Moving to London

Well, I got a job offer in London and I am taking it! I would be working for a small company called IXICO (http://www.ixico.net). They specialize in automated analysis of medical image data. The great thing is that I would be working closely with university research groups and would have an opportunity for further studies at University College, London.

I am really looking forward to the move but I am a bit sad to be leaving Germany. The country has been extremely kind to me and I have forged some fantastic friendships here. However, I feel that it is time for a change and for new experiences.

M-Tel round II: Anand thrashes Topalov

Breaking news! Anand defeated Topalov with the black pieces in 36 moves! It was a great display by Anand. It is very difficult, at lease with my patzer abilities, to tell where Topalov went wrong. However, the attack that Anand unleashed around move 25 was spectacular.

In other games, Kamsky beat Bacrot in an endgame scramble. Bacrot needs to study his endgames again. He completely messed it up in time trouble. Kamsky is 1.5/2.0. He is definitely doing much better than expected. He faces Anand tomorrow. These two have shared a great rivalry and Anand always seems to bring out the best in Kamsky. It will be an interesting game tomorrow.

Also, Svidler crushed Pono. He is also 1.5/2.0.

Anand nows leads the field with a clean 2.0. If he continues like this, he will definitely be the clear winner.


Standings after round 2:

1 2.0 GM Anand (India 2803)
2-3 1.5 GM Kamsky (USA 2671), GM Svidler (Russia 2743)
4-5 0.5 GM Ponomariov (Ukraine 2738), GM Topalov (Bulgaria 2804)
6 0.0 GM Bacrot (France 2708)

The dance of Kali

The MTel Masters kicked off in Bulgaria. Anand started the tournament with a bang, scoring a fine victory over Bacrot with the black pieces. It was an amazing game by the Indian after Bacrot gave up his queen for both the rooks. Normally, two rooks are stronger than the queen, but not in this position. Anand's queen took a trip inside enemy line and Bacrot was not able to coordinate his rooks.

Bacrot, E. (2708) - Anand, V. (2803) [E12] Mtel Masters Sofia, BUL (1), 05.11.2006

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Be7 7.e3 Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.Bg3 d6 10.Bd3 Bb7 11.0-0 Nd7 12.e4 Bf6 13.Rc1 g5 14.Bb1 h5 15.h3 Rg8 16.b4 g4 17.hxg4 hxg4 18.Nh2 Bh4 19.Bf4 Bg5 20.Qxg4 Qf6 21.Be3 Bxe3 22.Qxg8+ Ke7 23.Qxa8 Bxa8 24.fxe3 Qg6 25.Rf4 e5 26.Rf5 Qh6 27.Re1 exd4 28.exd4 Qd2 29.Nf3 Qxb4 30.Rc1 Bb7 31.Rb5 Qa3 32.Re1 Qc3 33.Rb3 Qxc4 34.Bd3 Qa4 35.Rc3 c5 36.Bc4 Qb4 37.Rcc1 cxd4 38.Nxd4 Ne5 39.Nf5+ Kd7 40.Bd5 Bxd5 41.exd5 Qf4 42.Rf1 Nf3+ 43.gxf3 Qxf5 44.f4 Qxd5 45.f5 Qd2 46.f6 b5 47.Rce1 Kc6 48.Ra1 Qd4+ 49.Kg2 Qb2+ 50.Kg3 b4 51.Kg4 d5 52.Kg5 Qg2+ 53.Kh4 Kd6 54.Kh5 a5 0-1.

In the other games, Svidler and Topalov drew after a hard fight and Kamsky was able to hold Pono to a draw as well.

So, standings after round 1:

1 1.0 GM Anand (India 2803)

2-5 0.5 GM Kamsky (USA 2671), GM Ponomariov (Ukraine 2738), GM Svidler (Russia 2743), GM Topalov (Bulgaria 2804)

6 0.0 GM Bacrot (France 2708)

Today, Topalov plays Anand. This is going to be a great fight. They are two of the best players on the circuit. Topalov will definitely go for the win with the white pieces. Let us see what Anand has up his sleeve.

Go Vishy!