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Dark Knight / Le Chevalier Noir
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Alexei Shirov won his fourth game in a row at Corus (against Smeets) to move a clear point ahead of Carlsen, Nakamura and Ivanchuk, none of whom he has yet encountered in this Class 19 event. The hard part of the schedule is still ahead of him but he obviously could not have done any better to this point. Shirov, one of the stars of three Canadian Opens (including Edmonton last year and in 2005), has not disappointed his Canadian fans.
To my amateur eyes, his games have sparkled: today a nice sacrificial attack, yesterday a delicious mating net, two very nice endgame wins, etc. He will no doubt be asked about these games on his visits to Ottawa and Toronto next month and may have some more fiery victories to add to his presentation.:D
And Nakamura, another Canadian favourite, is hot on his heels after wins against Van Wely and Short and draws against the world champion and the tail-ender, Smeets.
Meanwhile, Nigel Short (who starred in the Canadian Open in Ottawa in 2007) has had the opposite experience, with creditable draws against the two top-rated players (Anand and, today, Carlsen) but losing to Nakamura (who is also very hot) and Van Wely (a major upset). It would be a mistake to count him out just yet.
It just doesn't get any better than this!!! Only nine more rounds to go.
Alexei Shirov won his fourth game in a row at Corus (against Smeets) to move a clear point ahead of Carlsen, Nakamura and Ivanchuk, none of whom he has yet encountered in this Class 19 event. The hard part of the schedule is still ahead of him but he obviously could not have done any better to this point. Shirov, one of the stars of three Canadian Opens (including Edmonton last year and in 2005), has not disappointed his Canadian fans.
To my amateur eyes, his games have sparkled: today a nice sacrificial attack, yesterday a delicious mating net, two very nice endgame wins, etc. He will no doubt be asked about these games on his visits to Ottawa and Toronto next month and may have some more fiery victories to add to his presentation.:D
...snipped some more
I haven't looked at the games (yet) but other reports claim that Shirov was somewhat busted in Game 4 but time pressure blunders by Smeets allowed the win. I point this out only to underline there may be more to Game 4 than meets the eye - perhaps Shirov will elaborate on that aspect when he drops by...
We will certainly ask him when he comes over.
My own reading of the game with Smeets is somewhat different. Through 32 moves the game looks pretty level although in return for his piece, Shirov has two pawns and a wicked attack down the open g-file. Under great pressure (and probably also time pressure), Smeets misses the threat of Ne5 and goes down in flames.
Smeets is obviously a fine player, rated over 2650, and was good enough to draw Nakamura in round one, but he was perhaps intimidated by Shirov's attacking prowess and his fierce will to win. Can Shirov keep this up against the top guns? We shall soon see.
I haven't looked at the games (yet) but other reports claim that Shirov was somewhat busted in Game 4 but time pressure blunders by Smeets allowed the win. I point this out only to underline there may be more to Game 4 than meets the eye - perhaps Shirov will elaborate on that aspect when he drops by...
I watched the last half live on Chess Bomb Arena. They have Rybka 2.2 running analysis on each move live on the website. After Shirov did the bishop sac I believe Rybka gave Smeets a 1.7 advantage. Smeets was in terrible time trouble at the end and seemed to crumble under the pressure. Up until the Bishop sac, it looked like a draw. Very exciting game.
I haven't looked at the games (yet) but other reports claim that Shirov was somewhat busted in Game 4 but time pressure blunders by Smeets allowed the win. I point this out only to underline there may be more to Game 4 than meets the eye - perhaps Shirov will elaborate on that aspect when he drops by...
Apparently 33... Rcd8 was a blunder for Smeets, instead Rce8 would keep it very complicated. If you have ICC Larry Christiansen made a pretty interesting lecture on that game.
Based on the video from the official website it appears that when Shirov originally sacrificed the bishop with 26. Bxh6 he completely missed black's defense of 27... Bh7! In any case had he seen it, I think that the game would most likely end in a boring draw!
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