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Tuesday, 01 December 2009 08:45 |
Official website http://ugra-chess.ru
The 6 out of 8 games of Round 4 – day 1 were drawn. Two games were scored and black won in both.
The last World Cup runner-up Alexey Shirov became a victim of his miracles. His attack against the Russian player Peter Svidler seemed to be aggressive and decisive. But it ended with nothing. True, Svidler had to make a dozen of superhuman, almost computer moves. Bravo, Peter! No one believed that he could so easily recover from the tough tie breaks against Arkady Naiditsch and equally fight in another Round with a dangerous opponent. But Peter managed. And now it is he who is the el-classico favorite!
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov once again proved that he is the main challenger of the tournament nowadays. He is the only one who plays so confidently and convincingly. His result 6.5 out of 7 is another confirmation of his priority. He wins with confidence, leaving almost no chance for an opponent. Tomorrow he plays with white. Therefore he has almost guaranteed his participation in Round 5. But better not to make conclusions now. Mamedyarov's opponent Victor Laznicka has also proved that he can make miracles. Don't forget the brilliant endgame of his decisive game of the tie breaks against Viorel Bologan? Is he ready for another heroic deed?
Boris Gelfand could have also joined the camp of winners of today. The commentator of the Cup GM Sergey Shipov expressed his opinion that Gelfand agreed for a draw having a winning position. Difficult, tangled, demanding accuracy position. But mathematically winning. Tomorrow Boris plays with white: more chances to win the match.
The opening of the Cup Wesley So showed that he is not only a scorer, but perfect positional player. He was playing in the style of "young Karpov". His opponent Vladimir Malakhov could stand on the verge of disaster thanks to his iron tenacity. As a result: they stayed with "bare" kings.
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