Viswanathan Anand draws with Gelfand,to play Carlsen next

Anand split points with Gelfand in a match that was largely the repeat of last year's World C'ship final.

A crushing win over high-flying Fabiano Caruana gave Hikaru Nakamura the sole lead at the end of the fourth round of the Tal Memorial chess tournament on Monday. That proved to be the only decisive game of the round,as draws were signed across the four other boards. Viswanathan Anand split the points with Boris Gelfand in a match and a result that was largely the repeat of last year8217;s World Championship final. It left Anand in the joint-fourth spot along with three others,including Magnus Carlsen.

Anand opened with e4 and Gelfand replied with the Sveshnikov Sicilian,a variation that was his go to defense during the Championship match in May last year. The Indian continued with the Rossolimmo,and in the middle game,had an edge because of his queen side pawn majority and temporarily more mobile pieces. However,Anand8217;s inaccuracies in the middle game meant Gelfand could activate his pieces and swing them around to the area of action to defend solidly. The position simplified to a drawn rook and pawns end game.

Nakamura opted for the English attack in the Sicilian Najdorf with black and weathered Caruana8217;s novelty in the opening. Caruana had play on the queen side with a pawn roll but he delayed pulling the trigger and it was the opening Nakamura was waiting for. His pawn push down the middle on the e file plied the pressure on white8217;s king. Soon black8217;s position was more agreeable on all counts and Nakamura launched a withering attack on the white king that was impossible to resist. Caruana resigned when despite sacrificing material,he was unable to prevent check mate on the 39th move.

In an un-orthodox English opening set-up,Dmitry Andreikin,the lowest ranked player in the fray by a distance,was able to obtain a surprising edge over Carlsen in the opening. However,Andreikin8217;s umambitious play allowed the Norwegian back into the game and after the pieces flew off the board,the advantage petered out as the game ended in a draw.

Aggressive chess

Overnight join-leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov played some aggressive chess early in the game,sacrificing a couple of pawns against Sergey Karjakin,who was playing white. Karjakin gave one of the two pawns back but retained the other to see if he could force a win in the end game,but Mamedyarov held firm.

Vladimir Kramnik8217;s poor tournament showed no signs of letting up,as the draw against Alexander Morozevich left him rooted to the bottom of the table. Morozevich had an extra pawn but Kramnik8217;s e pawn had advanced sufficiently down the board to cancel out white8217;s advantage as truce was signed in the 39th move.

Round five boasts of the tournament8217;s most anticipated game,the Anand-Carlsen clash,the duo8217;s current standings notwithstanding. The Indian will play black.

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Results,round four: Viswanathan Anand drew with Boris Gelfand,Dmitry Andreikin drew with Magnus Carlsen,Fabiano Caruana lost to Hikaru Nakamura,Sergey Karjakin drew with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov,Alexander Morozevich drew with Vladimir Kramnik.

Standings at the end of round 4: 1. Hikaru Nakamura 3 pts; 2-3. Shahkriyar Mamedyarov,Boris Gelfand 2.5; 4-7. Dmitry Andeikin,Fabiano Caruana,Viswanathan Anand,Magnus Carlsen 2; 8-9. Sergey Karjakin,Alexander Morozevich 1.5; 10. Vladimir Kramnik 1.

Pairings,round five: Magnus Carlsen vs Viswanathan Anand,Boris Gelfand vs Alexander Morozevich,Hikaru Nakamura vs Dmitry Andreikin,Shakhriyar Mamedyarov vs Fabiano Caruana,Vladimir Kramnik vs Sergey Karjakin.