Leader Vladimir Kramnik in his blindfold game against Ljubojevic while Topalov thinks against Anand.
Topalov Beats Anand, Kramnik In Lead
By Arvind Aaron
Leader Vladimir Kramnik in his
blindfold game against Ljubojevic while Topalov thinks against Anand.
It was an eventful day in the 10th Amber Tournament but an unfortunate one for World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Veselin Topalov cashed in on his aggressive and small errors to win the rapid game in 30 moves with the black pieces. In the reverse encounter, Anand played French and drew with caution fairly quickly and without a difficulty. Kramnik and Anand face each other in a vital penultimate round game on Wednesday. Kramnik leads all three sections and jointly with Topalov in the blindfold.
Vladimir Kramnik shot into sole lead using this opportunity. He blanked Ljubojevic winning both games with effortless ease. In the other games, Shirov made a sparkle beating Leko 1.5-0.5 and Gelfand did the same against Piket. Karpov and Almasi traded victories, white prevailing on each occasion while it was the same in the Ivanchuk-Van Wely encounter. Ivanchuk blundered a knight in blindfold after scoring a dazzling rapid victory.
The results (ninth round)
Rapid
Blindfold
Anand-Topalov
1-0 Anand-Topalov
Draw
Leko-Shirov
Draw Shirov-Leko
1-0
Ljubojevic-Kramnik 0-1
Kramnik-Ljubojevic 1-0
Gelfand-Piket
1-0 Piket-Gelfand
Draw
Ivanchuk-Van Wely
1-0 Van Wely-Ivanchuk
1-0
Karpov-Almasi
1-0 Almasi-Karpov
1-0
Standings: 1 Kramnik 13/18, 2 Topalov 12.5, 3 Anand 11.5, 4 Shirov 10, 5 Leko 9.5, 6 Piket 8.5, 7 Gelfand 8, 8 Almasi 7.5, 9-11 Ivanchuk, Karpov, Ljubojevic 7 each, 12 Van Wely 6.5.