Day 9: 2002 Corus at Wijk aan Zee

It is interesting to hear some of the players' views on the FIDE new and reduced time controls: Most players dislike it, as they claim, and correctly so, that it devalues the level of the game, adds to the pressure on the players and anyways, is still too slow to really attract the TV media as some had hoped. Many said they are not even following the FIDE finals (or the championship itself for that matter) because the games are so full of mistakes and of low quality. The consensus, especially with the veteran players, is that FIDE was wrong to enforce it, especially without much consultation with the top players. The younger players seem less troubled by having to play faster, but as Grischuk put it, things get even harder when you have one event with one time control, where you have increments, and another where you get more time upfront but no increment. One finds it hard to adopt one, consistent playing tempo for all tournaments and must readjust back and forth to the different time controls.

Grischuk - Morozevich

Grischuk - Morozevich: This was the "power match of the day" and of course hopes for a tactical fistfight were high before the start. Instead what we got was the Berlin variation of the Ruy that might be a topical discussion at the very top, as a way for black to safely try and make a draw from a slight inferiority, but very unexciting for any spectators… The game followed previous games by Kasparov and Leko starting with 11.Ng5!? by white. They followed Leko's game with Kramnik from their 2000 match until black went for the idea of pushing c6-c5 instead of moving his R to d8. Grischuk criticized the idea, stating that with a white Nc3, he could hop it to d5 without any loss of time or problems. White achieved a dream position with a better pawn structure, more space and complete domination. He did make one slip on move 29.Rh7?! where Ne7! Would have given black some drawing chances (30.Rxf7 Nxd5), but black missed it. The pressure increased and increased and eventually black lost on time on move 40. To quote Leko, if he had 5 minutes to make his 40th move, it would not have mattered. A great game for Sasha Grischuk (and the 250 Euro public prize as a little bonus to boot!)

Kasimdzhanov - van Wely

Kasimzdanov - van Wely: Now this line in the Catalan is certainly not for the faint at heart! Fireworks, shots and counter shots abound, sacrifices, discovered checks allowed and not used, you name it - it had it! Of course... It has all been played before many times! So many things have been tried in this crazy line that by now everyone who plays it knows the do's and don'ts of the variation. The first new move of the game seems to me to be 26(!).Rg1!?. Kasparov - Adams from Corus last year went 26.Rd1 f4 27.Nc4 and a draw was agreed. In our game, after 26…Rd7, white could have tried 27.Rxg7+ after Kxg7 28.Bxe6 and f5. He ended up with a lot more. In the game poor Loek combined 28…Kf6 with 29…Rd4?, walking right into 30.Nxf5!, winning immediately for white. There were a few ways to go down, but black chose the pawn ending, where he resigned promptly.

Gelfand - Bareev: Bareev decided to try Morozevich's 11…g5 in the Carlsbad Slav from their round 7 encounter. Gelfand, playing quickly, went for 12.Nxe5 instead of Bareev's answer 12.Ne3. As far as I could find, this has been tried before only in the amateur level. At least this game didn't leave the urge to adopt white's treatment of the line. No one was surprised to see the 1/2:1/2 banner on the TV screen.

Dreev - Timman

Dreev - Timman: A very cautious and slow building semi Slav - certainly not an overaggressive or ambitious approach by white, as black has easy development and no weaknesses. Alas, at move 10 black played 0-0 which is a slight inaccuracy. 10…Bh5 is preferable since after 11.Ng5 h6 12.Nf3 the B on g4 is a bit shaky. White passed on this opportunity and black didn't have much to worry about. Perhaps black was a bit bored, since he was drifting a bit (15…Bh2+ and 16…Bc7 maneuver loses time) and white was starting to press. The climax of the game occurred on move 23, after white went 23.g3 and Timman decided to complicate things with 23…Nxf2+, a sacrifice born out of necessity. The position was a total mess, with white sidestepping the immediate capture of the white Be1 in favor of 26.Ne5?! Maybe now black could have just played 26…Nxe5. After 27.dxe5 Qc7, preventing Rd7 and Qxf7+ and preparing Rad8, white might have Ne4-d6 at some point, but black is doing really well. Later on, with white closing in on his last minutes and seconds, he returned the 2 N for the R with capturing on f6. The major piece ending with both kings exposed was logically drawish. After the eventual exchange of rooks, a draw by perpetual check was indeed the result.

Khalifman - Leko

Khalifman - Leko: A most theoretical modern QID Nimzowich variation. After the normal developing moves and ideas of this line, a level position has occurred: black's piece activity and open lines compensated easily for his double "e" pawns. Khalifman of course also appreciated that, and the point was shared after move 20.

Adams - Piket

Adams - Piket: Piket remained loyal to his Russian defense, this time employing the Marshall variation. White as usual, went for queenside and central expansion and development. Black started his kingside action with 18…g5, livened the game with an interesting pawn sac with 20.Ne5!?. He sure got ample compensation for it, but after his 23.Qc1?! (23.f3 was called for and leaving white with a lot of play for his pawn) the position drifted a bit, and a few moves later white allowed/invited a perpetual. The players agreed to a draw without having to play it.

Lautier - Gurevich

Lautier - Gurevich: Another semi Slav (!) this time the Meran variation. I am not sure if white's set up is that promising objectively, but it certainly has some venom, and is quite practical to maintain control with minimal risk. Evidently, today was not the day to learn more about how to try and push the position further than the opening, since a draw was agreed without any tribulations.