Moscow: Chess ace Viswanathan Anand crashed through the defences of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan to jump to joint lead after the end of the second round of 10th Tal Memorial Chess tournament here Wednesday.
Showcasing some brilliant resourceful play, Anand had to tackle what appeared to be a dangerous attack on his King and made excellent use of his first white pieces in the tournament.
Anish Giri of Holland and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia joined Anand in lead. Giri got the better of Boris Gelfand of Israel in anther steller performance while Nepomniachtchi played out a draw with fellow countryman Peter Svidler.
The other two games of the day were also drawn – Russian Vladimir Kramnik failed to break the ice against Chinese Li Chao while after a disastrous first round, Russian Evgeny Tomashevsky was just happy to open his account against Levon Aronian of Armenia.
With seven rounds to go in the tournament, Nepomniachtchi, Giri and Anand have 1.5 points apiece and they are followed by Kramnik, Li Chao, Aronian and Svidler, each on one point. Tomashevsly, Gelfand and Mamedyarov share the eighth spot with half-a-point each in their kitty.
The day however, belonged to Anand. The Azerbaijan player followed an earlier game played by Svidler to test Anand but the Indian was the first to deviate on move 15. The position remained complicated for a long time and Mamedyarov went for a piece sacrifice after opening the Queen side a bit.
This did not produce the best result as after the tactical melee ended, Anand had an extra piece for three pawns and his knight caused most of the damage to produce a study-like finish. The game lasted 52 moves.
Press Trust of India