Tuesday, October 04, 2005

6...Ng4 Rediscovered?

Twice now, the Najdorf 6. Be3 Ng4 variation has appeared and in the hands of no less than the two top seeds - Anand and Topalov. It is a variation that became quite popular in the late '90's to early noughties - having been used by the likes of Kasparov, Shirov and Gelfand. No doubt the appearence of this variation in San Luis will once again provoke some sort of widespread revival.

Today, Topalov was just sheer class. He made Svidler, a four-time Russian champion, look like a puppy. Right now there doesn't appear to be anyone with a similar thirst for blood as Topalov. If the Bulgarian does win this event, then maybe, just maybe, we will enter an era of top level chess when there are more decisive results than pussy draws. All hail Topa!

My tipping in this comp hasn't exactly been crash hot but here are my tips for round 6.

Kasimdzhanov – Leko, 1-0
Adams – Morozevich, .5-.5
Anand – Svidler, 1-0
Polgar – Topalov, .5-.5

I think Leko will buckle against Kasim. Adams and Moro will be too lackadaisical to win. Anand will want to bounce back hard and beat Svidler. While I think Polgar will pull out something special and hold Topalov to a draw.

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