Wijk An Zee, Jan 17 (Inditop.com) It was a modest opening for the Indian players as four of the five, including World champion Viswanathan Anand, drew their games while Pentala Harikrishna was the lone loser in the first round of the 72nd Corus Grandmasters chess tournament.
Anand, a five-time winner, drew his opening game against Sergey Karjakin in Group A, the super category here. It was a Ruy Lopez game, which saw the players split the point in 40 moves.
Delhi-based Parimarjan Negi drew his first round with black pieces against British GM David Howell in 61 moves, while Harikrishna lost to Anish Giri of Holland. In Group C, Abhijit Gupta drew his game, while Sowmya Swaminathan lost hers in the tournament which got underway Saturday night.
Howell surprised Negi by playing d4 which he rarely plays. Negi chose Slav defence and lost a pawn in middle game, but played a very interesting end game by restricting his opponent’s small advantage of extra pawm in Bishop versus Knight endgame. The game was drawn with only two kings on the board. In the next round Negi plays Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia with white pieces.
Holland’s Loek van Wely and Spain’s Alexei Shirov took an early lead in the 72nd Corus tournament winning their games in the first of the thirteen rounds scheduled in the top group.
Van Wely had an easy victim in Britain’s Nigel Short, who went down in 46 moves from a Queen’s Gambit with black.
The five other encounters in the opening round were all drawn, with Leinier Dominguez of Cuba and Russia’s Vladimir Kramnik being the first players to leave the playing hall, settling for the half point each after a mere 23 moves from a Petrov Defence.
It was by far the most exciting draw in first-round. Anand was a pawn down in a Ruy Lopez with black and Karjakin felt he was on the verge of winning the resulting major-piece ending but the champ said afterwards he had “never been in any real danger of losing, pointing out he had ample compensation for the pawn.” The peace was signed after 40 moves.
In group B, other game Anish Giri, but plays for Netherlands, beat Harikrishna in 55 moves from another Slav defence, where Giri had white.
In group “C” Abhijit Gupta drew with black drew with R. Swinkels of the Netherlands and Sowmya lost to Robson Ray of US.
rounak