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Question: Final Decisive Games % for Linares?


* This poll has now closed *
Less than 10% 1 (5.3%) 10-20% 4 (21.1%) 20-30% 5 (26.3%) 30-40% 1 (5.3%) Over 40% 1 (5.3%) It's the game quality that counts 7 (36.8%) Total votes: 19 « Last Modified by: TN on: 02/18/10 at 12:04:30 »

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Who will win Linares 2010? (Read 30576 times)

OstapBender God Member Offline There is no spoon. Posts: 1491 Location: not in Kansas anymore Joined: 10/16/04	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #50 - 02/16/10 at 02:36:31	Post Tools	Print Post
	TN wrote on 02/15/10 at 20:58:37: So it seems that it was an exciting round in spite of the 3 draws. Unfortunately, that doesn't help the decisive games percentage, which is currently at 22%. Interestingly the Benoni percentage is also currently at 22%, which is about 22% higher than usual for Linares. The Aronian-Topalov game today was a pretty exciting draw.

	"If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates." -Jay Leno
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Smyslov_Fan God Member Correspondence fan Offline Progress depends on the unreasonable man. ~GBS Posts: 6902 Joined: 06/15/05	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #49 - 02/15/10 at 22:41:44	Post Tools	Print Post
	As an aside, Vachier-Lagrave defeated van Wely with CHECKMATE as Black on move 40 in the Aeroflot Open!


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Willempie God Member Offline I love ChessPublishing .com! Posts: 4312 Location: Holland Joined: 01/07/05	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #48 - 02/15/10 at 21:42:36	Post Tools	Print Post
	Topalov has another black, but after that....

	If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.
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TN God Member Offline Posts: 3420 Joined: 11/07/08 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #47 - 02/15/10 at 20:58:37	Post Tools	Print Post
	Round 3: All games ended in draws. The Week in Chess (TWIC) commented: Quote: Levon Aronian was held by Veselin Topalov in a Modern Benoni where he seemed on the verge of getting a decisive advantage but Topalov found just enough counter-play. Boris Gelfand was held to a draw after an amazing positional queen sacrifice in a Slav. Vugar Gashimov and Alexander Grischuk drew a sharp Poisoned Pawn Najdorf Sicilian which burned out to a drawn ending. So it seems that it was an exciting round in spite of the 3 draws. Unfortunately, that doesn't help the decisive games percentage, which is currently at 22%.

	All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
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Smyslov_Fan God Member Correspondence fan Offline Progress depends on the unreasonable man. ~GBS Posts: 6902 Joined: 06/15/05	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #46 - 02/15/10 at 13:50:11	Post Tools	Print Post
	I realise one game won't bring White back to the Nimzo, but a win here, a win there... Ok, I know I'm being optimistic. I know there are plenty of lines that appear to give Black at least a comfortable equality. But I can always hope.


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TN God Member Offline Posts: 3420 Joined: 11/07/08 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #45 - 02/15/10 at 12:20:42	Post Tools	Print Post
	Round 3 starting in less than three hours! As an afterthought to the Grischuk-Gelfand game, I think 9.Qb3 is a better try for an advantage than 9.Qe2, but even there Black should equalise without a lot of difficulty.

	All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
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toppace YaBB Newbies Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 41 Location: Landvetter Joined: 02/03/10 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #44 - 02/15/10 at 12:00:36	Post Tools	Print Post
	I actually bet 100 € on Gelfand but it seems he is not in good form * toppace


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BPaulsen God Member Offline I Love Light Squares! Posts: 1702 Location: Anaheim, CA, USA Joined: 11/02/08 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #43 - 02/15/10 at 08:31:42	Post Tools	Print Post
	TN and kylemeister beat me to the punch. This doesn't pose any problem to the NID.

	2288 USCF, 2186 FIDE. FIDE based on just 27 games.
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kylemeister God Member Offline Posts: 4989 Location: USA Joined: 10/24/05	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #42 - 02/15/10 at 07:48:23	Post Tools	Print Post
	13...ed has indeed been given as leading to equality; also 10...Qc7 (which books seem to regard as the main move) isn't mentioned by Giri.


