US Champion Gata Kamsky advanced through his first candidate match in Kazan, Russia (May 3-27) against Veselin Topalov2.5-1.5. Gata now advances to face World Cup Champ Boris Gelfand in the semifinals starting on May 12. Gelfand and Kamsky are the only two players to win a game so far! Kamsky's game today was a nail-biter. After 39. Qd6, internet spectators and silicion beasts were predicting a decisive invasion for Topalov. Things turned around when Gata played ...Bxd5 and became clear that his e5 knight was able to defend key squares around his king while his d4 knight wreaked havoc.
Topalov had no choice but to force perpetual, even though this ended in the match in his rival's favor.
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The other bracket saw eight draws so Radjabov-Kramnik and Aronian-Grischuk will go to tiebreak tomorrow.
Catch tomorrow's playoffs at 7 AM EST. For more information, see the official site.