| WilliamA 2005-03-12, 9:50 pm |
| Linares R14: Topalov beats Kasparov, shares first
11.03.2005 Actually Kasparov seems to have beaten himself, having
missed clear drawing chances; and although both he and Topalov now have
eight out of twelve, Kasparov wins Linares on tiebreak. Another shock:
Vishy Anand lost to Adams with the white pieces. We bring you an
updated report and video clip.
The XXII Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez "Ciudad de Linares", a
category 20 double round robin, is being held in the Spanish town of
Linares and from February 23 until March 10 2005. During each round one
player rests, and in addition there are full rest days on March 1st and
7th. The games start at 15:30h local time (CET = GMT 14:30h = 9:30 a.m.
NY) in the Hotel Anibal. Live coverage of the event is expected on the
official web site and on Playchess.com. We will be reporting daily on
our news page.
Round fourteen
Preparing to catch Kasparov: Veselin Topalov
The final day in Linares saw exciting, turmultuous chess, with shock
losses by the two top seeds. But just as people were about to get to
work reporting on the games Garry Kasparov's shock announcement stopped
everybody in their tracks. After thirty years of professional chess,
twenty at the top of the ratings list, the world's number one has
decided to retire from professional chess. The game he lost today
against Veselin Topalov was the last we shall see, ever, in serious
competition from Garry Kasparov.
Garry Kasparov arrives for the last game of his career
The loss was traumatic. Kasparov seemed to be coasting to a draw and a
one-point lead over everybody else, when suddenly we saw the vigorous
head-shaking and the look of utter despair and self-disgust on his face
(oh dear, did we see this for the last time as well?). Obviously
something had gone horribly wrong.
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