Morelia R7: Carlsen, Topalov and Shirov win

Morelia-Linares 2008

The Morelia-Linares tournament is taking place from February 15th to 23rd February in Morelia, Mexico, and from 28th February to 7th March in Linares, Spain.

Summary of Round 7

By Antonio Galan

Once again, the last round on Mexican soil delighted the audience with good fighting chess. The players showed up in an enterprising mood and a decision was reached in no less than three games!

Carlsen-Aronian – This game was the first to produce a result. In an Archangel-like Ruy Lopez (with a3 played to sideline the Marshall), the sharp tactical play of Aronian went wrong soon. The weaknesses Black incurred to grab White’s d4 pawn proved very costly. Black was left with a minor piece deficit insufficiently compensated by three pawns. The rest was a pretty straightforward demonstration of Carlsen’s technique.

Anand-Ivanchuk – Here a Scheveningen Sicilian was tried where Anand went for the usual pawn assault aimed at the black castling. Nevertheless, Ivanchuk took proper measures at the center, neutralizing the attacking attempts and proceeding to keep the game balanced. The draw was agreed on move 31.

Leko-Topalov – Another Sicilian was seen in this game, with Leko adopting a sound setup, very much in his style. Nevertheless, White’s relative passivity allowed Topalov to play d5 and seize the initiative and a fairly free game for his pieces. Later, the white queen was traded by the black rooks, leaving Black with advantage, given the lack of coordination of the white pieces. Under time pressure Leko made a final blunder and Topalov pocketed the full point.

Shirov-Radjabov – This game was a continuation of recent discussions these two players have maintained in the King Indian Defense. Even under well trodden field, both sides spent a long time finding the most appropriate setups to carry out their typical strategies on opposite flanks: White undermining Black’s queenside with Black undertaking a direct attack on the white king. But Shirov was the one who emerged triumphant after depleting Radjavbov’s attacking attempts and benefiting from a final blunder where the black queen got trapped.

Final standings after the Morelia half

Picture gallery

By Frederic Friedel

Ready for the final round in Morelia: Morelia-Linares organiser Francisco Albalate, Salvador Jara, President of the Chess Festival in Morelia, and arbiters Faik Gasanov and Juan Vargas.

Vishy Anand arranging the tools of his trade

Vassily Ivanchuk preparing to face Anand

Their game starts with 1.e4 (after which Ivanchuk left the stage for five minutes)

Magnus Carlsen begins his final game in Morelia, against Levon Aronian

And the game is under way

Magnus Carlsen comes over to see the position

Radjabov is struggling against Alexei Shirov

Magnus Carlsen's game against Levon Aronian is in its last throes

In the end Lev Aronian resigns the game – with an appreciative smile!

The two discuss the game on the stage, while the arbiter waits to collect the paperwork

Alexei Shirov is pressing hard against Teimour Radjabov and ultimately wins the game

Peter Leko will soon collapse in his game against Veselin Topalov

As he emerges Magnus Carlsen is mobbed by fans

He spends half an hour signing autographs, posing for pictures and speaking to journalists

Players and dignitaries lined up at the closing ceremony

Just the players: Ivanchuk, Topalov, Radjabov, Carlsen, Anand, Shirov, Leko and Aronian

Afterwards dinner with Anand, Aruna, Magnus and Henrik Carlsen

We enjoy anecdotes, stories, jokes and gossip

Both Anand and Magnus are Monty Python fans and know entire episodes by heart,
like this famous sketch, which they reconstructed almost verbatim

Schedule and results

Links Official web site (with live coverage) All games in PGN ChessBase Reports from Morelia 2008 ChessBase Reports from Morelia 2007 ChessBase Reports from Morelia 2006 The games are being broadcast live on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use it to read, replay and analyse the PGN games. Download free PGN reader ChessBase Light