Viswanathan Anand struck back with vengeance, making mincemeat of Dutchman Loek Van Wely in the ninth round of the group 'A' of Corus International chess tournament.
WIJK AAN ZEE (The Netherlands): Viswanathan Anand struck back with vengeance, making mincemeat of Dutchman Loek Van Wely in the ninth round of the group 'A' of Corus International chess tournament.
After two losses in three days, Anand found his magical touch on his favourite hunting ground where the Indian ace has won an unparalleled five titles.
The victory also helped Anand narrow the gap between him and tournament leader Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria as the latter was held to a draw by Levon Aronian of Armenia.
The Indian's superlative effort did not do any great help to his present standing in the event, but raised visions of an improved finish after disaster struck him mid-way in the Category19 super tournament.
Topalov, with 6.5 points from 9 games, retained his sole lead as nearest contender Azeri Teimour Radjabov also settled for a draw with Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.
While Radjabov edged himself up to six points, world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia signed peace with compatriot Peter Svidler and both inched to 5.5 points along with Aronian.
Anand now stands joint sixth along with Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine on 5 points with four rounds still to come.
In Group 'C', being played simultaneously, more good news for the Indians followed as world's youngest Grand Master Parimarjan Negi scored a thumping victory over Dutch GM Harmen Jonkman.
Parimarjan took his tally to 5 points in the event that is dominated by Russian International Master Ian Nepomniachtchi, leading on a very impressive 8 points after 9 rounds. Parimarjan is joint fifth in this section.
In the next round now, Anand meets Karjakin as black and a victory came propel him much closer to his main rivals in the event.
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