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Journalism of Courage
LAS VEGAS, AUG 23: Grandmaster Alexander Khalifman took an early 1-0 lead over Armenia8217;s Vladimir Akopian in the six-game World Chess championship final here. Khalifman defeated three-time World junior champion Akopian in the first game of the finals last night.
Playing white, the 27-year-old Armenian opened with a knight nf3 move and followed it up with an unusual sequence handing an early advantage to 33-year-old Khalifman. The game lasted for more than five hours and Khalifman closed in for a kill in the 56th move.
The Russian moved his rook to C3 file to threaten the white King with a check. Akopian moved his King to G2 but Khalifman checkmated the Armenian with a knight nc2 move.
