Translated material
No extreme
Two rounds were played at the tournament in Dortmund
The next two rounds were played at the tournament in Dortmund. The short distance of the tournament does not require participants to play for extreme results, and with a certain degree of probability it can be assumed that “plus two” is enough to win it. Therefore, it was not surprising when, with the appearance of three candidates at once, after victories in the second round, the applicants for the first prize began to play more cautiously. Moreover, in the third round they all played black.Vladimir Kramnik himself adhered to a drawn strategy, using the Russian game against Arkady Naiditsch, which, with careful play, allows you to equalize the game. But at the moment when he clearly took the path of computer analysis, avoiding the predecessor game Morozevich-Gelfand at the World Championships in Mexico, Vladimir considered it best to force his 22-year-old opponent to play on his own. However, he chose the wrong moment for this, which led to the loss of castling and, as a consequence, the forced sacrifice of the queen. The compensation was insufficient and Naiditsch converted the advantage. Against the backdrop of a collapsing competitor, Peter Leko did not cross the line of acceptable risk with Luc van Wely. Only Jan Gustafsson took a risk, going for the sharpest Moscow option against Mamedyarov. But, to the disappointment of the spectators, the always aggressive Shakhtiyar, although he sacrificed an exchange, still chose to force a draw. After the defeat in the previous round, Vasily Ivanchuk was also careful, and already on the 19th move he offered a draw to Ian Nepomniachtchi.
In the fourth round, the focus was on the Kramnik-Leko game. Perhaps the last chance for Vladimir in the fight for the first prize was only a victory over his historical rival. However, it seemed that after the defeat the day before, Kramnik did not dare to take risks, and his sacrifice of a pawn in one of the sharp, but sufficiently studied variations of the New Indian Defense was only a touchstone. After Peter returned the pawn, Kramnik considered it best to force a draw by repeating the moves.
Gustafsson also openly played for a draw, avoiding fundamental continuations in Botvinnik’s variation proposed by Ivanchuk. Against the backdrop of this series of draws, only one game was productive. Ian Nepomniachtchi provoked Luc van Wely into an insufficiently motivated exchange sacrifice, after which he took the game into the endgame and realized a material advantage.
This victory allowed the winner of the Aeroflot Open 2008 to replace Kramnik in the leading group, and before the last three rounds an interesting situation arose when six grandmasters, located within half a point, could lay claim to the first prize. However, among the competitors, the most preferable chances are for Peter Leko, who has two games ahead with White - with Nepomniachtchi and Naiditsch.
Position after four rounds: 1--3. Leko, Nepomniachtchi and Gustafsson - 2.5 points each; 4--6. Kramnik, Naiditsch and Mamedyarov - 2 each; 7. Ivanchuk - 1.5; 8. Van Wely -- 1.