Anand tames Adams, regains lead

Anand continued with his formidable form with the white pieces recording his third straight win with the favourable colour. The game started with the ultra sharp Marshall Attack Variation of the Ruy Lopez. Adams is one of the few leading players who plays this variation regularly. He appeared well armed as he uncorked a theoritical novelty on his 20th move, improving upon an earlier game with Adams played in Dos Hermenas tournament in 1998. That game had ended in a draw.

After Anand’s brilliant move the whole variation came into scrutiny in the analysis room and experts opined that the ensuing position was clearly better for white. Adams tried to complicate matters with another pawn sacrifice but Anand continued to roll on top with some cautious moves.

The game soon drifted into the endgame with Anand retainig the dual pawn advantage. The rest was a matter of routine technique for the Chennai-born meastro who pocketed the full point after 45 moves.

Kramnik came back into reckoning with a thumping win on Thursday. After losing to Adams in the previous round, The King of Dortmund, as he is fondly referred to for his outstanding records of four tournament victories here, was geared up to tackle the software.

Relying on white pieces anti-computer tactics from the second move itself, he employed the 1. d4 d5 2. e3 move in order to enter the stonewall opening.

An attack against the King was unleashed as early as on move 12 with the centre closed. Thereon it looked as though Kramnik was imparting a lesson on `attacking the king’. In copybook fashion, he exerted pressure on the weak squares while at the same time restrained black’s activities on the other flank. Deep Junior called it a day after 35 moves when faced with inevitable material loss.

Peter Leko accounted for GM Evgeny Bareev of Russia in a Caro-Kann Defence with white pieces. In the classical set up Bareev went for an erroneous plan in the middlegame that weakened his pawn structure and started exchanging pieces. To stay in the game Bareev had to part with the second pawn but that too did not help his cause. Leko won after 50 moves.

FIDE World champion GM Alexander Khalifman of Russia could make no headways against GM Vladimir Akopian of Armenia and had to settle for a draw after 24 moves of a French advance game while GM Robert Huebner of Germany drew with GM Jeroen Piket of the Netherlands.

Saravanan unbeaten

BENASQUE: International Master V Saravanan of India and compatriot and RB Ramesh continued their unbeaten run by holding their opponents to draws as GM Mahail Marin of Romania took the sole lead for the first time with 6.5 points after the seventh round of the Benasque Open Chess tournament here.

GM Marin, who has a rating of 2557, crushed IM Danailov of Bulgaria on a day which saw keenly contested draws dominating the other top board games.

In the most exciting game of the day against IM Thomas Polak, Saravanan played the new move in the opening of the advance Caro-Kann Variation. The Indian appeared to have a good position as all of a sudden Polak sacrificed a rook and a bishop for nothing. The game got murkier by the move when Polak won Saravanan’s queen for a rook and two minor peices and appeared to be on the saddle.

Saravanan defended well and the players agreed to a draw near the sudden death time control where Polak certainly could have played for more.

IM Ramesh was held to a draw again with the white pieces by IM Joledano. In a Philidor Defence, Ramesh got a clearly better position only to overlook a tactical move by his opponent which landed him in deep trouble.

Ramesh defended ingeniously to even win a pawn but in the time battle could not convert the extra pawn in the knight and pawn ending to settle for a draw in 52 moves.