Last rounds are often tedious, low-risk affairs, but today's finale at the Tal Memorial was just the opposite. Only two of the five games were drawn, and only one of the draws (Svidler-Gelfand) was forgettable. The remaining games were battles, three of them with real excitement.
Let's start with the game that decided first place. Ivanchuk gained an edge against Kramnik, and built up a serious kingside attack. Ivanchuk was never winning, as far as I can tell, but he was clearly better and seemed to miss a couple of good chances. Still, the position was very complicated and both players - especially Ivanchuk - were growing short of time. A single Ivanchuk inaccuracy was all Kramnik needed to hold the position, and Kramnik thereby won the tournament.
The reason is that while Anand could have tied him with a win, he had already lost - badly - to Aronian. It was a very strange game, in that Anand-Aronian followed Aronian-Movsesian, Nanjing 2008, and where Anand varied with a new move it was a big error. It's unlikely that Anand prepared it specifically for this game, but given the forcing nature of the play up to that point it would be surprising if he hadn't prepared it at some point. Whatever the story, the move was bad, Anand's position was bad, and his subsequent resourcefulness couldn't save him. Instead of tying for first or second, his 25 move loss dropped him into a tie for 4th and 5th with Aronian.
More butchery took place in Ponomariov-Morozevich. Morozevich came out of the opening with a decent position, but turned all his pieces into targets for tactics, and he went down in just 27 moves.
The other decisive game was more significant for the final standings and the world scene, however. Leko-Carlsen seemed to be heading for a draw, but under slight pressure in the ending Leko lost his head and the thread. After some errors, he lost a pawn, and then a sacrificed a second one to try to simplify the defense. It didn't work, and Carlsen won the rook + f & h pawn vs. rook ending; rightly so, as the defender's king was always stuck on the first rank.
This game meant a lot. First, after seven draws to start the tournament, his two consecutive wins left him tied with Ivanchuk for second place, half a point behind Kramnik. Second, he will apparently lead Topalov on the rating list, a point that will undoubtedly please Topalov and Danailov no end. More importantly - assuming he doesn't lose that status in London in December - he will be the youngest #1 ever, and the first from Western Europe.
Final Standings:
1. Kramnik 6
2-3. Ivanchuk, Carlsen 5½
4-5. Aronian, Anand 5
6. Gelfand 4½
7. Ponomariov 4
8. Svidler 3½
9-10. Leko, Morozevich 3
Games, with my comments, here.