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 Viswanathan Anand added a fourth world- level title to his collection this year as he rebounded strongly from a first-game loss to beat veteran Anatoly Karpov of Russia
4-2, in the final of the sixth edition of the Corsica Open chess tournament played in Bastia, France.
Over the last three months Anand has won the Eurotel title in Prague in May, followed by the Chess Classic of Mainz title in July, the World Cup in Hyderabad in October and now the Corsica Open.
In the final against Karpov, another former FIDE World champion like Anand, the Indian lost the first game but bounced back to win the next
with white pieces and send the match into a play-off. They drew the next two before Anand won the last two games played in the blitz format. This was the first match in the knockout stage where Anand had been stretched beyond the normal two-game match.
In what turned out to
be a thrilling days event, the finals proved every bit an entertainer
with both the finalists matching each other in rapid and blitz chess.
But Anand showed that he had greater desire to win the Euro 20000 top
prize, as he dug in deep to equalise 1-1 after a first game defeat.
Two rapid draws later, Anand struck deadly in the fifth game with
black pieces and finished with a final salvo mating Karpov in the
sixth game.
Anand in summit clash with Karpov
India's Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand set up an interesting summit clash with veteran genius Anatoly Karpov of Russia after scoring a fluent victory over Mikhail Gurevich in the
semi-finals at the 6th Corsica Masters in Bastia, France.
The 32-year-old former FIDE World Champion and two-time World Cup winner won the first of his two games with white pieces and then defended stoutly with black to come through a 1.5-0.5 winner against Gurevich, according to information reaching here.
In the other semi-final, Karpov, another former World Champion, put paid to the hopes of Alexei Shirov with a victory by similar margin to move into the final.
Anand and Karpov will clash in the two-game final later today. A victory would give Anand the unique achievement of lifting the Corsica title three times in a row. Anand, who had won his previous two rounds with wins from black pieces, scored with white through French
defence in 36 moves. The Indian then defended strongly as Gurevich, a former USSR champion, went all out to force the match into a play-off. Gurevich, who now lives and plays under the Belgian flag, made an English opening and came up with a novelty in the very second move.
But Anand had done his homework and was well prepared for everything that Gurevich could come up with. After a marathon 70-move battle, the match came to a king-pawn ending and the Belgian resigned in disappointment.
Final
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Karpov, Anatoly
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2.0 - 4.0
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Anand,
Viswanathan
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Semi Finals
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Karpov, Anatoly
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1.5 - 0.5
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Shirov, Alexei
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Anand,
Viswanathan
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1.5 - 0.5
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Gurevich, Mikhail
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Quarter Finals
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Karpov, Anatoly
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2.0 - 0.0
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Tkachiev, Vladislav
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Anand,
Viswanathan
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1.5 - 0.5
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Jussupov, Artur
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Kazhgaleyev, Murtas
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1.5 - 2.5
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Shirov, Alexei
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Dreev, Alexei
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1.5 - 2.5
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Gurevich, Mikhail
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Pre Quarter Finals
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Anand
Viswanathan
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1.5-0.5
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Moreno Carnero Javier
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Milov Vadim
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0.0-2.0
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Jussupow Arthur
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Pavlovic, Milos
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0.0-2.0
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Gurevich Mikhail
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Brodsky Michail
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0.0-2.0
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Dreev Alexey
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Karpov Anatoly
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1.5-0.5
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Zezulkin Jurij
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Glek Igor
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2.5-3.5
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Tkachiev Vladislav
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Epishin Vladimir
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0.0-2.0
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Kazhgaleyev Murtas
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Shirov Alexei
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2.0-0.0
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Mikhalevski Victor
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Agencies
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