Zurich: World Champion Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by Boris Gelfand of Israel in the third round of Zurich Chess Challenge here on Tuesday.
For the third day running, Anand strove for an active position and got the complexities he was looking for and Gelfand had to fight really hard to thwart the Indian ace his first victory in the tournament.
In the other game of the day, Fabiano Caruana of Italy played out a draw with former world champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia leaving the deadlock to continue for the third day running.
While there has not been any decisive games yet in the four-players double round-robin tournament, there have been ample excitement for the followers.
With just three rounds to come now, all the four players share the lead with 1.5 points each and the second half will continue after a rest day.
Anand had beaten Gelfand in the last world championship match at Moscow in May 2012 but there too Gelfand had been a tough nut to crack and the Indian was stretched till the rapid tiebreaker before he could win the match.
For the records, it was a Sicilian Najdorf, something that Gelfand had shied off from in the match but surely one of the favourites opening of the Israeli. Anand went for a topical system and won a pawn early but black`s position remained active enough.
In the middle games, the analysis engines in the computers were shouting a good advantage for Anand but for the human eye it remained a complicated position in which both had to tread carefully.
Gelfand found his way back with regular exchange of pieces and ended up in a pawn less endgame where the draw was always within his reach. Anand tried but the position finally liquidated to a theoretical draw in 42 moves.
Vladimir Kramnik went for the sharp Benoni defence against Caruana and secured some advantage when he won two pieces for a rook.
However, with one of the knight stuck on the edge of the board with no chances of coming out, the Russian could not claim his advantage to be of decisive nature. Caruana first changed the queens and then entered an endgame wherein he picked up pawns at will to force a draw. The game lasted 50 moves.
Results round 3: V Anand (Ind, 3.5) drew with Boris Gelfand (Isr, 1.5): Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 1.5) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 1.5).
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.