Anand stamps his class with victory

BIEL, Aug 2: Viswananthan Anand of India clinched the prestigious Credit Suisse Grandmasters' title, stamping his authority as the best pla...

BIEL, Aug 2: Viswananthan Anand of India clinched the prestigious Credit Suisse Grandmasters8217; title, stamping his authority as the best player in the Grandmasters8217; circuit when he drew with the Fide world champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia, here, today.

World number two Anand8217;s authority on top remained intact with this victory his fifth crown in seven tournaments during the year which came after having been leading the tournament from the beginning. He faced a shock defeat at the hands of Vadim Milov of Switzerland in the seventh round, when he shared the lead with Karpov.

An elated Anand told PTI over phone that he was keen to win this tournament to be a contender for the world championship scheduled during December-January.

8220;It is always good to maintain a winning streak and I am happy to win the tournament all alone,8221; Anand said pointing out that he shared the titles with others in most of the tournaments he won during the year.

Gamewise, it was one of the quickest draw that Anand achieved against Karpov in the concluding round to aggregate seven points followed by Karpov with 6.5.

In this Category 17 tournament, Boris Gelfand 5.5 pts of Belarus, Joel Lautier 4.5 France, Vadim Milov 4 and Yannick Pelletier 2.5 both Switzerland 8212; finished in that order.

Grandmaster Milov 4 of Switzerland celebrated his birthday by surviving against Lautier8217;s terrific onslaught in the Nimzo-Indian defence. Gelfand8217;s 5.5 valiant attempts to overcome tailender Pelletier 2.5 were frustrated by the stubborn defence put up by the 20-year-old Swiss. Gelfand finally signed the peace treaty after 66 moves and six and half hours of play.

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Final Round Results: V Anand 7 drew with A Karpov 6.5, B Gelfand 5.5 drew with Y Pelletier 2.5, V Milov 4 drew with J Lautier 4.5 Final standing: 1. V Anand India, 2. A Karpov Russia, 3. B Gelfand Belarus, 4. J Lautier France, 5. V Milov Swi, 6. Y Pelletier Swi.