The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Topalov sitting pretty

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 09, 2005

Sport

Sport - Chess

Topalov sitting pretty

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The biggest contest of the World chess championship comes up when Viswanathan Anand plays Veselin Topalov in the ninth round at San Luis.

Should Topalov come out undefeated on Saturday, it will be very difficult to imagine a different champion on October 14. If Anand wins, well, the title-race will be exciting and the pressure will be on Topalov to hold his nerves in the closing rounds.

A two-point lead, with six rounds to go, puts Topalov in a very comfortable position. When facing a desperate Anand, Topalov will be in with a possibility of scoring his fifth straight victory with black pieces in the competition.

Since Anand's form is far from his best in the past week, he needs nothing less than a win to not only come within 1.5 points of Topalov but also get the winning rhythm going.

Anand is known to be most devastating when ahead, especially with white pieces. But against Topalov, Anand will have to take risks in search of victory since coming second in this event means very little.

On the other hand, Topalov will be happy with a draw. He has already packed off third seed Peter Leko 1.5-0.5 in their mini-match and an undefeated escape against Anand should safely set him up for the biggest prize of his career.

An improvement possible

If one looks at Anand's record with white pieces against Topalov, it is 12-4 from 30 games. In 2005, Anand holds a 2.5-0.5 advantage from three clashes. An improvement over this record cannot be ruled out.

Russia's Peter Svidler also has a chance to hold his second place by getting the better of the defending champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who has lost the last two rounds. In fact, a victory for Svidler and Anand will reduce Topalov's lead to just one point.

With five rounds to go after that, the title-race will be open to an exciting finish. Peter Leko, one of the pre-event favourites, is looking good after shaking off his poor start. Leko next plays the Alexander Morozevich, the unpredictable Russian and the man with whom he shares the fourth spot.

The remaining battle of the ninth round will be between the current tail-enders, Michael Adams and Judit Polgar. A sixth defeat for Judit will confine her firmly to the basement.

Standings (after eight rounds): 1. Veselin Topalov (Bul, 7); 2. Peter Svidler (Rus, 5); 3. Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 4.5), 4-5. Peter Leko (Hun, 4), Alexander Morozevich (Rus, 4); 6. Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzb, 3); 7. Michael Adams (Eng, 2.5); 8. Judit Polgar (Hun, 2).

Ninth round pairings: Anand-Topalov; Morozevich-Leko; Judit-Adams; Svidler-Kasimdzhanov.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport