Plays for today:
Onischuk to win @ -119
Volokitin draw @ -134
Ivanchuk to win @ -105
Carlsen/Shirov NO draw @ +145
Alekseev/Eljanov draw @ -123
and again Alekseev/Eljanov draw @ -135
Onischuk to win
Onischuk has not been playing as poorly as his results seem to show. He has had two near wins but hasn't been able to convert. Svidler, however, has been playing very poorly. Onischuk is going to try hard to get his first win of the tournament, and with white against Svidler, he has a good chance. Svidler rarely wins as black, anyways. Worst I can do here is push.
Volokitin/Karjakin to draw
Volokitin has been playing reasonably well, while Karjakin has been hot. The white pieces will help Volokitin keep Karjakin at bay for the draw, which is reasonably cheap at -134.
Jakovenko/Ivanchuk to draw
Jakovenko has been playing poorly, losing again today for the second time. Ivanchuk hasn’t been able to secure a win since the second round. Ivanchuk will want to go for a full point against the weakest player in the tournament. I can't see Jakovenko winning, so I think Ivanchuk at a cheap -105 is a good bet.
Carlsen/Shirov NO draw
Carlsen has won his last 2 encounters against Shirov with the white pieces, tearing up Shirov’s Ruy Lopez. I expect this to continue, as Carlsen has no reason to be satisfied with just a draw. Good value at +145, I think.
Alekseev/Eljanov draw
I really like this play for some reason. Both of their last 2 games were draws, though they took place a couple of years ago. Eljanov might be a bit tired given his drawn out loss to Carlsen yesterday. Alekseev lost, with white, to van Wely yesterday. I’m hoping this doesn’t give him too much motivation to push with the white pieces tomorrow! I hit this line twice because I thought it was cheap at -123 and -135.
Going for 5/5!
Onischuk to win @ -119
Volokitin draw @ -134
Ivanchuk to win @ -105
Carlsen/Shirov NO draw @ +145
Alekseev/Eljanov draw @ -123
and again Alekseev/Eljanov draw @ -135
Onischuk to win
Onischuk has not been playing as poorly as his results seem to show. He has had two near wins but hasn't been able to convert. Svidler, however, has been playing very poorly. Onischuk is going to try hard to get his first win of the tournament, and with white against Svidler, he has a good chance. Svidler rarely wins as black, anyways. Worst I can do here is push.
Volokitin/Karjakin to draw
Volokitin has been playing reasonably well, while Karjakin has been hot. The white pieces will help Volokitin keep Karjakin at bay for the draw, which is reasonably cheap at -134.
Jakovenko/Ivanchuk to draw
Jakovenko has been playing poorly, losing again today for the second time. Ivanchuk hasn’t been able to secure a win since the second round. Ivanchuk will want to go for a full point against the weakest player in the tournament. I can't see Jakovenko winning, so I think Ivanchuk at a cheap -105 is a good bet.
Carlsen/Shirov NO draw
Carlsen has won his last 2 encounters against Shirov with the white pieces, tearing up Shirov’s Ruy Lopez. I expect this to continue, as Carlsen has no reason to be satisfied with just a draw. Good value at +145, I think.
Alekseev/Eljanov draw
I really like this play for some reason. Both of their last 2 games were draws, though they took place a couple of years ago. Eljanov might be a bit tired given his drawn out loss to Carlsen yesterday. Alekseev lost, with white, to van Wely yesterday. I’m hoping this doesn’t give him too much motivation to push with the white pieces tomorrow! I hit this line twice because I thought it was cheap at -123 and -135.
Going for 5/5!
