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Anand trails Kramnik by full point
Viswanathan Anand trails Vladimir Kramnik by a full point after drawing the fourth game in the Advance Chess match on Saturday.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:27 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Leon, Spain:
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand continues to trail Braingames winner Vladimir Kramnik of Russia by a full point after drawing the fourth game in the Advance Chess match here yesterday. With two more games remaining in the six-game match, Kramnik leads by a 2.5-1.5 margin and if Anand is able to score one victory in the remaining two games, tiebreak games under blitz chess rules will be played to determine the winner. Having lost the third game rather timidly, Anand tried hard to settle the scores in the fourth game but did not quite manage to break through the solid defences of Kramnik. Playing white, Anand yet again employed the Queen Pawn game but this time Kramnik opted for the Queen's Gambit Declined that turned out to be a smart choice. Showing clearly his intentions of a fightback in the match, Anand castled on the queen side quite early to launch an offence against the king on the other wing. However, Kramnik's king side found defenders in doubled pawns and Anand's King's position became vulnerable once Kramnik invaded with his queen. Anand went for the trade of queens but his own pawn structure was weakened in the process. A further trade of pieces too failed to enthuse life in the game. Routine exchanges on both flanks forced the game in to a drawn king and pawns endgame, where the peace treaty was signed after both players successfully completed the promotion of their pawns in to queens. The longest so far in this match, this game lasted 48 moves. Earlier, in the third game of the match, it was a lively display by Kramnik that earned him a full point and helped him gain the lead. Playing white, the Russian opened with the Queen pawn and faced the Queen's Gambit Accepted by Anand that served him well in their last match encounter in the Mainz Chess Classics last year. This time, looking better prepared, Kramnik got a slight advantage out of the opening and struck in the centre after exchanging a couple of pieces. Anand found himself in difficulties once Kramnik obtained a passed pawn in the centre and his position worsened despite the trade of minor pieces. Kramnik went for the thematic manoeuvres with his excellent technique and marched his pawn to the seventh rank to force victory in just 37 moves. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
Chess
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