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Anand outwits Kasimdzhanov
Viswanathan Anand brilliantly outplayed Rustam Kasimzdhanov of Uzbekistan in the 11th round of the Linares Super Grandmaster Chess tournament in Spain.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:50 AM IST
Read Time:3 min
Linares:
World Rapid Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand brilliantly outplayed Rustam Kasimzdhanov of Uzbekistan in the 11th round of the Linares Super Grandmaster Chess tournament in Spain. Anand took his tally to 5.5 points out of his 9 games so far but still remained a full point adrift of Kasparov who has an enviable score of 6.5/9. However the Indian ace, who is currently ranked number two in the world, moved to sole second spot following his victory as Bulgarian Veselin Topalov was pushed back to the third spot. Topalov could do little against Corus champion Peter Leko of Hungary and had to concede a draw. Ending in a draw The other game of the day between local lad Francisco Vallejo Pons and English Michael Adams also ended in a draw. With just three rounds to come Kasparov still remains the hot favourite for his ninth Linares title but Anand remains in pursuit as he is slated to play two of his last three games with white pieces. Topalov on 5 points out of nine games stands third solely while Leko is next in line with a 50 per cent score, having drawn all his games. Prize money English Michael Adams occupies the fifth spot in this seven players double round-robin event with 4 points out of nine games in his kitty at this juncture. Kasimdzhanov has 3.5 points from as many encounters in the tournament that carries a Euro 100,000 prize for the winner. After his first win in his very first outing in the event against Topalov, Anand was caught what chess pundits often refer to as "drawcula", with seven draws on the trot. Back on track However, this much-needed victory against Kasimdzhanov has certainly put the Indian ace back on track to give Kasparov a run for his money. Playing white, Kasimdzhanov went for a closed set up against the Sicilian but could not really make an impression as Anand's emphatic manoeuvres in the opening guaranteed enough counter play for him. Level position In the middle game, Kasimdzhanov had his chances to maintain a level position but following an erroneous plan the Uzbek was caught in a tactical melee that resulted in a won position for Anand. Kasimdzhanov resigned after 38 moves when his dancing king was left with no shelter. While Anand tried and succeeded quite impressively, Leko made no such attempts despite playing with white pieces against Topalov. Routine manoeuvring The Hungarian has made no secrets about his tiredness here and was content yet again to get a half point in just 19 moves from a Sicilian Nazdorf game. Vallejo also did not try much as white against Adams who employed the Hedgehog set up. After routine manoeuvring both players decided taking any undue risk and the draw was an approved alternative for both in what many described as shadow boxing. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
Chess
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