Kramnik lands Anand in the pits

Anand, who erred in the opening itself, kept on fighting to save the match, but Kramnik handled the middle and end games very well after a good opening and went on to win.

The Indian accepted the queen’s gambit in a game that lasted a marathon 70 moves. With only half point from his draw against Michael Adams in the second round, Anand now faces an uphill task.

Michael Adams, who defeated Viktor Korchnoi in the third round, is the sole leader with 2.5 points from three rounds. Kramnik, Anatoly Karpov and Miguel Illescas, the challenger from Spain, are in second spot with two points each.

Anand, who figured in each of the fourbig tournaments so far in 1999 and is expected to play more as the year goes by, needs to pace himself well in order to repeat last season’s success.

The event ends on April 18.

Results (3rd round): M Adams bt V Korchnoi; A Karpov bt P Svidler; V Kramnik bt V Anand; B Gelfand drew with V Topalov; J Polgar lost to M Illescas.

Standings: 1. Adams (Eng) 2.5; 2. Karpov (Rus) 2.0; 3. Illescas (Spain) 2.0; 4. Kramnik (Rus) 2.0; 5. Topalov (Bul) 1.5; 6. Gelfand (Blr) 1.0 (after two games); 7. Korchnoi (Sui) 2673 1.0 (after two games); 8. Polgar (Hun) 1.0; 9. Anand (Ind) 0.5; 10. Svidler (Rus) 0.5.