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TN God Member Offline Posts: 3420 Joined: 11/07/08 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #41 - 02/15/10 at 07:28:24	Post Tools	Print Post
	I agree that White always had the initiative in the Grischuk-Gelfand game, since even after 29...Rc7 with the idea of 30.Qh4 Qe7, White should still be better since his king is safer and he has the more powerful opposite-coloured bishop. Perhaps Black can improve with 13...ed5 as in Ivanchuk-Speelman, a game where Black never seemed to be worse. Also, Black can play 9...b6 instead of 9...a6 and there are other problematic lines such as 4...b6, 7...Nc6, 6...b6 and 4...c5 (all instead of the G-G continuation). While I hope that this game increases the popularity of the Nimzo among 2700+ players, it seems unlikely if you consider that other important wins such as Aronian-Leko, 2009 failed to significantly increase the popularity of 4.e3, and the wide range of choices that are believed to equalise for Black according to theory.

	All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
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Smyslov_Fan God Member Correspondence fan Offline Progress depends on the unreasonable man. ~GBS Posts: 6902 Joined: 06/15/05	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #40 - 02/15/10 at 05:54:54	Post Tools	Print Post
	I wonder about the Grischuk-Gelfand game whether it portends to any larger issues in the Nimzo-Indian. GM Giri, commenting for ChessBase.com, didn't see where Gelfand went wrong, and I had the same sensation playing through the game live with several other titled players making comments. Black could certainly play differently, but White seemed to have pressure regardless of how Black turned. Could this be a game that marks the resurgence of White in the Nimzo-Indian?


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TN God Member Offline Posts: 3420 Joined: 11/07/08 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #39 - 02/15/10 at 04:51:11	Post Tools	Print Post
	Round 2: Topalov-Gashimov 1-0 - White had some initiative throughout in a fairly quiet Chebanenko Slav, eventually exploiting Gashimov's weak king and vulnerable king pawn formation to win a nice game. Grischuk-Gelfand 1-0 - Grischuk was better throughout in a Rubinstein Nimzo, and Gelfand eventually cracked under the dark-squared pressure. Vallejo-Aronian .5-.5 - A Berlin Wall where Vallejo had the edge but couldn't make progress in an opposite-coloured bishop endgame. Round 3 Pairings: Aronian-Topalov (should be an exciting game) Gelfand-Vallejo (it'll be interesting to see if Gelfand bounces back against the lowest-rated player) Gashimov-Grischuk (probably another exciting game, especially if Gashimov can seize the initiative)

	All our dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
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OstapBender God Member Offline There is no spoon. Posts: 1491 Location: not in Kansas anymore Joined: 10/16/04	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #38 - 02/14/10 at 08:28:05	Post Tools	Print Post
	Watching the Gelfand-Gashimov game live, I didn't think the compensation was there. But the game was eventually drawn, so maybe you're right. It seemed like a pretty good game anyway, worth a closer look.

	"If God had wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates." -Jay Leno
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Seth_Xoma God Member Offline FM with 2 IM Norms - (2381) Posts: 558 Location: Lansing Joined: 11/05/04 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #37 - 02/14/10 at 06:23:08	Post Tools	Print Post
	OstapBender wrote on 02/13/10 at 18:00:31: Just took a quick look: Aronian-Grischuk already drawn Vallejo-Topalov looks to be heading for a draw Gelfand is a pawn up against Gashimov, and I don't see Gashimov's compensation. Too soon to make a call but Gelfand, who got no votes in the poll, may take the lead with the first victory. It always felt to me like Gashimov had enough active pieces to compensate for the pawn minus.


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mangler Full Member Offline I Love ChessPublishing! Posts: 174 Location: Orlando Joined: 10/30/06 Gender:	Re: Who will win Linares 2010? Reply #36 - 02/14/10 at 05:19:48	Post Tools	Print Post
	Maybe they should have invited Kramnik...


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