Shanghai Masters, Round 4: Shirov Beats Kramnik

Levon Aronian - Wang Hao was a solid, uninspired draw that gave both players something they wanted. For Wang Hao it stopped the bleeding and gave him an easy draw with Black; for Aronian, it consolidated his position in the top two. Meanwhile, Alexei Shirov defeated Vladimir Kramnik with White in a 4.f3 Nimzo-Indian. This put him in clear first, practically guaranteeing qualification with two rounds to go while leaving Kramnik in a deep hole.

With two rounds to go, here are the standings (remember, they're using 3-1-0 scoring):

1. Shirov 8 (+2 =2)

2. Aronian 6 (+1 =3)

3. Kramnik 3 (=3 -1)

4. Wang Hao 2 (=2 -2)

To have a chance to advance, Kramnik will have to beat Aronian with Black. Not impossible, but not terriby likely either.

Tournament site here, games with my comments here.

Comments

[Bloodhound]

Not likely, but he did it nonetheless!

[Kenneth W. Regan]

Well, Kramnik done done it! But maybe with a little help? I posted this query also at ChessNinja:

Did Kramnik really play 54...Rh4+? against Aronian today? It's plausible that both players missed the stalemate defense 55.Kxa3! Kc3 56.Bb1 Rg4 (Zugzwang? Nope...) 57.Be4!---or just 56.Be4! right away. However, the move 54...Rh3+ is a purposeful way to win (just 1 move worse than ...Rh6 right away), and White's 55.Kb4 could be a response to that. Anyone onsite?