The Hindu : Sport : Anand finishes fourth in Linares

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Anand finishes fourth in Linares

NEW DELHI: Viswanathan Anand finished a forgettable fourth in the Linares chess tournament after all four boards ended in the 14th and final round at Linares, Spain, on Saturday.

Anand, champion for the last two years, signed peace with Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in 29 moves.

This game was the first to finish on the final day.

Anand tallied seven points, after two wins, 10 draws and two losses in the eight-player double round-robin event.

Grischuk wins

Alexander Grischuk, the Russian who led for the better part of the event, was declared the winner after Ukraine’s Vassily Ivanchuk matched his tally of eight points.

As per the tournament rules, Grischuk’s three wins to Ivanchuk’s two proved the decisive factor.

Carlsen finished a creditable third.

The action now shifts to Monaco where the annual Amber Rapid and Blindfold tournament will be played from March 14 to 26.

The 12-player field headed by Anand has almost all the top ranked players of the world.

Humpy scores win

Meanwhile, top seed K. Humpy made a winning start to her campaign in the Women Grand Prix at Istanbul by beating Sweden’s Pia Cramling with black pieces in the 50 moves of Queens Gambit Declined.

The results:

At Linares (14th round): Viswanathan Anand (7) drew with Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 7.5); Levon Aronian (Arm, 6.5) drew with Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 8); Leinier Dominguez Perez (Cub, 6) drew with Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukr, 8); Teimour Radjabov (Aze, 6.5) drew with Wang Yue (Chn, 6.5).

Standings: 1-2. Grischuk, Ivanchuk, 3. Carlsen, 4. Anand, 5-7. Wang Yue, Radjabov, Aronian, 8. Perez.

At Istanbul (first round):

Pia Cramling (Swe) lost to K. Humpy; Martha Fierro Baquero beat Zeinab Mamedjarova (Aze); Zhao Xue (Chn) bt Shen Yang (Chn); Hou Yifan (Chn) drew with Maia Chiburdanidze (Geo); Marie Sebag (Fra) lost to Elina Danielian (Arm, Ecu); Betul Cemre Yildiz (Tur) lost to Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul).

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