Topalov sets up Anand clash

LEON: World Champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria set up summit clash with Indian ace Viswanathan Anand after dispatching Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain 2.5-1.5 in the second semifinal of the Magistral Ciudad de Leon chess tournament here.

Topalov’s victory came much faster than Anand’s in semifinals as the Bulgarian quickly won two games and then drew the third to ensure his berth in the finals of the traditional event. Pons did well to win the fourth game but it turned out enough only to give the score card a look of closely-fought battle then it actually was.

Defending champion Anand had to work very hard to beat Lazaro Bruzon of Cuba in the first semifinal that was stretched till the tiebreak blitz games on Friday. The Anand-Topalov final to be played late on Sunday will be important for the World No.2 Indian and he will be under pressure after his recent lean patch.

Having struggled in the second half of M-tel Masters last month, followed by the Olympiad where Anand lost more than 19 Elo rating points, this is a good opportunity for him to set things right. Topalov was at ease right from the start against Pons who played black in the first of the four-game match.

The Spaniard took refuge in the Caro Kann defense but was subjected to a bitter endgame lesson from a position he thought was defendable. Earlier in the middle game, Pons had gone on exchanging pieces to find himself in the minor piece endgame that saw some exemplary technical display by Topalov.