Anand extends lease on Advance title

Anand gained a minuscule advantage thanks to his centralised king after the players traded queens. Further trading of pieces later a minor piece endgame was reached where Anand retained the initiative.

As the pressure started to build, Shirov tried to create a fortess by moving his king-knight pawn.

What followed was a spectator’s delight as Anand sacrificed his knight for a pawn, but in the resulting position, Shirov was defenseless against the march of white’s king pawns and resigned after 39 moves.

Shirov made desperate attempts to win the second game and force tie-breaker but Anand played cautiously and thwarted all attempts.

Anand employed the Petroff Defence with black pieces against a rarely played variation by Shirov. To prevent a possible attack against his king, Anand exchanged a pair of rooks and then manoeuvred his knights near the king to guard the king side.

It was a perfect defence and though Shirov tried to make a breakthrough on kingside, black’s position remained impregnable. Another exchange of rooks ensured an absolutely level position after 29 moves.

Shirov played on, hoping for a miracle but that did not happen as it was Anand’s day and the duo had to sign the peace treaty after 51 moves in the queen and pawn endgame, giving Anand the title.