Petrosian Memorial, Round 2: Grischuk Wins Again, Breaks 2800; Kramnik Also Wins
Thus far Alexander Grischuk and Vladimir Kramnik appear to be in good form at the Tigran Petrosian Memorial. Grischuk won his second straight game, defeating Boris Gelfand with the black pieces, while Kramnik won a very nice attacking game against Ernesto Inarkiev. Before getting too excited about their play so far (which has been excellent), it's fair to point out that their wins have come against the players who look most likely to be vulnerable. Inarkiev is the lowest-rated player by a considerable margin and had Black against both Grischuk and Kramnik, and in both games was much worse out of the opening. And Gelfand, the "old man" of the tournament at 46 years of age, is playing in his third consecutive tournament with scarcely a break.
Still, it's a good start for both, and especially so for Grischuk, who for the first time in his career has broken the 2800 barrier (it won't be official if he drops below 2800 by the end of the tournament, except in the annals of the online live rating lists). We'll see if he can keep things up tomorrow, when the pairings look like this:
Round 3 Pairings:
- Leko (1) - Kramnik (1.5)
- Aronian (1) - Ding Liren (1)
- Grischuk (2) - Morozevich (1)
- Inarkiev (0) - Gelfand (.5)
Reader Comments (1)
I was disappointed in Kramnik's unwillingness to play for a win against Leko. The computer, to say nothing of the eye test, liked his position despite the lack of a Queen, and it seemed like he could successfully "stall" until the time control before going ahead with preparations for e6-e5 or whatever plan he chose.
I just don't believe that Carlsen or Aronian accepts a draw there.
[DM: He isn't better at the end of the game, and what's "obvious" to us with our engine running isn't necessarily so during the game. Kramnik isn't a particularly risk-averse player, so I don't think this was some sort of wimp-out.]