The finish of the super tournament is not at all far. Round 10

Three more rounds should be played at the big tournament, and the lord of the chess world confirms his impossible rating. Though he hardly will repeat the outstanding result he achieved two years ago, he has already scored plus 4, as well as the loser of Tehran A. Shirov. Morozevich is 0,5 point behind with the minimal number of draws (+5-2=3). Kramnik and Adams stay unbeaten, but the number of their victories is not particularly impressive – each of them has won twice for the tournament. Now the FIDE World Champion V. Anand won only one game and made 9 draws so far. The loser of the tournament, home player Tiviakov, at last won his first victory.

It’s hard to say more about this event. The difference in class which divides the participants into several groups is evident. Those with higher ratings are closer to the leader. Those with smaller ELO figures feel rather uncomfortable. Leko and Topalov have problems – well, someone always does.

The rest three rounds can bring certain changes but the winners will surely be from the present leading group. We can suppose that Shirov won’t be first, that Morozevich won’t have many draws. Kasparov stays the same aggressor as always. Kramnik and Anand, though have ambitions, are quiet now. After all, they both are already fresh World Champions.

Genrikh Chepukaitis