Date:22/03/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/03/22/stories/2005032201072300.htm

Sport - Chess

Anand blanks Topalov

MONACO, MARCH 21. Viswanathan Anand needed a slice of luck to complete a 2-0 triumph over Veselin Topalov to lead with a perfect score after two rounds of the Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament here on Sunday.

Anand, who had beaten Topalov with black in the blindfold game earlier in the day, was uncomfortably placed until the Bulgarian erred with his 40th move. Two moves later, Anand was looking at the possibility of a draw through perpetual checks. But Topalov made a poor bishop move on the 45th turn and invited a checkmate in three moves.

Anand now plays Spain's Francisco Vallejo with white pieces in their blindfold game and black in rapid. In the first set of blindfold games on Monday, Israel's Boris Gelfand and Hungary's Peter Leko won while Russians Alexander Morozevich and Peter Svidler drew.

The results: Blindfold: third round: Boris Gelfand (Isr) (1.5) bt Loek van Wely (Ned) (0.5); Evgeny Bareev (Rus) (1) lost to Peter Leko (Hun) (2); Alexander Morozevich (Rus) (1.5) drew with Peter Svidler (2.5).

Second round: Svidler bt Gelfand; Wely drew with Bareev; Leko bt Morozevich.

Rapid: second round: Francisco Vallejo (Esp) (0.5) drew with Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr) (1); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus) (0.5) drew with Alexie Shirov (Esp) (0.5); Viswanathan Anand (2) bt Veselin Topalov (Bul) (0.5); Gelfand (0.5) lost to Svidler (1.5); Bareev (1.5) bt Wely (0.5); Morozevich (1) drew with Leko (1).