GM Viswanathan Anand wins the Magistral Ciudad de Leon Tournament for a record 7th time

10th July 2007:

Leon (Spain): Viswanathan Anand outplayed Bulgarian Grandmaster Veselin Topalov in the final to win the Magistral Ciudad de Leon chess tournament for a record seventh time and also completed a hat-trick of titles here on Sunday.

Anand won the four-game rapid tie with a 3-1 score. Anand had beaten Topalov convincingly in the final here last year and it even more convincing this time.

The Indian ace scored victories with the white pieces in the second and fourth games while drawing the first and third with the black pieces.

The rapid time control of 20 minutes per game, with an increment of 10 seconds per move, was clearly to Anand’s liking and he remained unbeaten throughout the event.
Aggressive

Topalov was in an aggressive mood at the start. Anand chose a closed variation against the Spanish Opening and the Bulgarian launched a blistering attack on the king side after opening the centre.

Anand kept his cool and defended with great tactical skill to force an exchange of queens.

This put the brakes on white’s attack and took the game into a balanced endgame.

More exchanges followed, and soon neither player had any chance to win because of reduced material on the board. Both agreed to split the point after 49 moves in a drawn position.

Anand had white pieces in the second game and he made the most of it. He opted for the English attack against the Najdorf variation of Sicilian defence and manoeuvred himself into a superior position by gaining space on the queen side. Topalov started a king side attack to challenge Anand’s superiority on the queen side, but Anand wrested the initiative by advancing his queenside pawns. Soon, Topalov ran out of steam and he resigned after 37 moves when he found himself with heavy material deficit.

Having gained the lead, Anand once again resorted to solid play with black pieces in the third game. He played a closed variation against the Spanish opening to reach a solid position.
Unflappable

Topalov tried to complicate matters with tactical play in an attempt to level scores. Anand was unflappable and calmly neutralised all the threats.

The players reached a rook and opposite coloured bishop ending, and Topalov had to accept a draw on the 38th move.

Topalov now had to win the last game and he chose the sharp Scheveningen variation of Sicilian defence. Never one to shy away from complications, Anand boldly sacrificed a piece in the opening.

He prevented Topalov from castling and also picked up three pawns for the sacrificed piece. The middle game was full of sharp tactical play before Anand got the better of his opponent.

By the time the queens were exchanged, Anand clearly held the advantage. Topalov must have been demoralised by the way the game was progressing and he failed to put up enough resistance in the endgame.

Anand wrapped up the game and match with a delightful move on the 29th. - PTI