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Originally posted by Nordlys
I haven't had time to look at today's games yet, but I am very pleased to see that Magnus has taken the sole lead. He'll have a tough game tomorrow though, playing Black against a bloodthirsty Topalov who is on his way from the bottom to the top.
Yes, Topalov has historically been a slow starter and a voracious finisher. I'm still cheering for Aronian though, he seems to be the most creative of the bunch.

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Originally posted by Nordlys
I haven't had time to look at today's games yet, but I am very pleased to see that Magnus has taken the sole lead. He'll have a tough game tomorrow though, playing Black against a bloodthirsty Topalov who is on his way from the bottom to the top.
topalov should play a 'warm up' tournament before important tournies, so he'd be at full speed for once when the important games begin. 🙂

2 edits
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Originally posted by zebano
Yes, Topalov has historically been a slow starter and a voracious finisher.
Topalov - Carlsen looks quite drawish so far.

Edit: Looks like Carlsen is getting into trouble now. 🙁
Edit 2: Or maybe not. 🙂

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Originally posted by zebano
Yes, Topalov has historically been a slow starter and a voracious finisher. I'm still cheering for Aronian though, he seems to be the most creative of the bunch.
Aronian must be feeling pretty sore though over his 110 move loss to Kramnik. He'd defended the ending R v R + f&h pawns superbly, demonstrating that it was indeed a clear draw, only to throw it away at the end after all the hard work had been done. I wonder if he was just tired or if shortage of time played a part. Or are they playing with some sort of time increment?

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Originally posted by Northern Lad
Aronian must be feeling pretty sore though over his 110 move loss to Kramnik. He'd defended the ending R v R + f&h pawns superbly, demonstrating that it was indeed a clear draw, only to throw it away at the end after all the hard work had been done. I wonder if he was just tired or if shortage of time played a part. Or are they playing with some sort of time increment?
I believe this was due to timetrouble as far as I know they have no increments

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Originally posted by Northern Lad
Aronian must be feeling pretty sore though over his 110 move loss to Kramnik. He'd defended the ending R v R + f&h pawns superbly, demonstrating that it was indeed a clear draw, only to throw it away at the end after all the hard work had been done. I wonder if he was just tired or if shortage of time played a part. Or are they playing with some sort of time increment?
Definitely time trouble. They don't have an increment. It actually says on the Corus homepage that after his blunder he lost on time. http://www.coruschess.com/report.php?year=2008&report=6

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Originally posted by Nordlys
Definitely time trouble. They don't have an increment. It actually says on the Corus homepage that after his blunder he lost on time. http://www.coruschess.com/report.php?year=2008&report=6
I thought as much. He had such a simple draw available with lateral rook checks that one would have expected the lowliest of patzers to find. Does anyone know the exact time controls?

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Magnus finally seems to be playing decent chess. He has had some luck tho so far, I dont think he can keep his +3 score to the end. Probably ending with +1, which is still excellent for him and his skills. Kramnik and Anand will destroy that kid.

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Originally posted by Jusuh
Magnus finally seems to be playing decent chess. He has had some luck tho so far, I dont think he can keep his +3 score to the end. Probably ending with +1, which is still excellent for him and his skills. Kramnik and Anand will destroy that kid.
You make sound Magnus is bad player. A bit too harsh for a mere teenager who would destroy all 20000 players on this site.

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I didn't know Lajos Portisch was still alive!!

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Originally posted by ivan2908
You make sound Magnus is bad player. A bit too harsh for a mere teenager who would destroy all 20000 players on this site.
Im not saying he is bad. He just isnt THAT good as u most patzers think he is. He is gifted and talented, but then again its nothing new nowadays. I think he has reached his maximum level, and probably the level he can sustain over the long run is somewhere between 2680-2720.

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Originally posted by Northern Lad
I thought as much. He had such a simple draw available with lateral rook checks that one would have expected the lowliest of patzers to find. Does anyone know the exact time controls?
I think it's 2 hours for 40 moves, then an extra hour and after 60 moves another 1/2 hour.

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Originally posted by Jusuh
Im not saying he is bad. He just isnt THAT good as u most patzers think he is. He is gifted and talented, but then again its nothing new nowadays. I think he has reached his maximum level, and probably the level he can sustain over the long run is somewhere between 2680-2720.
To serve the quoted post please garnish with a pinch of salt.

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Originally posted by Nordlys
Topalov - Carlsen looks quite drawish so far.

Edit: Looks like Carlsen is getting into trouble now. 🙁
Edit 2: Or maybe not. 🙂
Draw!

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Another instructive R+2P v R endgame today in Eljanov v Van Wely. This time Eljanov found the draw.