The Hindu : Sport / Chess : Viswanathan Anand aims for sixth Corus title

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Viswanathan Anand aims for sixth Corus title

Average rating of the field is a whopping 2742Hari Krishna and Koneru Humpy are in Group ‘B’

NEW DELHI: World champion and five-time winner Viswanathan Anand starts his campaign to regain the prestigious Corus chess title as the joint favourite with Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik when the event commences at Wijk aan Zee on Saturday.

A well-rested Anand, who holds an enviable record of being the most successful player in the history of this annual event, will have to bring out his best to emerge as the strongest in the strongest 14-player round-robin competition of the year.

The average rating of the field is a whopping 2742 and the field features 10 of the world’s top 13 players.

Defending champion

Former World champion Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov, who won last year following a three-way tie involving Armenia’s Levon Aronian and Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov, will be among the favourites. In the last edition, Kramnik finished fourth, one better than Anand.

For the first time, four Indians will feature in the three sections of this elite, invitational event. In Group ‘B’, P. Hari Krishna and K. Humpy are part of a 14-player field. Hari is seeded fifth and Humpy, ninth, in the 13-round. In Group ‘C’, Parimarjan Negi returns to the field as the sixth seed.

The players:

Group ‘A’: 1. Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 2779), 2. V. Anand (2799), 3. Veselin Topalov (Bul, 2780), 4. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze, 2760), 5. Peter Leko (Hun, 2753), 6. Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 2751), 7. Levon Aronian (Arm, 2739), 8. Boris Gelfand (Isr, 2737), 9. Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 2735), 10. Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 2733), 11. Michael Adams (Eng, 2726), 12. Judit Polgar (Hun, 2707), 13. Pavel Elijanov (Ukr, 2692), 14. Loek van Wely (Ned, 2681).

Group ‘B’: 1. Ivan Cheparinov (Bul, 2713), 2. Etienne Bacrot (Fra, 2700), 3. Sergey Movsesian (Slk, 2677), 4. Gabriel Sargissian (Arm, 2676), 5. P. Hari Krishna (2664), 6. Nigel Short (Eng, 2645), 7. Michal Krasenkow (Pol, 2636), 8. Daniel Stellwagen (Ned, 2625), 9. K. Humpy (2612), 10. Ian Nepomniachtchi (Rus, 2600), 11. Erwin L’Ami (Ned, 2581), 12. Jan Smeets (Ned, 2573), 13. Hou Yifan (Chn, 2527), 14. Wouter Spoelman (Ned, 2424).

Group ‘C’: 1. Evgenij Miroshnichenko (Ukr, 2647), 2. Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 2598), 3. Friso Nijboer (Ned, 2578), 4. Arik Braun (Ger, 2536), 5. Dimitri Reinderman (Ned, 2533), 6. Parimarjan Negi (2526), 7. Efstratios Grivas (Gre, 2509), 8. Pontus Carlsson (Swe, 2501), 9. John van der Wiel (Ned, 2490), 10. Anna Ushenina (Ukr, 2484), 11. Irina Krush (USA, 2473), 12. Peng Zhaoqin (Ned, 2461), 13. Mark van der Werf (Ned, 2389), 14. Dennis Ruijgrok (Ned, 2329).

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