MONACO, March 31: PLAYING consistent chess, Viswanathan Anand emerged joint winner with Russian Alexander Morozevich at the end of the 15th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament. Anand also emerged winner in the rapid section, where he did not lose a single game and was tied second in blindfold. Morozevich won the blindfold section. This is Anand’s fifth victory at Amber, while for Morozevich it’s the third time.

Anand, who had already sealed his title win in rapid, drew his last mini-match with Veselin Topalov 1-1, while Morozevich caught up with Anand by beating Loek van Wely 1.5-0.5.

Anand totaled an impressive eight points from 11 games in rapid, while, Morozevich’s win in the blindfold saw the Russian scored an incredible 9.5 out of 11, a new record in the history of the Amber tournaments.

Topalov played a quiet Ruy Lopez against Anand in their blindfold game. The game got sharp when Topalov started an attack on the kingside. The turning point came on move 26, when the Bulgarian played 26.h4, and missed Black’s strong reply 26…f5. In the following complications it was White who had to watch his step. On move 35, Topalov decided to put on the brakes and traded a few pieces to reach a drawn ending.

In the rapid game Topalov countered actively in a Ruy Lopez, leaving Anand not too happy with his position. After the game the Indian grandmaster said that he believed he had mixed up a few lines. In the final position he felt that Black had enough compensation for the pawn and as he didn’t see a real plan for himself he decided to offer a draw, which Topalov accepted.

In the other top board clash, Loek van Wely and Alexander Morozevich met in a variation of the King’s Indian in blindfold. Van Wely got an unpleasant surprise as Morozevich outplayed him. That helped Moro draw level with Anand in the overall standings.

The rapid game was a gripping fight that was eagerly followed by the other players in the hospitality room. In the opening Van Wely took a risky decision when he snatched a pawn, forcing Morozevich to attack. The Russian was a bit too ambitious. The game finally ended in a draw by repetition after 32 moves. That saw Moro finally tie with Anand on total points.

Results: 11TH and Final Round: Blindfold: Aronian beat Svidler; Topalov drew with Anand; Nielsen drew with Gelfand; Ivanchuk drew with Grischuk; Van Wely lost to Morozevich; Leko beat Vallejo Pons; Results: 11th and final round Rapid: Svidler lost to Aronian; Anand drew with Topalov; Gelfand beat Nielsen; Grischuk drew with Ivanchuk; Morozevich drew with Van Wely; Vallejo Pons drew with Leko Final Round 11 Blindfold Standings: 1. Morozevich 9.5; 2. Anand and Vallejo Pons 6.5; 4. Grischuk and Leko 6.0; 6. Gelfand and Svidler 5.5; 8. Van Wely and Topalov 4.5; 10. Nielsen and Aronian 4.0; 12. Ivanchuk 3.5; Final Round 11 Rapid Standings: 1. Anand 8.0; 2. Topalov and Aronian 6.5; 4. Ivanchuk, Van Wely, Vallejo Pons and Grischuk 5.5; 8. Morozevich, Leko and Gelfand 5.0; 11. Nielsen and Svidler 4.0
Final Round 11 Combined Standings: 1. Morozevich and Anand 14.5; 3. Vallejo Pons 12.0; 4. Grischuk 11.5; 5. Topalov and Leko 11.0; 7. Aronian and Gelfand 10.5; 9. Van Wely 10.0; 10. Svidler 9.5; 11. Ivanchuk 9.0; 12. Nielsen 8.0