Viswanathan Anand gave ample evidence of his fine form with a crushing victory over English Grandmaster Michael Adams in the third round of the FIDE World Chess Championship, at the Hotel Potrero de los Funes Complex, in the Province of San Luis, Argentina.
The NIIT Brand Ambassador, who won his first round against Judit Polgar and then held out for a marathon draw against arch-rival Veselin Topalov, took just 32 moves against Adams to register his second victory of the tournament.
All four games produced results, as against four draws in the previous round. Peter Svidler beat an out-of-form Peter Leko, and Judit Polgar won a very nice game against Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Topalov needed well over six hours to grind down Alexander Morozevich.
Anand and Topalov, both rated at 2788, share the lead at 2.5 points out of three. They are followed by Svidler, the only other unbeaten player after three rounds.
The Anand-Adams game was in Ruy Lopez, Chigorin. It then went into the Zaitsev variation, much like the famous Kasparov vs Karpov battles. Almost from the time the clash entered the middle game, Anand seemed to have an edge.
The position in the middle game after 15 moves was one that has been analysed and has rich history. The game followed the Kasparov vs Karpov clashes of 1986, where black has poorer positions.
Anand kept inching ahead with a novelty on 23rd move with 23. Qd2. Even then for sometime it seemed Anand might have to work hard for his win. But as the game progressed, it showed Anand had a definite winning line in mind and he achieved it successfully. On the 32nd move, Adams resigned and it was another win for Anand.
The FIDE World Chess Championship runs from September 27 to October 16, 2005.
Results of Round 3: Anand beat Adams; Svidler beat Leko; Polgar beat Kasimdzhanov; Morozevich lost to Topalov.
Standings after Round 3: 1. Anand and Topalov 2.5 each; 3. Svidler 2.0; 4. Polgar 1.5; 5. Adams, Kasimdzhanov and Morozevich 1.0; 8. Leko 0.5;
Pairings for fourth round: Kasimdzhanov v Anand; Leko v Polgar; Morozevich v Svidler; Topalov v Adams.
Anand v Adams
W Ch Arg Round 3: e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a4 h6 13. Bc2 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15. Bb1 c5 16. d5 Nd7 17. Ra3 c4 18. axb5 axb5 19. Nd4 Qb6 20. Nf5 Ne5 21. Rg3 g6 22. Nf3 Ned3 23. Qd2 Bxd5 24. Nxh6+ Bxh6 25. Qxh6 Qxf2+ 26. Kh2 Nxe1 27. Nh4 Ned3 28. Nxg6 Qxg3+ 29. Kxg3 fxg6 30. Qxg6+ Kf8 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Bh6 1-0.
