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Journalism of Courage
World champion Viswanathan Anand suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Englishman Michael Adams in the first round of Alekhine Memorial Chess Tournament at the Louvre in Paris.
Anand went down despite playing with white pieces,something that may make it sightly tough for the Indian.
Anand went for the Ruy Lopez opening. Adams,however,remained a tough nut to crack from a level position that arose after the exchange of queens. The English Grandmaster took command by getting the bishop pair and Anands slightly defected pawn structure proved decisive. Forced to part with a rook for three pawns,Anand could do little as Adams won in 56 moves.
On what turned out to be a day of big upsets,Ding Liren scalped world number three Levon Aronian of Armenia.
The Chinese champion Ding played an inspired game to beat Aronian. From a Slav defence,he got into a slightly better position and kept improving. Liren sacrificed a rook for a knight before ripping apart the king side with a bishop sacrifice on move 37,leaving Aronian defenseless.
The 10-player round-robin super tournament,however,saw Vladimir Kramnik of Russia on top of his game as he grounded compatriot Nikita Vituigov while the other two games ended in draws. Kramnik opted for a Reti opening and cruised to an easy victory.
Anands 2012 World Championship challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel played exciting chess with black pieces before holding off Peter Svidler of Russia.
