Date:08/03/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/03/08/stories/2008030855451900.htm

Sport - Chess

Anand within a draw of retaining crown

NEW DELHI: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand moved within a draw of retaining the honours in the prestigious Linares-Morelia chess tournament after maintaining his half-point lead after the 13th and penultimate round at Linares, Spain, on Thursday.

Anand, playing black, drew easily with Vassily Ivanchuk in just 23 moves of Sicilian Najdorf. The draw raised Anand’s aggregate to eight points and left him half a point clear of nearest challenger Norway’s Magnus Carlsen.

In the final round, Anand plays white against archrival Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov. A draw will ensure Anand’s tally remains unsurpassed in the premier eight-player field.

Chance wasted

After Anand’s quick draw, Carslen had a chance to catch up with the Indian by posting a victory over Armenia’s Levon Aronian. However, Carlsen had no real chance of winning this Queen’s Indian game and the players signed peace after 28 moves.

In the two decisive battles, Topalov defeated Hungary’s Peter Leko in 48 moves in the day’s longest battle and Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov trapped Alexei Shirov’s rook to win in 29 moves.

The results: 13th round: Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 6) drew with Viswanathan Anand (8); Levon Aronian (Arm, 7) drew with Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 7.5); Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 6.5) bt Alexei Shirov (Esp, 5); Veselin Topalov (Bul, 7) bt Peter Leko (Hun, 5).