Defending champion Viswanathan Anand drew his second successive game of the semi-finals with Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the World Chess Championships at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Monday.
Playing white, Anand did not get any advantage out of the opening and had to settle for the draw after just 18 moves. The result is now tied 1-1 in the four-game match. In case of a 2-2 deadlock after the fourth game, tiebreak games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.
Opening with his favourite king pawn, Anand faced the Sicilian defence of Ivanchuk. By choosing the Sicilian Rossolimo, Anand surprised Ivanchuk initially but the Ukrainian was quite up to the task in one of the side variations that promises counter play for the black player. Bureau Report