after all that time of obviously doing nothing, he wrote his preference on his beverage ticket and handed it to the arbiter. Mickey had enough, and a draw was registered. I suppose Vasia needed to add 'to go' to his drink order!

Click to replay Shirov - Kasparov:

Shirov - Kasparov:   The fact that there was once again no handshake between the two bitter rivals, is certainly not a surprise. Kasparov, using the Sicilian Sveshnikov for the first time in a serious rated game -- Yes, he played it before in simuls, in advanced chess, even in an Internet match, but as far as we could tell never in a 'real' tournament. The sacrifice on move 11 is probably older than Shirov himself. With time this became less and less popular with black finding all the defenses. Alexey tried to bring new life into it with his 15.f4, which looks new - but is it really an improvement? Here, Kasparov took one of his longest thinks of the tournament, and came up with 15…Kd8!? And now, it seems like white's initiative is simply not enough for the piece. Perhaps Alexey could have improved somewhere, like trying Ndc7 and taking the exchange, although by then he has a poor version of the old and known theory. It would be quite presumptuous of me to try and analyze all the nuances in the few minutes I have here, but I will point out black's killer shot of 21…Nxb4! That effectively removed any doubt about the final result of this game. There might have been other ways to victory, say 24…Rxa4 or 25…Qd5(!) but why criticize what worked anyway. Black was just playing with an extra piece, and at some moment Shirov simply wrote 0-1 on his score sheet, signed and stopped the clock. The players exchanged score sheets for the obligatory signing and left without saying a word. The winner beat the cellar dweller and black had earned his first win of the tournament.