Karpov pulled abreast Radjabov and Polgar in the lead after trouncing Mecking, as Ricardi added to Milos' woes by handling him his fourth straight loss in the tournament. Felgaer held Polgar to a draw while Korchnoi also agreed to even it up with Xie as he trailed the leaders by half a point. Meanwhile in his first major test in this tournament, Radjabov fared pretty well with a draw against Nigel Short as the former world championship challenger failed to gain any headway in their Queen's Gambit Declined encounter.

The Briton recently found himself in the limelight again when he rocked the chess world by declaring that he is 99% sure that the mysterious player who demolished him 8-0 in blitz games played through the internet is none other than the legendary eccentric genius himself, former world champion Bobby Fischer. Short, who actually holds one of the best records in blitz, including an even 6-6 score against Kasparov, said he will treasure this games with Fischer forever.

Round 5

Radjabov, Karpov and Polgar maintained their lead today after all boards finished with draws. Young Teimour has now held on first place for the fourth straight round! Today, Teimour at first appeared to have a fight in his hands against his fellow teen prodigy when Felgaer played very aggressively with white in another Burn variation of Radjabov's pet French defence. The boy from Baku countered well however, making their game the liveliest draw in the round. Interestingly, this tournament is loaded with prodigies. Karpov, Short, Mecking and Polgar were also prodigies during their teen years though none were as young as Radjabov was when they first achieved great heights.

The other pairings for this round who also drew were between Mecking and Polgar, Milos and Xie, and Short and Ricardi.

Karpov vs. Korchnoi, 1978 World Championship - Baguio City, Philippines

The much awaited reunion between Karpov and Korchnoi was a sharp encounter but it briefly ended in a 21-move Grandmaster's draw to the disappointment of fans who were half expecting at least a quarter of the drama of their historic and very memorable 1978 World Championship match in the high altitude city of Baguio in the Philippines. Many recalled how in that match, Soviet officials aided Karpov by sending a known psychic to bother Korchnoi's thoughts. When Karpov raced to a commanding 5-2 lead in a race-to-six, Korchnoi countered by utilizing Filipino psychics and dramatically came back to even the match at 5-5. Karpov got his way however, when he demanded not to allow Filipino psychics inside the venue. He went on to win the match 6-5 to retain his title.

Korchnoi in action under the watchful eyes of Karpov.

Round 6

Radjabov storms into solo lead after crushing the Brazilian Champion, Henrique Mecking.

Radjabov has grabbed solo lead! After sharing the lead in the previous four rounds, the youngster has left the rest of the pack thanks to his rousing victory over Henrique Mecking. Teimour aggressively opened-up his kingside early in a QGD encounter and showed fine technique after going rapidly into a brilliant bishop and knight endgame with a one pawn edge. With three rounds left, astounded chess fans wondered if Radjabov isn't aware of his own strength when he said before that he wasn't here to win the tournament.

Erstwhile co-leader Polgar was rudely was brought down in a zugzwang game by the ageless Korchnoi who is now tied with Karpov in second place. Karpov, on the other hand wasn't able to prevent Xie from laking her 6th draw in as many games. Milos clearly out of form, lost another game this time to Short while the two Argentinians Ricardi and Felgaer battled to a draw.

Round 7

Karpov caught-up with Radjabov at the top of the standings with 5 points each after upending Polgar. Polgar, now left behind after absorbing back to back loses against the two most senior players in the tournament, found herself tied for third with Short, Xie, Ricardi and Felgaer. They all had an even score after seven rounds and a full point behind Korchnoi who maintained his hold on second place after luckily escaping with a draw against Radjabov. The youngster played an offbeat King's Indian defence by again aggressively opening-up his kingside early in the game. He was actually a pawn up when he drew against the wily veteran who is best remembered here in Buenos Aires for his gold medal performance on board 1 in the Olympiad held here for the second time in 1978. (Buenos Aires was hosting the Olympiad for the first time in 1939 just when World War II broke out.)

The biggest story of the day did not happen on the chessboard. It was a few hours before the start of the seventh round when the whole world got jolted by the terror attacks on the World Trade Center (site of the 1995 PCA World Championship between Kasparov and Anand) and the Pentagon in the United States. But whatever happens eventually, everyone in the sporting world hopes that political differences will not go on the way of sports again like what the US unjustly did to Fischer in 1992 when he played in Yugoslavia.

Round 8

This is the most awaited day for most chess fans all over the world who have been following this tournament. It is the day young tiger Teimour would face old lion Karpov. Should Radjabov indeed become the world champion one day, then future historians would treat this meeting to be as precious as when Botvinnik first played Lasker or when Kasparov first played Petrosian. Karpov opened with a Nimzo Indian defence and this led to a queen and rook tussle in the middlegame. Although they each later had 3 pawns left, Teimour's pawn were not connected for an inferior rook endgame. Many predicted a very long endgame with Karpov eventually prevailing but Radjabov easily eluded Karpov's torture rack and a draw was declared.

Korchnoi subdued Ricardi to join Karpov and Radjabov for the lead with 5.5 points each going into the last round. Short finally made a big jump today finding himself in solo second after nipping Felgaer. It's a little too late though, as he was still a full point behind the three leaders. Polgar battled Xie to a draw today, renewing their rivalry that goes a way back to the 1988 Olympiad in Greece. Milos ended his bleeding in this round, forcing a draw against Mecking.

Round 9

Anatoly Karpov, the all time leader in tournament victories, added yet another feather to his cap as he bagged this year's Najdorf Memorial after a masterful win over Ricardi in the last round to lead everyone with 6.5 points. Like in the first round, he was the only player to win in this round. The games between Korchnoi and Milos, Mecking and Short, and Felgaer and Xie all ended in draws. Xie, know more as an attacking player surprisingly drew all her games in this tournament. Felgaer missed a GM norm but finishing a head of Ricardi, Mecking and Milos is already something to be proud of.

Nevertheless, this tournament clearly belongs to the fast growing boy from Baku who earned an unbelievable performance rating of 2724! Radjabov finished tied for second place with the veteran Viktor Korchnoi as they both scored 6 points, only half a point behind Karpov. Teimour was up a pawn with the black pieces against Polgar in the last round when he accepted the draw. Finishing a full point a head of Nigel Short, who finished solo third place, and a point and a half against Judit Polgar and Xie Jun, who tied for fourth place, was already beyond expectations. But dominating this tournament a majority of the way, leading from rounds 2 to 8, and finishing undefeated is certainly highly commendable. If there is still a question on wheather his unprecedented accomplishments as a youth player was indeed just a prelude to an incredible top GM status, then with his performance here, he has shown that he is more than up to the task.

Teimour's great chess prowess and his pleasing personality easily makes him a crowd favorite.

Another very important aptitude that Teimour showed throughout this tournament besides his chess prowess is his excellent public relation skills. Gustaro Albarran, writer for the tournament's official website, was the first one to notice his genuine humbleness. Later, not only did people gladly give Teimour well deserved praises but wished him good fortune as well. Such blessing were unheard-off before for other top players such as Kramnik, Ivanchuck and Kamsky who, during teens were usually hit for their arrogance. A little savoir faire does go a long way.

2001 Miguel Najdorf Memorial Tournament

DOWNLOAD  all the games of the 2001 Najdorf Memorial [The ziped file is in .pgn format.  Open the file in chess programs like Chessmaster.]