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Dortmund chess: Exciting battle on the cards
Dortmund, July 12
(Agencies)
The Dortmund Sparkaseen chess championship has been an exciting affair so far.
And it promises to get better in the second half when play resumes in the fifth round after a day's rest today.
Two men who look in brilliant form and are in the joint lead - India's Viswanathan Anand and England's Michael Adams - play each other in the next round in a battle for supremacy.
Anand, eager to prove his authority in the classical version of the game as well, after a brilliant run at the Fujitsu Siemens Giants rapid chess tournament in Frankfurt.
Anand emerged winner in the Frankfurt event -- leaving the rest of the field far bahind -- a fortnight ago.
The Young Indian Grandmaster has looked to be in tremendous touch.
Taking risks, making his opponents think a lot to understand the nuances of his positions and above all his fantastic opening preparation with black pieces especially in the Slav Defence, Anand is oozing confidence and has left the forgetful first half of this year far behind.
The Indian maestro landed himself in some trouble in the opening round against Fide world champion Alexander Khalifman, but the risk was worth taking considering his previous record against the Russian and the natural advantage of white pieces that he enjoyed.
And the gamble paid handsome dividends. In the second and fourth rounds against Vladimir Akopian of Armenia and Evgeny Bareev of Russia respectively, Anand displayed his mastery in the Slav Defence.
The game against Bareev surprised many by his sheer speed. Everything appeared to be on his fingertips.
His opponents in the remaining rounds may have to shift to the king pawn opening if they have to restrain him.
The third round against a totally out-of-form Jeroen Piket of the Netherlands was probably his easies.
All Anand had to do was to parry some tactical threats after accepting the sacrificed material and the rest was easy.
Thus far, it has been a smooth sailing.
But a tougher test lies ahead when he takes on Adams, Peter Leko of Hungary and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.
Computer programme Deep Junior 6, which has been quite impressive so far, is also capable of giving some anxious moments to Anand.
But it is Adams who looks most prepared to upset Anand's applecart.
The Englishman is in his best form and a stunning victory over Kramnik in the fourth round yesterday was just an indicator of the things to come.
Especially so, since it was the first defeat for the Russian in eighteen months.
And surely the defending champion is not liking it.
Kramnik has two points from four rounds and his history of bouncing back from awkward positions is a warning for his opponents that they should not take him lightly.
Standings after round 4: 1-2. V Anand, M Adams (3); 3-4. P Leko, Deep Junior (2.5); 5-6. V Kramnik, E Bareev (2); 7-8. A Khalifman, V Akopian (1.5); 9-10. J Piket, R Huebner (1).
Pairings for round 5: Anand v Adams; Kramnik v Deep Junior 6; Leko v Bareev; Huebner v Piket; Khalifman v Akopian.
Dortmund, July 12
(Agencies)
The Dortmund Sparkaseen chess championship has been an exciting affair so far.
And it promises to get better in the second half when play resumes in the fifth round after a day's rest today.
Two men who look in brilliant form and are in the joint lead - India's Viswanathan Anand and England's Michael Adams - play each other in the next round in a battle for supremacy.
Anand, eager to prove his authority in the classical version of the game as well, after a brilliant run at the Fujitsu Siemens Giants rapid chess tournament in Frankfurt.
Anand emerged winner in the Frankfurt event -- leaving the rest of the field far bahind -- a fortnight ago.
The Young Indian Grandmaster has looked to be in tremendous touch.
Taking risks, making his opponents think a lot to understand the nuances of his positions and above all his fantastic opening preparation with black pieces especially in the Slav Defence, Anand is oozing confidence and has left the forgetful first half of this year far behind.
The Indian maestro landed himself in some trouble in the opening round against Fide world champion Alexander Khalifman, but the risk was worth taking considering his previous record against the Russian and the natural advantage of white pieces that he enjoyed.
And the gamble paid handsome dividends. In the second and fourth rounds against Vladimir Akopian of Armenia and Evgeny Bareev of Russia respectively, Anand displayed his mastery in the Slav Defence.
The game against Bareev surprised many by his sheer speed. Everything appeared to be on his fingertips.
His opponents in the remaining rounds may have to shift to the king pawn opening if they have to restrain him.
The third round against a totally out-of-form Jeroen Piket of the Netherlands was probably his easies.
All Anand had to do was to parry some tactical threats after accepting the sacrificed material and the rest was easy.
Thus far, it has been a smooth sailing.
But a tougher test lies ahead when he takes on Adams, Peter Leko of Hungary and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.
Computer programme Deep Junior 6, which has been quite impressive so far, is also capable of giving some anxious moments to Anand.
But it is Adams who looks most prepared to upset Anand's applecart.
The Englishman is in his best form and a stunning victory over Kramnik in the fourth round yesterday was just an indicator of the things to come.
Especially so, since it was the first defeat for the Russian in eighteen months.
And surely the defending champion is not liking it.
Kramnik has two points from four rounds and his history of bouncing back from awkward positions is a warning for his opponents that they should not take him lightly.
Standings after round 4: 1-2. V Anand, M Adams (3); 3-4. P Leko, Deep Junior (2.5); 5-6. V Kramnik, E Bareev (2); 7-8. A Khalifman, V Akopian (1.5); 9-10. J Piket, R Huebner (1).
Pairings for round 5: Anand v Adams; Kramnik v Deep Junior 6; Leko v Bareev; Huebner v Piket; Khalifman v Akopian.