Dortmund 09 r5: Carlsen Tears Down that Wall
Two Berlin Defenses against Carlsen so far in Dortmund and two wins for the young Norwegian. In the first round it was Jakovenko and this time Naiditsch went down. In both games it looked like Black had solved the worst of his problems only to err under pressure and go down to defeat. The win put Carlsen back in clear first at the halfway mark on +2. Leko scored his first win, outplaying Bacrot convincingly in a finely controlled effort typical of Leko’s style. A positional edge against an IQP was turned into an attacking opportunity and Bacrot couldn’t defend in time trouble. That puts Leko into a tie on +1 with Kramnik.
Speaking of Kramnik, he passed up a very promising continuation against Jakovenko’s somewhat dubious handling of the antique Ragozin Queen’s Gambit. (Doesn’t 13.Qb1 a6 14.axb5 cxb5 15.Nxc4! get the pawn back with considerable advantage?) Perhaps inspired by his attacking win yesterday, Kramnik went for kingside action only to realize halfway there that he didn’t have much and that Black could play for a win with 19..h5. (20.Qxh5 f5! wins a piece thanks to the threat of ..Rh6.) So he offered a tactical draw and Jakovenko accepted. Disgusting.
For the Nth time, it’s not fair to put all the blame on the players, though I don’t mind shaming them a little for such a preposterous cheat. They are looking out for their best professional interests and not doing anything the rules don’t allow them to do. (They don’t seem to have post-game interviews in Dortmund so here’s a DIY press conference: Kramnik: “I was worse, so a draw is good for me. It’s up to him to play for a win if he wants.” Jakovenko: “A quick draw with black against Kramnik is a great result so why risk for more?” Applause.) The fact that situations like this can be to the benefit of both players made it clear a long time ago that banning the draw offer or at least having move minimums is essential. It’s been a while since we’ve had a spate of GM draws like this in a super event and that makes it even harder to swallow. What a joke.
Busy day on the work front with Obama in Russia, so more later. Tomorrow is an off day in Dortmund.
