Anand held by Morozevich in Tal Memorial chess

Moscow :

Viswanathan Anand could not breach Alexander Morozevich's iron defence and settled for a draw to remain joint second after seven rounds in the ongoing Tal Memorial chess tournament here.

Playing with white, Anand was expected to crush Morozevich, who is going through a slump in form, but the Russian on Friday stood his ground to walk away sharing the point. With 4.5 points, Anand now share the second spot with Vassily Ivanchuk, while Vladimir Kramnik leads the chart with five points.

Anand plays Boris Gelfand in the eighth round. Anand played aggressively and kept the back rank occupied till the queens were off the board. But his strong display did not lead to a decisive finish and both the players signed truce after 36 moves.