Chess Round up | Viswanathan Anand earns a draw as Harika Dronavalli wins in the second round
Viswanathan Anand managed a hard-earned draw against Lampert Jonas while Harika Dronavalli continued her winning run against Michael Babar, as both progressed into the third round of the Isle of Man International Tournament. Anand will face Lubbe Nikolas next as Harika takes on Nils Grandelius.
Viswanathan Anand failed to capitalize on his impressive start to the tournament as he could only play out a draw against Lampert Jonas. After his brilliant win over America’s Marc Esserman in the first-round, where the five-time World champion saw off proceedings in 46 moves, a lot was expected from him.
Anand had started with white pieces this time as well but soon found himself on the back-foot as Jonas attacked him with the queen. A truce was signed after 28 moves eventually when Anand repeated moves. He will face German Lubbe Nikolas next.
Anand now joins six other Indians in rank 21, which include Vidit Gujrathi, SP Sethuraman, Vishnu Prasanna, Nihal Sarin, Harsha Bharathakoti and CRG Krishna.
Grand Master Harika Dronavalli, however, continued her impressive run with another aggressive win, this time against German FIDE Master Michael Babar. The World No. 10 Indian was playing with black pieces but didn’t change her attacking stance putting early pressure on her opponent.
The German tried all his moves but couldn’t contain her offensive approach and finally succumbed to it after 46 moves. She will face Swedish Grand Master Nils Grandelius in the third-round.
The win keeps Harika tied with other Indians Swapnil Dhopade and Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan in the 17 rank. Narayanan defeated compatriot Ojas Kulkarni in the second-round while Dhopade overcame L’ami Alina.
The Isle of Man International Chess Tournament brings together the cream of the creams from the chess fraternity and is featuring participants like Magnus Carlsen, Caruana Fabiano, Nakamura Hikaru, Short Nigel D and more. It has a formidable field of 160 players, including 30 Indians in the fray.
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