Anand makes cautious start on sixth title trail

Anand started his campaign with an easy draw playing black against former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the first round of Corus chess tournament.

Viswanathan Anand started his campaign with an easy draw playing black against former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the first round of Corus chess tournament here.

HT Image

Anand, seeking his sixth title here and competing in the elite Group A, showcased his deep preparation in the Catalan opening, leaving Ponomariov with little chance to fight for an advantage in the game lasting just 22 moves. On a day when caution was the name of the game, Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan turned out to be the sole winner, defeating Loek Van Wely of Holland in a finely crafted game.

All other six games ended in draws resulting in Radjabov emerging as the sole leader in this category-19 event played on a round robin basis between 14 players.

In Group C, world's youngest Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi scored a scintillating victory over local International Master Wouter Spoelman to announce his arrival in style. The Dutchman proved no match for Negi who squeezed out his opponent's resources in quick time to emerge as an early leader. Four games out of seven ended decisively in this section.

Results Round 1, Category A:

V Topalov (Bul) drew with A Motylev (Rus); Loek van Wely (Ned) lost to T Radjabov (Aze); S Karjakin (Ukr) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus); Alexei Shirov (Esp) drew with Peter Svidler (Rus); Sergei Tiviakov (Ned) drew with M Carlsen (Pol); David Navara (Cze) drew with Levon Aronian (Arm); R Ponomariov (Ukr) drew with V Anand (Ind). PTI