This game started with the Zaitsev variation of the Ruy Lopez and Anand entered a variation seen as favorable to white. After 17.Ra3, white had scored a 40% kill-rate with 38% draws, so perhaps Adams had an improvement. It turns out that it was Anand who had the improvement with 23.Qd2! Adams spent more than 30 minutes thinking on Anand's apparent novelty before he played 23…Bxd5.

Commentator GM Varuzhan Akopian was impressed by the speed in which Anand was playing his moves. The key moves in the sequence were 24.Nxh6+ Bxh6 25.Qxh6 Qxf2+ 26.Kh2 Nxe1 27.Nh4!! (found in 10 minutes)  Adams missed 27…Re7 and attempted to block the diagonal with 27…Ned3?? He was hit 28.Nxg6! and forced to sacrifice his queen, yet he still could not avoid massive losses after 32.Bh6. Anand used all of his pieces in a textbook attack. Absolutely a thrill! (game)

Anand-Adams in action. Adams seems to be plugging his ears from all the fireworks exploding around his king. Photo courtesy of WCC official site.

Svidler-Leko, 1-0. This game was predicted as slow and positional. The problem was that the game did not start slow enough for Leko who entered a short tactical fracas followed by a slow paralyzing death. It was reported on Chess.FM that Svidler had never lost with white against Leko and was looking to notch a sixth win. The opening was similar to the Anand-Adams, but instead of a crushing cobra strike, this was a boa constrictor seizing its prey. The culprit in Leko's collapse were 22…Nb7 and 24…Red8. Svidler's pieces poured into the black camp and amazingly Leko would be resigning shortly after the stifling 29.Re7! With 30.Qg4 in the air, Leko played 29…Be5, but after 30.Nxe5 dxe5 31.Bxe5 he gave up. (game)

Polgar-Kasimjanov, 1-0. While nobody likes to lose, but we feel less disappointment if the opponent plays a brilliant game. Judit Polgar was back to her old self by launching the Perenyi Attack against the Najdorf. This line has been played at top level and popularized by GM Alexij Shirov after he scored a number of convincing wins. Polgar made a contribution of her own when she played the obscure as 13.Bxd4!? exd4 14.Rxd4. Also 16.Qe3! and 17.Qd2! set the tone for her onslaught.

As the FIDE champion tried to scurry out of the line of fire, Polgar launched a thunderbolt 20.Bb5! As is common when conducting an attack, small mistakes allow counterplay. After 20…axb5 21.Re1 b4, Polgar played 22.Nb5? with numerous threats. However, Kasimjanov missed his last opportunity to save the game with 22…Be5! He instead played 22…Bxb2+ and Polgar finished him off with deadly efficiency. The beating she administered to Kasimjanov will make the highlights of every chess site of note. (game)

After 20…axb5 21.Re1 b4, Polgar played 22.Nb5? instead of 22.Rxe8+!Commentators seem to believe 22…Be5! holds. Kasimjanov played 22…Bxb2+ and went down swiftly.

Morozevich-Topalov, 0-1. It was expected that this game would bring the same fireworks seen in the other games. Morozevich trotted out the Rossolimo which is a respectable anti-Sicilian measure with a positional reputation. The young Russian has not played according to his imaginative style, but Topalov knew he had to be careful. Symptoms of Morozevich combative nature started to surface after 17.Rh3 with 18.Qh5 in mind. It's a very crude, but effective plan.

Topalov hunkered down and secured his king's flank, so play shifted to the queenside. Morozevich played the strange 26.Qb1 setting up indirect threats to black's king and attempting to nurse his passed pawn up the board. That pawn would be lost and Morozevich would be fighting a downhill battle from then on. The game took another strange turn when Morozevich inexplicably weakened his king's shelter with 37.h4 and 38.f4.  Ten moves later, he finished the self-demolition with 49.g4? and 50.h5 and Topalov punished this with 50…Qb8!

Ultimately the king had to run because black's pieces had encroached white's weakened kingside. Morozevich kept up resistance, but Topalov chased the white king like a predator stalking its prey. It was interesting that in the end, only two black pieces were needed against three white pieces and the exposed king. Impressive display of power by Topalov!  (game)

Standings:

1st-2nd Anand, Topalov, 2½-½
3rd Svidler, 2-1
4th Polgar, 1½-1½
5th-7th Morozevich, Kasimjanov, Adams, 1-2
8th Leko, ½-2½

Posted by The Chess Drum: 30 September 2005