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Kramnik-Grischuk and Kamsky-Gelfand in the Semi-Finals
Written by Peter Zhdanov
Monday, 09 May 2011
As you probably remember, Boris Gelfand won his 1/4-final match against Shakriyar Mamedyarov 2.5-1.5, while Gata Kamsky knocked-out his old rival Veselin Topalov with the same score.
On the contrary, Kramnik-Radjabov and Aronian-Grischuk went into tie-breaks. Grischuk won the first rapid game convincingly, but Aronian managed to pull himself together and strike back with Black in the second game. The third one ended in a draw, and in the last one Grischuk managed to clinch the victory and eliminate the rating-favorite of the Candidates Matches-2011!
Meanwhile, very solid play by both Kramnik and Radjabov resulted in four rapid draws, so they started playing blitz. Teimour won the first game, and Kramnik was on the verge of saying goodbye to the event. However, he kept fighting and putting pressure on his opponent...until the clock broke down! A few minutes have passed until the judges fixed the issue, and this became the turning point of the whole match. Radjabov couldn't handle his nerves and lost the endgame, then the next game, and failed to come back in the last 4th encounter. Trembling hands, tension and a blitz drama to determine the fourth semi-finalist - that is modern chess. Anyway, Kramnik proceeds to the "Russian semi-final", where he will meet Grischuk.
Talking about predictions: Gelfand has a good record against Kamsky (e.g. he defeated him in the Candidates Matches in 2007 with a +2 =3 score). Btw, they have been playing each other since 1990 - quite a record! Also, Gelfand's victory against Mamedyarov looked quite convincing, while Kamsky, without understating his achievement, qualified for the semis largely due to Topalov's terrible chess shape. Therefore, Boris can be deemed a favorite, but Gata is not the type of person one can underestimate.
Alexander Grischuk can boast a quite good score against Vladimir Kramnik. He is definitely not afraid of the mighty "Russian bear", so we may expect a close fight between the two leading Russian grandmasters with Kramnik's incredible ability to concentrate, steel nerves and vast experience making him a slight favorite.
Another factor to consider is the seconds. Among Kamsky's assistants is Emil Sutovsky (board two of the Israel team), who will be able to consult Gata well on his peer Boris Gelfand. Likewise, Alexander Grischuk is being helped, among others, by Peter Svilder, who is a long-time second of Vladimir Kramnik and knows all about his psychology, style of preparation, chess preferences, etc.
P.S. The semi-final matches will start on May 12 (May 10 and 11 are rest & preparation days).
Comments (2)
1. Written by
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on 10:51 11 2011 .
Grischuk Campion..
Inclin spre varianta Grischuk este un jucator complet.Daca a trecut de Aronian poate deveni Campion.
2. Written by Luigi on 14:16 11 2011 .
Grischuk Campion..
Sometimes things happen for a reason! If I was rooting for Grischuk, because I like him as a player, now I have a better reason: Peter Svidler is my favourite chess player!!!! (among men players) Lets go Peter!!
