Kramnik, Kasparov move into top gear

Kramnik overcame Vassily Ivanchuk in the most exciting match of the seventh round at the Corus Chess Championships. In a match that see-sawed in favour of one player and then the other, Kramnik finally emerged victorius. Kramnik once again employed his favourite defense the Berlin defense but Ivanchuk refused to do batttle at Kramnik's terms and conditions. and on the eight move

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.Nxe5 d5 8.Bg5 Re8

In his attempt to counter the novelty used by Ivanchuk, Kramnik weakened his King's position on the board, and by the time of the 18th move, White's advantage was plain to see. Vassily then moved into top gear and through some excellent moves obtained a winning position.

9.f4 dxe4 10.d4 Bb6 11.Nd2 c5 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.Qe2 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.fxg5 hxg5 16.Bg3 e3 17.Nb3 Bb6 18.Qf3 Be6 19.Rd1 g4 20.Qe2 Qe7 21.Nc6 Qf8 22.Nbd4 Qc5 23.Ne5 Nh5 24.Nxe6 Rxe6 25.Qxg4+ Ng7

But on the 26th move, Ivanchuk, missed a important move 26. Qf3+. And you cannot make too many mistakes against Kramnik or for that matter against any of the top Grandmasters. Kramnik's defense given some breathing space then came into its own and Ivanchuk found himself in time trouble which only made his position more miserable.Even Kramnik found himself in time trouble eventually and made a few mistakes but by then it was curtains for Ivanchuk.

26.Nxf7 Rf8 27.Ng5 e2 28.Rd4 Rg6 29.h4 Qf5 30.Qxf5 Nxf5 31.Bf2 Nxd4 32.cxd4 Re8 33.a3 Rc6 34.Kd2 Rf6 35.Nf3 Rg6 36.Ng5 Rd6 37.Nf3 c5 38.Re1 Ba5+ 0-1

In the remaining games of the evening, Kasparov carved out a tough victory against Topalov. In a highly theoretical game, Kasparov seemed to be better prepeared than Topalov and that eventually tilted the scales in his favour. Kasparov won in 34 moves.

Adams drew another game. This time against Alexei Shoriv, the leader at the end of round six. Nothing much really happened in this game with both stuicking to tried and tested methods. A 37 move draw. Shirov, still, is the sole leader at the end of round 7.

Once again, Anand dissapointed. For long periods in this game Anand playing white seemed to have the upper hand but once again he failed to convert the advantage into victory. A look at the final position indicates that Morozevich was the one whio ultimately could have gone for the win. but he failed to do so as he found himself in time trouble.

Fedorov, Van Wely cruised to victories in their respective games against Timman and Piket. While Tiviakov and Leko played out a peaceful draw.

At the end of round 7:
Timman - Fedorov 0-1
Van Wely - Piket 1-0
Adams - Shirov 1/2
Tiviakov - Leko 1/2
Kasparov - Topalov 1-0
Anand - Morozevich1/2
Ivanchuk - Kramnik 0-1

The Corus Chess Tournament

Anand - Morozevich
1.d4 d5
2.c4 Nc6
3.Nc3 dxc4
4.Nf3 Nf6
5.e4 Bg4
6.Be3 Bxf3
7.gxf3 e5
8.d5 Nb8
9.Bxc4 Nbd7
10.Qb3 Bc5
11.0-0-0 Bxe3+
12.fxe3 Rb8
13.d6 0-0
14.Nb5 c6
15.Nc7 b5
16.Be2 Rb6
17.Rd2 a6
18.Rhd1 c5
19.Kb1 Qb8
20.Qa3 Qb7
21.Bf1 c4
22.Qb4 Rc6
23.Nd5 Nxd5
24.Rxd5 Rfc8
25.Qc3 b4
26.Qc2 b3
27.Qc3 bxa2+
28.Ka1 Rb8
29.Bh3 h6
30.Bxd7 Qxd7
31.R5d2 Rc5
32.Rd5 Rc6
33.R5d2 Rc5
1/2-1/2