Kamsky, Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu all tried very hard to win their last round’s games. But only Topalov was able to break through. This can be compared to playing poker. The sacrifice from Topalov looked dangerous but it did not lead to a win. But he bluffed his way through rather than squeezing positionally.
At the end, Sasikiran missed the best defense and folded. The championship was within his grasp but the young Indian super GM could not come through. However, I am sure that he gained a lot of valuable experience. So did Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu.
I hope that organizers will give more young superstars chances to compete in elite events rather than inviting the same group of players in all the events. I very much enjoyed the actions and excitement at Mtel. Congratulations to Gata for a valiant comeback! He finished in 2nd again. Excellent showing by Nisipeanu and Sasikiran is refreshing.
Here are the final standings:
1. Topalov 5.5
2-5 Kamsky, Mamedyarov, Nisipeanu, Sasikiran 5.0
6. Adams 4.5
Official website: www.mtelmasters.com
What a great tournament and games! I love the way Topalov and Gata came roaring back in the second half after their horrible start.
Greetings,
I totally agree Susan, These Super tournaments needs to invite more of what I would call ‘unknown strong GMs’. Combined with the ‘Sofia /Corsican Rules’ and interesting mix of players I thoroughly enjoyed this Mtel tournament on that basis alone. Strangely enough the top players turning down invitation to play here only made this tournament more exciting and gave chess fans the chance to see how good other less known GMs really are when given a chance. I agree with the phrase, ‘Tournaments makes Stars’ not the other way round.
My Regards,
King.
The tournament finished like I predicted earlier this day 🙂
Great display by Nisipeanu and Sasikiran.
Excellent trademark comeback by Topalov to win the tournament. He still lost 3 rating points though.
Can someone explain how Topalov lost ELO points while winning this tournament?!