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Leko Heads to Linares With Lead; Topalov Struggles

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Leko Heads to Linares With Lead; Topalov Struggles

Peter Leko made the most of the Morelia half of the 2006 Linares tournament, drawing Veselin Topalov in the 7th and final round of the first cycle to secure first place with a 5.0/7 score. World Cup winner Levon Aronian is second with 4.5 points, while Peter Svidler is 3rd with 4.

The tournament now moves to its traditional site, in Linares, Spain for the second half of the double round-robin.

The biggest surprise of the tournament thusfar has been the disappointing play by Topalov. Scoring just 2.5 points in the first seven rounds, Topalov finds himself in 7th place, and will need a strong effort to finish with a respectable score.

Here are the complete standings so far:

Leko, Peter 5.0/7
Aronian, Levon 4.5
Svidler, Peter 4.0
Ivanchuk, Vassily 3.5
Radjabov, Teimour 3.5
Vallejo Pons, Francisco 3.0
Topalov, Veselin 2.5
Bacrot, Etienne 2.0

We will continue to provide coverage of Linares 2006 in the coming weeks. For now, here is a win by Vallejo Pons - with the black pieces - over Topalov.

White: Topalov, V (2801)
Black: Vallejo Pons, F (2650)
Morelia/Linares, Round 6
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 h5 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. Be5 Rh6 14. f3 Qe7 15. a4 a6 16. Qc2 Rd8 17. Rad1 Nd7 18. Bc7 Rc8 19. Bg3 e5 20. d5 b4 21. dxc6 Rhxc6 22. Nd5 Qe6 23. Qd2 h4 24. Bf2 c3 25. bxc3 bxc3 26. Qxg5 c2 27. Rc1 h3 28. g3 Qh6 29. Qf5 Qd2 30. Rfe1 Ba3 31. f4 Bxc1 32. Bh5 Rg6 33. Bxg6 Bxd5 34. exd5 Qxe1+ 35. Bxe1 Be3+ 36. Kf1 c1=Q 37. Qxf7+ Kd8 38. Ke2 Bb6 39. Bd2 Qc4+ 40. Kf3 e4+ 41. Kg4 Kc7 42. a5 Bd4 43. Bf5 Rg8+ 44. Kh4 Rh8+ 45. Kg5 Qb5 46. Be6 e3 47. Be1 e2 48. g4 Rf8 49. Qh7 Be3 50. Kh4 Bxf4 51. g5 Qa4 52. Kh5 Bxh2 53. Bxh3 Be5 54. Qd3 Rh8+ 55. Kg6 Nf8+ 56. Kf7 Kd8 0-1