Anand wins Chess Classic of Mainz

Viswanathan Anand won the Chess Classic of Mainz for the fourth consecutive time, by taking an unbeatable lead against Alexey Shirov of Spain with a comfortable draw in the seventh of the eight-game match on Sunday.

The draw came in 27 moves of a Ruy Lopez Closed against Shirov, giving Anand a lead of 4.5-2.5 with one game to go.

This is Anand third big title of the year. He had won the Dortmund title in Germany last month.

In the past Anand has beaten Vladimir Kramnik, Ruslan Ponomariov and Judit Polgar in one-on-one matches in Mainz.

In the seventh game, the Indian superstar had white but was happy to get the draw and the title with it with one game to spare.

Earlier in the sixth game last evening, he extended his lead over Shirov to take a 4-2 up lead. He sealed his win with a draw in seventh.

The third day once again saw two Ruy Lopez games, one each in closed and open variations. Out of the six games, the two players have been engaged in the Ruy Lopez five times, the only exception being the first game, a French Rubinstein.

As Shirov looked off colour Anand found the right combinations to crush the Latvia born Spaniard in just 30 moves.

About the fourth game, Anand said he may have missed a chance. A win there would have sealed the match by now at 5-1.

Last year, Anand beat Judit Polgar in a tie-breaker after standing 4-4 in an exciting clash.

Press Trust of India
Monday, August 8