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Anand holds Shirov in Linares
Former world champion GM Viswanathan Anand drew with GM Alexei Shirov of Spain in the 1st round of the Linares Super Grandmaster Chess tournament.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 08:27 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Linares:
Former world champion Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand displayed his famous escape-from-defeat artistry and drew with GM Alexei Shirov of Spain in the first round of the Linares Super Grandmaster Chess tournament. Anand, the winner of the World Championship in 2000, yesterday had to survive a difficult position by the skin of his teeth. It was sheer magic that followed in the late stages of the game, helping Anand to get off the hook. Shirov opened with his pet Kings pawn and was in for a surprise in the opening itself, as Anand opted for the Sicilian Taimanov with black pieces. The opening featured a variation wherein Shirov appeared to be better prepared than Anand and he soon took control of the proceedings with some finely crafted manoeuvres in the center. The first round had all the excitement for the followers of the games worldwide, even though it produced only one decisive result. Quite aptly the winner was the youngest ever world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, 18, of Ukraine who continued from where he left competitive chess. Crushing compatriot Vassily Ivanchuk, his rival in the World Championship final, Ponomariov became the first leader in the tournament. Francisco Vallejo Pons, the young Spaniard, started his campaign on a very positive note, drawing with world's highest rated player GM Garry Kasparov of Russia. (PTI)Topics mentioned in this article
Chess
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