The Statesman, India
Aug 20 2007
Anand to take on Aronian again
MAINZ (Germany), Aug. 19 Viswanathan Anand displayed his clinical
approach against Uzbek GM Rustom Kasimdzhanov to finish on top in the
preliminary rounds, to enter the final of the Grenkeleasing Rapid
championship underway here.
Anand warded off some real threats from Kasimdzhanov in the first
game of the day and drew the remaining two ~ against Levon Aronian of
Armenia and Etienne Bacrot of France ~ to aggregate highest four
points and set up a second final showdown with Levon Aronian of
Armenia in the space of three days.
Anand, who lost to Aronian in the Chess960 showdown last week, would
like to avenge the defeat in his favourite rapid format and his 10th
overall title here. The pundits, however, predict a close match.
After the preliminary stage, the Indian ace was followed by Aronian
on 3.5, Kasimdzhanov on 2.5 and Bacrot on 2 points.
In the Ordix Open Rapid Chess Tournament, GM P Harirkishna emerged as
the best Indian after the first day, scoring 4.5 points out of a
possible 5. GM Krishnan Sasikiran was also in contention with 4
points while world’s youngest GM Parimarjan Negi scored 3.5 points. n
PTI