Viswanathan Anand was quite happy to take a 23-move draw against Nigel Short in the third round and recoup after the stunning second round loss in the Corus Grandmasters Chess tournament.
The NIIT Brand Ambassador was engaged in a Caro-Kann Advanced and there seemed no way of forcing anything after just 10 moves or so. Instead of trying to find some openings in a situation where there was nothing, Anand and Short, the senior-most players in the tournament, decided to split the point.
With this draw, Anand has one point from two draws and one loss. He is languishing in the lower half of the standings, but then there is still a long way to go in the tournament.
The leader is Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, who after two wins decided to take it easy and opt for a short 19-move draw with Loek Van Wely in a Sicilian Rossolimo game.
Of the three games, which produced results, there was the in-form Peter Leko, who shocked Anand in second round. Leko scored his second successive win beating Peter Svidler. Leko, now willing to wait and grind it out for a win, had white pieces in a Sicilian Najdorf.
Leko seems in good form at Wijk Aan Zee while Svidler will be hoping for easier rounds ahead. Svidler lost a theoretical battle and although he fought hard, Leko's technique was enough. Anand, with black, will be Svidler's next opponent.
Ruslan Ponomariov handed Ivan Sokolov a defeat in 61 moves from a Nimzo Indian game, while Alexander Morozevich went down to Alexander Grischuk in 42 moves from a Sicilian game.
The remainder four games were drawn. The first of the three rest days will come after four rounds, but before that Anand meets Svidler in the fourth round.
Anand's Games in Round 3
Short,N (2674) - Anand,V (2786)
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 Nc6 10.Nf3 Rc8 11.g3 Bb4 12.Bd2 Nge7 13.a3 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 Nf5 15.0-0 Qb6 16.Rfd1 a6 17.Kg2 Rc7 18.Qd2 Kd7 19.a4 a5 20.Rdb1 Rhc8 21.Qg5 Rh8 22.Qd2 Rhc8 23.Qg5 Rh8 1/2-1/2.
PAIRINGS FOR ROUND 4
Adams v Topalov; Anand v Svidler; Grischuk v Bruzon; Kramnik v Sokolov; Ponomariov v Leko; Short v Morozevich; Van Wely v Polgar.
Corus A Results for Round 3: Topalov drew with Van Wely; Leko beat Svidler; Short drew with Anand; Bruzon drew with Adams; Polgar drew with Kramnik; Sokolov lost to Ponomariov; Morozevich lost to Grischuk.
Corus A Round 3 standings: 1. Topalov and Leko 2.5 each; 3. Ponomariov, Adams and Grischuk 2.0 each; 6. Short, Van Wely, Bruzon and Polgar 1.5 each; 10. Anand, Sokolov and Kramnik 1.0 each, 13. Morozevich and Svidler 0.5 each.
