Dortmund Sparkassen Chess: Ponomariov keeps lead with one round to go

Le Quang-Leko: A draw after plenty of tension

Hello Everyone!

Round 9 of the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meet is surely going to be remembered for just one reason: Mamedyarov 5. g4! And, maybe, Vladimir Kramnik's loss to Arkadij Naiditsch.

But first about Mamedyarov. Ponomariov maintained his lead by drawing Mamedyarov. With just one round to go, Mamedyarov knew this was his last chance to catch up with Ponomariov so he tried an interesting novelty right on the fifth move against him in a Queens Gambit Declined game. There are very, very few games played with this novelty... that too usually by chess players of far lower rating. But grandmasters are always preparing new stuff. Meanwhile, Le Quang also managed to draw with Leko after a long game.

Needless to add, Ponomariov is assured of at least joint first.

Results of Round 9

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Liem Le Quang-Peter Leko 1/2-1/2

Shak. Mamedyarov-Ruslan Ponomariov 1/2-1/2

Arkadij Naiditsch-Vladimir Kramnik 1-0

Standings after Round 9

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1. Ponomariov R. 6.0

2. Le Quang Liem 5.0

3. Mamedyarov S. 5.0

4. Kramnik V. 4.0

5. Naiditsch 4.0

6. Leko P. 3.0

Here is the Mamedyarov-Ponomariov game for you to watch in flash below or run through our pgnplayer. You can check the official website here.

PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. g4 O-O 6. g5 Ne4 7. Qc2 Nxg5 8. Bxg5 Bxg5 9. h4 Bh6 10. e3 c6 11. Ng5 f5 12. Rg1 Qe7 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. f3 Nf6 15. Kb1 Kh8 16. Bd3 e5 17. cxd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Qc5 Be6 21. f4 Qf6 22. Nxe6 Qxe6 23. Bc2 b6 24. Qxd5 Qxe3 25. Bxf5 Qc5 26. Qxc5 bxc5 27. Rd5 Bxf4 28. Rg4 Be3 29. h5 Bd4 30. Kc2 a5 31. a4 Rf6 32. Rg2 Raf8 33. Bd3 g6 34. hxg6 Rf2+ 35. Rxf2 Rxf2+ 36. Kd1 hxg6 37. Bxg6 Kg7 38. Bc2 Kf6 39. b3 Rf1+ 40. Ke2 Rf2+ 41. Kd1 Rf1+ 42. Ke2 Rf2+ 43. Kd1 1/2-1/2

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

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