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Linares R1: Anand defeats Radjabov in 61-move struggle
19.02.2009 – The World Champion, fresh from a long stay in India, went after top Azerbaijani grandmaster and world number six Teimour Radjabov in a Sicilian Sveshnikov. After 61 moves Vishy Anand was able to convert the queen ending into a full point. The other games were more-or-less hard-fought draws. We bring you pictures from the opening and commentary by GM Dorian Rogozenco. |
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Linares R2: Aronian wins after Anand's blunder
20.02.2009 – A shocking turn of events: Vishy Anand was coasting to what looked like a sure victory against Levon Aronian, who kept creating little problems. Suddenly the World Champion cracked and Aronian took the full point. Alexander Grischuk ground down Chinese GM Wang Yue in a Slav. The other two games were drawn, Aronian and Grischuk lead. Full report with annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco. |
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Linares R3: All games well-fought draws
21.02.2009 – The results may seem desolate, but the games of round three were by no means boring. In each the players worked hard in an attempt to score a point. In fact one last until late in the evening, with Vassily Ivanchuk pushing in vain for 65 moves to overcome Alexander Grischuk. Rooky Leinier Dominguez did well to hold Anand to a draw. Illustrated report with annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco. |
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Linares R4: Aronian, Grischuk, Anand win
23.02.2009 – Vishy Anand outplayed Wang Yue with 1.d4, Alexander Grischuk punished the creative but over-optimistic play by Teimour Radjabov, while Levon Aronian laboured for 92 moves to overcome Leinier Dominguez' resistance an hour before midnight. After four rounds and before the free day Aronian and Grischuk lead with 3.0 points. Server statistics and annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco. |
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Linares R5: All games drawn, miracle save by Anand
25.02.2009 – "Who said beating a World Champion is easy?" asks our annotator. And indeed, after running into an opening problem against Vassily Ivanchuk, Vishy Anand used some miraculous stalemate motifs to save the game. All the other games were also drawn, Dominguez-Radjabov being the most volatile. Pictures, annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco, video interviews and another truly atrocious pun. |
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Linares R6: Carlsen defeats Anand, Grischuk leads
26.02.2009 – Two big sensations in round six: Magnus Carlsen beat World Champion Vishy Anand,
and did so convincingly, with remarkable techincal skill. Alexander Grischuk
defeated Levon Aronian to increase his lead in this event to a full point. Sorry,
three sensations: the incalculable Vassily Ivanchuk agreed to a draw
in a winning position. Report with GM commentary and pictorial impressions. |
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Linares R7: Ivanchuk beats Aronian with black
27.02.2009 – The King's Indian has been doing well in Linares. Black hasn't lost a single game, and today Vassily Ivanchuk scored a victory with it, against Levon Aronian. Vishy Anand used his white game against Alexander Grischuk to experiment with his new 1.d4 repertoire, Grischuk was happy to draw. The other two games were also drawn. Report with annotations by GM Dorian Rogozenco. |
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Linares R8: Aronian beats Carlsen with black
01.03.2009 – All four games were very hard-fought, but three ended in a draw, with black pressing on all three boards. In the fourth game is was black again, with Levon Aronian gaining an advantage against Magnus Carlsen in a well-prepared Semi-Slav. It took the Armenian GM 6½ hours and 93 moves to overcome the resistance of his young Norwegian opponent. Grischuk still leads by a full point. Round eight report. |
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Linares R10: Carlsen loses with white to Wang Yue
02.03.2009 – There was high drama today in Linares: Teimour Radjabov wrested
a full point from Levon Aronian, and Chinese GM Wang Yue, who is developing
into an angstgegner, defeated Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces.
Grischuk drew and still has a comfortable lead. The two decided games today
are extensively annotated by GM Mihail Marin and by a special new guest commentator. |
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Linares R9: Carlsen strikes back with a sharp Dragon
02.03.2009 – First the other three games: they were all more or less uneventful draws, with one listless 17-mover. But we were compensated by a wonderful Dragon by Magnus Carlsen, who tied up his opponent into an amazing zugzwang position at move 42. Alexander Grischuk still leads by a full point. But tonight you must study Carlsen's Dragon, lovingly annotated by GM Mihail Marin. |
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Linares R11: All games drawn, with some fighting chess
04.03.2009 – Two games, Ivanchuk-Carlsen and Wang Yue-Anand, were relatively unspectacular draws, but the other two, Alexander Grischuk vs Teimour Radjabov and Leinier Dominguez vs Levon Aronian, had the spectators on the edge of their seats. Both games have been annotated by our team of GM Mihail Marin and GM-elect Anish Giri. We also bring you new pictorial impressions from Linares. |
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Linares: The Anibal Hall of Fame
05.03.2009 – For many years the Linares Super-GM was played in the ballroom of the Anibal Hotel (the tournament was created by the owner). Now it is in a theater, but the players still stay in the Anibal. The lobby and restaurant of the hotel are adorned with portraits from previous events, starting from 1991 – a moving experience to see the great players fifteen and more years ago. Let's talk a walk in time. |
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Linares R13: Carlsen falters, Ivanchuk catches up
06.03.2009 – Vassily Ivanchuk, who won Linares in 1991, is poised to do so again, eighteen years later, when he defeated Levon Aronian to join Alexander Grischuk in the lead. The latter was unable to convert a very promising position against Vishy Anand. The tragedy was Magnus Carlsen, who had a well-deserved win on the bat, but spoilt it to a draw. Big pictorial report with annotations by Anish Giri. |
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Linares R12: Carlsen defeats Grischuk, lead narrows
06.03.2009 – In the critical game of the tournament Magnus Carlsen took down Alexander Grischuk, who has been the sole leader by a full point since round seven. With his victory the Norwegian GM joined Vassily Ivanchuk in the second slot, half a point behind Grischuk. The other games were drawn, with Radjabov-Dominguez producing an exciting fight. Big pictorial report, commentary by Anish Giri. |
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Linares R14: All games drawn, Grischuk wins on tiebreak
07.03.2009 – All four games of the last round were drawn, leaving two players at the top of the final table: Vassily Ivanchuk, who first won Linares 18 years ago, and Russian GM Alexander Grischuk. Both have plus two (8.0/14), but Grischuk has three wins to Ivanchuk's two. Third is Magnus Carlsen, fourth World Champion Vishy Anand. Pictorial report. |
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Free day: Internet, quails and bowling in Linares
07.03.2009 – Between the rounds of the Super-GM in Linares there are free days. The evening before a break is a great time to take dinner with even the most intense players; and on the free day itself there are usually outings and social gatherings for the journalists. Here's what we did on the last free day, together with pictures of pretty girls and some more-or-less harrowing tales around the tournament. |
