Anand draws first blood, beats Leko in second game

Miskolc:

World Champion Viswanathan Anand drew the first blood by defeating Hungarian Peter Leko in the second game to take an early lead in the eight-game rapid chess match here.

After drawing the first game, Anand had his sights trained to get ahead sooner than later and the Indian ace converted his first white game in the match into a full point, giving a fine display of positional chess.

Anand leads 1.5-0.5 with six games still remaining in the match played under FIDE's rapid chess rules.

It was a Grunfeld Indian defense that trapped Leko in both the games.

Anand employed the same opening playing black in the first game and drew rather comfortably after even enjoying what seemed an optical advantage. Later when Leko used the same opening as his weapon, Anand simply outplayed him in all departments of the games.

The eight-game rapid match, which is organized in Leko's home country, is a permanent fixture in recent years as Leko plays a match with a world-class player.