Kasparov draws with Anand to maintain lead after six rounds at Linares

Former world champion Garry Kasparov of Russia maintained his lead at the 22nd Ciudad de Linares chess tournament by drawing in the sixth round today with Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, his nearest rival both in the tournament standings and in overall world rankings.



Anand and Kasparov in action

Anand, playing White, opened the game by advancing his King’s pawn. Kasparov chose to defend with the sharp Sveshnikov variation of the Sicilian Defense. Anand introduced a novelty on his nineteenth move, leading to exchanges which left White with a menacing-looking unopposed pawn duo on the Queen side, which immediately began to advance. However, White wasted time on his 27th move by moving a Rook which then returned to its original square on the following move. Kasparov defended coolly, slowing the advance of White’s Queen side pawns and finally began an advance of his own advanced passed e-pawn. Nevertheless, White was in a better position to Queen first. However, Black ended the game by sacrificing a Bishop in order to bring about a position that would have allowed Black to keep White’s King in perpetual check had the players not agreed to a draw.

In other games today, Peter Leko of Hungary drew with Uzbek Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov defeated Spanish grandmaster Francisco Vallejo. It was Vallejo’s third loss in the last four rounds. The tournament’s other competitor, British grandmaster Michael Adams, had a bye.

Kasparov leads the tournament as it approaches the half-way point with 3½ points out of five. Anand, Topalov and Kasimdzhanov have 3 points each. However, Kasimdzhanov, who has drawn every game which he has played in the tournament, is the only participant to have played six games while all the others have played five. A player is awarded a full point for each win while draws are worth a half-point each.

The Linares tournament, rated as a category 20, is an extremely strong event. Five of the top seven players in the world are competing, including the top three: Kasparov (2804), Anand (2786) and Topalov (2757). The current world champion, Vladimir Kramnik of Russia, is ranked fourth. Kramnik, whose doctor has advised him to curtail his activity, is skipping the Linares tournament.

All players will be taking a rest tomorrow. Play will resume with the seventh round on Wednesday when Kasparov will play White against Topalov, Adams will return to action with White against Anand and Vallejo will have White against Leko. Kasimdzhanov will have the bye.

The tournament, held in the Andalusian town of Linares, is a double round robin among the seven players who will each play twelve games in 14 rounds.

Report on round six from ChessBase
Report on round six from The Week in Chess
Photo from ChessBase
Official tournament site