Date:18/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/18/stories/2003011802691900.htm

Sport - Chess

Anand beats Karpov

By Arvind Aaron

Wijk aan Zee Jan. 17. World Cup champion Viswanathan Anand used a new positional style of play to defeat Anatoly Karpov of Russia and join the lead at the end of the fifth round in the 65th Corus chess tournament here on Thursday.

Judit Polgar of Hungary, who only drew with Ivanchuk in 18 moves, was joined by Anand and Alexei Shirov of Spain in the lead with 3.5 points from five games.

Shirov scored an upset win over world classical champion Vladimir Kramnik in a well-contested duel.

Karpov played the Caro-Kann defence with the black pieces and Anand went for the currently popular advanced variation. In the opening, the Indian won a bishop but at a cost of three pawns.

The result was to give a verdict if a bishop is worth three pawns. After 21 moves it was hard for white to make any progress. Karpov was solid and did not allow white any way to progress.

But a serious mistake by black on move 24 offered white a chance to wrest the initiative and Anand grabbed it with both hands. Allowing black's pawns to be fixed on odd squares Anand won a pawn.

Anand chose a direct way which offered black no counterplay. After 44 moves, Anand pinned a black knight and was about to force a series of exchanges leaving black with a bishop less.

Humpy loses

Indian grandmaster Koneru Humpy lost a marathon fifth round game to the leader and top seed Zhang Zhong of China on Thursday.

The results (fifth round):

Group A: Viswanathan Anand (Ind) 3.5 bt. Anatoly Karpov (Rus) 2, Alexander Grischuk (Rus) 2.5 drew Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukr) 2, Veselin Topalov (Bul) 2 lost to Loek Van Wely (Ned) 3, Judit Polgar (Hun) 3.5 drew Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr) 2.5, Alexei Shirov (Esp) 3.5 bt. Vladimir Kramnik (Rus) 2.5, Teimour Radjabov (Aze) 2 bt. Jan Timman (Ned) 1.5, Michal Krasenkow (Pol) 1.5 drew Evgeny Bareev (Rus) 3.

Group B: Victoria Cmilyte (Ltu) 0.5 lost to Jonny Hector (Swe) 2.5, Ian Rogers (Aus) 3 drew with Friso Nijboer (Ned) 3.5, John Van der Wiel (Ned) 2 drew with Dennis De Vreugt (Ned) 3, Sergey Karjakin (Ukr) 2.5 drew with Peter Acs (Hun) 2, Daniel Stellwagen (Ned) 4 bt Arkady Naiditch (Ger) 3, Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus) 1 lost to H. Jonkman (Ned) 2, Zhang Zhong (Chn) 4.5 bt. Koneru Humpy (Ind) 1.5.