Anand makes short work of Nigel

Grand Victory...Anand within a strike of lifting title DORTMUND, July 13: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (5) scored a brilliant victory ov...

Grand Victory…Anand within a strike of lifting title

DORTMUND, July 13: Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (5) scored a brilliant victory over former World Championship Challenger Nigel Short (3.5) to reach within a striking distance of frontrunner Vladimir Kramnik (6) in the eighth and penultimate round of Silver Jubilee International chess tournament in progress at Dortmund Opera House here.

If Anand defeats Anatoly Karpov in the last round, Kramnik cannot afford to lose as it will allow Anand to retain his title on tie-breaker.Anand faced Spanish Opening from Short and he wisely did not go all out for attack.

The Indian maestro opened a file on the King side and kept Short busy with threats of sudden invasion.

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The Englishman defended with restrain and Anand could not get the desired breakthrough. However, Short got over-confident and opened the gates for Anand’s pieces by his 30th move, one which was widely criticised by all the Grandmasters watching the game.

Anand’s pieces infiltrated the black castle. Short shortened the agony by snatching a dangerous pawn on his 39th turn.Anand’s Queen, rook and bishop co-ordinated beautifully and they dragged Short’s King out of his broken castle.

Surprisingly, the Englishman allowed Anand to complete the King hunt on 48th move instead of resigning gracefully earlier.Vladimir Kramnik (6) tried his best to maintain his all-win record from white pieces but Topalov thwarted his attempts with a brilliant piece of defence.

Kramnik tried to confuse Topalov by promoting his pawn to a bishop instead of a Queen but the Bulgarian saw through all these tactics. All the other games ended in fighting draws.Anand will play with black pieces against World champion Karpov while Kramnik has to meet Short with same colour in the crucial final round.