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