| LINARES,
March 10: Vishwanathan Anand was half a point away from his
first major win of the 2007 as he kept his half point lead
with just one more round to go in the Morelia-Linares Super
Grandmasters chess tournament at Linares.
With three of the four games
ending in draws in the 13th round of the 14-round tournament,
Anand is at eight points with his closest rival, Magnus Carlsen
of Norway at 7.5 points. In the final round, Carlsen has black
pieces as he plays Leko while Anand plays the final round
against Vassily Ivanchuk. Anand also has black pieces.
The Anand-Leko game was in
a Ruy Lopez and with Leko not opening up and being content
with a draw there was not much Anand could do. The Indian
also decided not to take any risks despite Leko not being
in form and allowed the game to be drawn.
Anand now needs to ensure at
least a draw for a tied first place. Magnus Carlsen, who drew
with Svidler in a King’s Indian, will have to beat Leko
in final round to get ensure a share of first place but that
will be if Anand does not win and only draws. Should Anand
lose and Carlsen wins, the 16-year-old Norwegian prodigy will
win his first major title.
Levon Aronian and Vassily Ivanchuk
drew 39 moves of a Queen’s Indians and Morozevich scored
the sole win of the day over Topalov in a Sicilian defence
which lasted 80 moves,
The Indian star last won in
Linares in 1998 and a win here could even see Anand becoming
the world number one for the first time ever on the FIDE ratings
charts. Current number one, Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, is
expected to lose points here.
Anand's domination here has
been undisputed with four victories, a lone loss against Armenian
Levon Aronian and remaining draws so far.
Anand's best effort in the
event came in round 10 when he demolished joint leader Carlsen
in what will be a 'case study' in the modern chess history.
Pairings for Final round 14:
Leko v Carlsen; Svidler v Morozevich; Topalov v Aronian; Ivanchuk
v Anand
Results of Round 13: Anand
drew with Leko; Carlsen drew withSvidler; Aronian drew with
Ivanchuk; Morozevich beat Topalov
Standings after Round 13:
1. Anand 8.0; 2. Carlsen 7.5; 3. Svidler 7.0; 4. Aronian and
Morozevich 6.5; 6. Ivanchuk 6.0; 7. Topalov 5.5; 8. Leko 5.0;
|
