Anand remains on par with Kasparov

Mumbai, January 16: Viswanathan Anand defeated Predrag Nikolic in the second round of the Corus Super Grandmasters chess tournament at Wij...

Mumbai, January 16: Viswanathan Anand defeated Predrag Nikolic in the second round of the Corus Super Grandmasters chess tournament at Wijk Aan Zee on Sunday, according to information available here. Facing time trouble, Nikolic resigned in the 40th move to help Anand draw level with Garry Kasparov on the points table.

Kasparov, who won his first round on Saturday, settled for a draw with Holland8217;s Jeroen Piket in his second successive round with black pieces. Anand had escaped with a draw against Jan Timman of Holland in the opening round. Playing black, Anand opted for a Nimzo Indian Defence and got a reprieve on the 28th move, before settling for a 42-move draw.

Results Round 2: V Anand 1.5 bt P Nikolic 0.5; J Piket 1.5 drew G Kasparov 1.5; A Morozevich 1 drew V Kramnik 1.5; M Adams 0.5 drew Judith Polgar 1; N Short 1 drew P Leko 1; Round 1: S Lputian 0 lost to J Piket 1; J Timman 0.5 drew V Anand 0.5; P Nikolic 0.5 drew N Short 0.5; P Leko 0.5 drew A Morozevich 0.5; V Kramnik 1 bt M Adams 0; JPolgar 0.5 drew L Van Wely 0.5; V Korchnoi 0 lost to G Kasparov 1.

Chinese build a wall
UDAIPUR: As the seventh round of men8217;s Asian Chess championship came to a close, Chinese players tightened their grip on the leaderboard with three of them GMs Zhang Zhong, Xu Jun and Peng Xiadmin among the four sharing the top spot with five points. Indians continued to struggle and slumped further on the ladder. The fourth leader is GM Dao Thien Hai of Vietnam.

In the women8217;s VIIIth Asian Championship, Chinies WGM Qin Kanying, top seed, and Vietnam8217;s WGM Haong Thang Trang maintained the lead with six points. Tomorrow is a rest day.

Results VIIth round
Men: GM Dao Thien Hai VIE, 2550 5 drew GM Zhang Zhong CHI, 2611 5; GM Xu Jun CHI, 2578 5 drew GM Wang Zili CHI, 2571 4.5; GM Peng Xiadmin CHI, 2624 5 bt K Sasikiran IND, 2514 4; IM Kayumov Dimitry UZB, 2475 4 drew GM Dibyendu Barua IND, 2555 3.5; IM Wu Wenjin CHI, 2522 4 bt IM GB Prakash IND, 2435 3; FM Ghaem Meghami EshanIRAN, 2446 3.5 drew SS Ganguly IND, 2440 3.5; FM P Harikrishna IND, 2354 4 bt IM RB Ramesh IND, 2443 3; S Kidambi IND, 2433 2.5 lost IM Reefat Bin Satter BAN, 2379 4; IM DV Prasad IND, 2421 3 drew IM Sudhakar Babu IND, 2336 3; FM Timothy Reilly Australia, 2192 2 lost to GM Pravin Thipsay IND, 2475 3.5; IM Abhijit Kunte IND, 2487 3.5 bt Razaei Saravi Reza IRAN, 2220 1.5.
Women: WGM Qin Kanying CHI, 2475 6 bt WGM Mamedova Rena UZB, 2323 4.5; WGM Hoang Thanh Trang CHI, 2448 6 bt WIM Swati Ghate IND, 2297 3.5; WIM Sargeeva Tatiana KAZ, 2250 3.5 lost to WIM Bhagyasree Thipsay IND, 2247 4.5; WGM Wang Pin CHI, 2469 4 bt WFM Saheli Dhar Barua IND, 2185 3; WFM Xu Yuanyuan CHI, 2370 4 bt WIM Rani Hamid IND, 2136 3; WFM Safira Shanaz IND, 2136 3 bye, WIM Sargeeva Maria KAZ, 2207 4 drew with WIM S Vijayalkshmi IND, 2383 4.5.