Leko gets a taste of Khalifman's tenacity

By Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI, DEC. 5. Unsung, unheralded and an undisputed underdog. Seldom has a World chess champion received so little attention as Alexander Khalifman even after winning the biggest prize the game offers.

Never mind if this Russian is as keen in the title- defence as any of his predecesors, few give him a chance to retain the crown. But make no mistake, Khalifman cannot be intimidated into giving it up so easily. Ask Peter Leko, who learnt it the hard way this evening.

In this battle of equals spread over six games of varying duration, Khalifman and Leko fought the hardest before the champion survived the biggest threat to the one possession he is possesive about. In the second `blitz' game of the sudden- death, Khalifman clinched a place in the round of 16, thanks mainly due to his extra bishop in the end.

Khalifman faces Rafael Leitao next, while Viswanthan Anand meets the `surprise-packet' Bartlomiej Macieja. This 78th seed humbled Alexander Beliavsky in both the 25-minute tie- breaker rounds to move up.

If Macieja sprung a surprise, third-seeded Michael Adams expectedly cleaned up Alex Yermolinsky in a similar manner. Adams now clashes with formidable Peter Svidler, who got past Peng Xiaomin 1.5-0.5 in the first set of tie-breakers.

Another contender Alexei Shirov came stronger after being tested to the hilt by Mikhail Gurevich. Shirov won the first of the 25- minute games but Gurevich hit right back. After the first of the 15-minute match ended in a draw, Shirov sealed his place in the pre-quarterfinal against Boris Gelfand.

Vladislav Tkachiev, representing France by choice, removed 10th- seeded Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan after winning the second of the 25-minute games. He now gets ready to face second-seeded Alexander Morozevich.

The other two pre-quarterfinal pairings were decided on Monday itself. Alexey Dreev meets Veselin Topalov and Evgeny Bareev clashes with Boris Gulko.

Khalifman and Leko had clashed in Budapest early this year with the latter winning 4.5-1.5. Significantly, Leko had won all three matches with black pieces. In their last meeting at the Olympiad in Istanbul recently, Leko had again won despite Khalifman calling the shots for most part of the match.

The five decisive matches between the two this year had Leko enjoying a 4-1 lead but today proved another day. Khalifman prevailed but his victory came in the five-minute blitz game where luck plays such a big role. Today's 56-move victory after playing from the white side of Petroff Defence should do a world of good to Khalifman's confidence.

Shirov and Gurevich played out another thriller. Shirov won the first tie-break game with white after stopping his rival in 77 moves of French Defence. In the second, Gurevich bounced back in English Opening by capitalising on Shirov's futile pawn sacrifice in anticipation of some queenside initiative. The third game, the first of the two 15-minute matches, ended in a 45-move draw before Shirov nailed Gurevich following a pawn sacrifice on the 19th move. In the queen and rook ending, Shirov's advanced pawn on the `h' file looked menacing. At this point, Gurevich overlooked a combination which left him facing the prospect of losing his queen. He resigned on the 45th move.

The results (Round Three: Tie-breaker): Bartlomiej Macieja (Pol, 2536) bt Alexander Beliavsky (Slo, 2659) 2-0; Alexander Khalifman (Rus, 2667) bt Peter Leko (Hun, 2743) 3.5- 2.5; Michael Adams (Eng, 2755) bt Alex Yermolinsky (USA, 2596) 2- 0; Peter Svidler (Rus, 2689) bt Peng Xiaomin (Chn, 1.5-0.5; Vladislav Tkachiev (Fra, 2657) bt Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzb, 2690) 1.5-0.5; Jaan Ehlvest (Est, 2627) bt Sergei Movesesian (Cze, 2666) 3-1; Alexei Shirov (Esp, 2746) bt Mikhail Gurevich (Bel, 2667) 2.5-1.5.

Pre-quarterfinal pairings: Macieja- Anand, Leitao-Khalifman, Svidler-Adams, Dreev-Topalov, Morozevich-Tkachiev, Ehlvest- Grischuk, Shirov-Gelfand, Bareev- Gulko.

Caption:

Michael Adams of England watches Alex Yermolinsky of the United States (left) making a move in the tie-breaker of the third round of the men's World chess championship in New Delhi on Tuesday. Adams made it to the quarterfinals.

- Photo: S. Subramanium

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