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Anand stays in joint second position with draw against Giri
ST LOUIS, US: Former world champion Viswanathan Anand played out another draw with Anish Giri of Holland and remained joint second after the sixth round of the Sinquefield
ST LOUIS, US: Former world champion Viswanathan Anand played out another draw with Anish Giri of Holland and remained joint second after the sixth round of the Sinquefield Cup, a part of the Grand Chess Tour.
The Indian ace had to ward off heavy pressure from the highest-ranked Dutchman and Giri will be haunted by his 40th move for some time as he blundered on it before the first time control.
Wesley So of United States emerged as the new sole leader after disposing off overnight leader Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in fine fashion. Wesley came up with an inspired performance with his white pieces and roughed up Topalov on both flanks before his passed pawn took centre-stage. The Filipino, who recently changed his federation to play for US, took his tally to four points out of a possible six and now enjoys the top position. Anand and Topalov are not far behind the leader on 3.5 points apiece. With three rounds remaining, the event is still wide open as Levon Aronian, Maxime VachierLagrave, Hikaru Nakamura and Ding Liren share the fourth spot. Giri and Anand battled it out in the English opening where the former played white. It was a pretty easy game for a long time after Anand equalised but a small lapse in concentration allowed Giri to liven things up on the 26th move.
JOHNSON IN CONTENTION AT JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
LOS ANGELES: Zach Johnson lived up to his stature as the top-ranked player in the field, firing 65 to seize a share of the clubhouse lead after the first round of the weather-hit John Deere Classic.
The American, who won this PGA Tour event in 2012, is tied with compatriots Ryan Moore and Patrick Rodgers atop the leader-board.
SERENA GETS SPECIAL ENTRY INTO CINCINNATI
LOS ANGELES: Serena Williams has been given a special wildcard berth into the WTA/ATP Cincinnati tournament on Thursday, just two days after suffering an embarrassing loss in the Rio Olympics. The 34-yearold American and defending gold medallist was upset by world No 20 Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 in the third round.
TURKEY FOOTBALL ACE SUKUR’S ASSETS SEIZED
ANKARA: Turkey has issued an arrest warrant for one of its most celebrated football players, former international striker Hakan Sukur, ordering the seizure of his assets as part of an investigation into last month’s failed coup, state media said.
After football, Sukur went into politics and was in 2011 elected to parliament for President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party. He resigned in 2013 after a corruption probe that targeted Erdogan and his inner circle, siding with the movement of Gulen.