TOPALOV WINS AGAIN, MAINTAINS LEAD AT COURS WITH 7.5/10

Veselin Topalov (in the picture at the left, from the Corus website) is at it again! After recording a draw against Armenian superstar Levon Aronian in Round 9, he crushed "wunderkind" Magnus Carlsson in only 26 moves. Carlssen got his rooks entangled in the White position with no way to escape the clutches of the Bulgarian's pieces.

Carlssen is regarded as perhaps the most promising young player in the world today, but he was taught a lesson by the World #1.

With second-place Teimour Radjabov making a short draw today, Topalov has opened up a full-point lead with only three rounds remaining in the event. Vladimir Kramnik is tied with Radjabov for second place, and this tournament could have big implications for the next year or two in the chess world: Topalov continues to win these supertournaments, often coming from behind to do so. He also squares off with Kramnik in Round 12, in what will surely be the most watched game of the event.

Right now, Topalov cannot get into the Candidates Matches, but if someone decides not to play (e.g., Boris Gelfand has complained about the lack of preparation time for the event) would a place be found for Topalov to play?

When Kasparov lost his World Championhip title to Kramnik in 2000, he still dominated tournaments, the way Topalov is now doing. Kramnik has won many top tournaments, but has not been dominant in recent years, though he has shown that he can bring the goods when it counts the most: The World Championship matches.