Anand gears up for the big bouts ahead

World Cup champion Viswanathan Anand will look to make full use of his extra rest day ahead of the last four rounds in the Linares Super Gra...

World Cup champion Viswanathan Anand will look to make full use of his extra rest day ahead of the last four rounds in the Linares Super Grandmasters Chess tournament here to try and win the coveted title. Anand, who got a bye in the tenth round, is now in joint second position with 4.5 points. He will resume battle in the 11th round against Braingames champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia who is leading the tournament with five points from eight games.

Keeping the Indian ace company on the second spot are top rated Garry Kasparov of Russia and Hungarian Peter Leko. Of the three, Leko is much better placed having played one game less. Anand will also be training his sights for a showdown with Kasparov in the final round where he will have the advantage of white pieces.

Standings (After Round9)

1. Vladimir Kramnik (Rus) 5/8; 2. Peter Leko (Hun) 4.5/7; 3-4. Garry Kasparov (Rus), Viswanathan Anand 4.5/8; 5-6. Teimour Radjabov (Aze), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukr) 3/8; 7. Francisco Vallejo Pons (Esp) 2.5/7.

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Pairings round 10: Vallejo vs Kramnik, Kasparov vs Leko, Ponomariov vs Radjabov.

Anand’s other white opening will be against Azerbaijani Teimour Radjabov in the 12th round and there he will be looking to score a full point even though he was not able to beat the 15-year-old in their last two encounters.

His will take on world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the penultimate round. Kasparov can at best look for two victories with white while Kramnik and Leko might be content with just one win from the remaining games.

The tenth round beginning later today will be crucial as Leko plays Kasparov with black pieces. The Russian is under pressure having lost a game to Radjabov and this could be his chance to catch up with Kramnik at the top of the table.

In the last edition, Kasparov had mauled Leko with white in a Ruy Lopez and this time the pundits predict a Sicilian duel between the two. Kramnik will be up against Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain, who is at the bottom with just 2.5 points. Yet the Spaniard has shown determination and solidity especially with white pieces so far and is expected to hold his fort.