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February
Decisive Start in Morelia




Decisive Start in Morelia |
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By Jennifer Shahade | |
February 17, 2008 | |
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Morelia,Mexico Photo Cathy Rogers, 2007
Peter Leko--who prognosticator Greg Shahade gave a 50% chance to lead the tournament in draws -- is also off to a decisive start although his games were not quite as exciting as Anand's. In round one, he scored a positional win over Radjabov on the White side of the Sveshnikov. In round two, Leko lost to Ivanchuk's Ruy Lopez. The game was distinguished by an unusual middlegame material imbalance- two rooks for a queen. However, the most relevant factor in Ivanchuk's win turned out to be Leko's traditionally weak Ruy Lopez pawns. In a Nimzo-Indian endgame, Aronian's rook was snagged by Topalov's two powerful bishops. Morelia-Linares (February 15-March 7) Standings after two rounds 1-2- Vassily Ivanchuk and Veselin Topalov -1.5 3-6- Levon Aronian, Vishy Anand, Magnus Carlsen, Peter Leko- 1 7-8- Alexei Shirov and Teimour Radjabov-.5 You can watch the games 1-7 live on the Internet Chess Club at 4:30 EST. Also check out the official website and CLO's Morelia-Linares Predictions. |