Anand splits point, Meenakshi beats Chen Zhu

Hyderabad:

Defending champion Viswanathan Anand began his campaign with a draw in the opening league matches of the second World Cup Chess Championship while Woman Grandmaster S Meenakshi pulled off a major upset defeating world champion Chen Zhu of China. Pre-tournament favourite Anand settled for a quick draw in 18 moves against against Xu Jun of China in a balanced position arising out of a Nimzo Indian defence. Later Anand said he was satisfied with his performance as he felt he "countered well with black pieces against a strong and enterprising opponent". In the other matches in women's section, GM Koneru Humpy defeated Iosliani Nana of Georgia while Swathi Ghate defeated Nino Khurtsidze, also of Georgia. Another upset result in the men's section saw South Africa's Watu Kobese score a victory over Alex Yermolinsky of the USA. (PTI)