Georg Meier reacted in an unusual manner to the leader's English Opening and seemed to lose time early on. Kramnik thus prepared central expansion in the queenless middlegame. Georg Meier was soon reduced to a passive position, and even had his knights on the uninspiring squares b8 and c8 at one point. Indeed his cavalry was unable to come to the rescue as Kramnik caused havoc on the kingside.
Hikaru Nakamura, in his quest for his first win, played the cautious 6.Qc2 line against the Semi-Slav. Le Quang Liem didn't seem particularly put-off as freed his position in a thematic manner. The young Vietnamese star seemed to have the better of matters in the early middlegame but Nakamura was able to simplify to an equal endgame.
Ruslan Ponomariov played actively as Black in the Queen's Gambit. Firstly he accepted an isolated pawn, and then he sacrificed it in order to exploit from his lead in development.
Unfortunately Anish Giri found a way to wriggle out. Black's play came to nothing and the extra pawn was eventually decisive as the young Dutch GM gradually made progress in the double rook endgame.
The round 7 summary:
| White | Rating | Result | Black | Rating | Moves | Openings details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2781 | 1-0 | Georg Meier | 2656 | 49 | English Opening |
| Anish Giri | 2701 | 1-0 | Ruslan Ponomariov | 2764 | 64 | Queen's Gambit Declined 5.Bf4 |
| Hikaru Nakamura | 2770 | ½-½ | Le Quang Liem | 2715 | 56 | Semi-Slav 6.Qc2 |
The standings after the seventh round:
| Rank | Name | Country | Rating | Kw | Kb | Lw | Lb | Gw | Gb | Pw | Pb | Nw | Nb | Mw | Mb | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vladimir Kramnik | RUS | 2781 | * | * | ½ | . | 1 | . | 1 | ½ | . | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2715 | . | ½ | * | * | . | ½ | 1 | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4 |
| 3 | Anish Giri | NED | 2701 | . | 0 | ½ | . | * | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | . | 3½ |
| 4 | Ruslan Ponomariov | UKR | 2764 | ½ | 0 | . | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | * | . | 1 | ½ | . | 3 |
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2770 | 0 | . | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | . | * | * | . | ½ | 2½ |
| 6 | Georg Meier | GER | 2656 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | . | 0 | . | ½ | ½ | . | * | * | 2 |
Schedule:
July 21st to 25th: Rounds 1 to 5
July 26th: Rest day
July 27th to 30th: Rounds 6 to 9
July 31st: Round 10
The first nine rounds begin at 3pm local time (3pm Paris, 2pm London, 9am New York).
The final round will be two hours earlier.
The time limit is 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 in 20, and finally 15 minutes for the remainder of the game. The players also receive an increment of 30 seconds per move.
Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/2011
Live games: http://schachtage.dokomserver.de/toma/live.htm
The transmission is with a 30 minute delay in order to avoid any possibility of 'external influences affecting the players decisions'.
