By IANS
Netherlands : World Champion Viswanathan Anand took a quick draw in just 17 moves against unheralded Pavel Eljanov of Ukraine in the third round of the Corus Grandmasters chess tournament Monday night.
Anand, who has won here five times in the past, is lying way behind in the standings with just one point from three games. With all seven Group A games ending in draws Monday, positions remained unchanged and Anand was tied for tenth place. The field is still led by Magnus Carlsen and Lev Aronian, who have 2.5 points each.
It was a mixed day for the Indians, with Pentala Harkrishna splitting a point with Daniel Stellwagen of Netherlands in Group B. But Koneru Humpy lost to Erwin L’Ami, also in Group B. The only Indian winner was Parimarjan Negi in Group C, where he beat John van der Wiel to score his first point.
In terms of positions, Harikrishna is tied for third in Group B, where Humpy is 13th. In Group C, Negi is tied for ninth.
Against Anand, the Ukrainian Pavel Eljanov started in an exciting manner in the Nimzo Indian opening. It was an aggressive start from white (Eljanov), but it did not quite work as Anand played perfectly to ward off any possibilities.
“It’s a nice idea, but sometimes these things fizzle out fast” was Anand’s comment after the game. “I was never in trouble.” And then added: “his king can easily get weak” if he tried an alternate line. The game was drawn in just 17 moves when both realised a win was not possible.
The third round was a tame and disappointing one for those expecting good clashes. Most games fizzled out to draws in only a few moves. It wasn’t necessarily down to the choice of openings and it was simply a case of players wanting to take it easy.
Loek van Wely perhaps came closest to a win in the third round. Radjabov had problems from the opening with the first time control approaching. It seemed Van Wely might pull off a win. But he allowed Radjabov to get into an ending with an exchange down and the tenacious Radjabov hung in for a draw.
In Group B the tournament continued to sparkle with decisive games. Hou Yifan demolished Nigel Short’s Berlin defence, while Sergei Movsesian outplayed Mikhal Krasenkow. The only draw was between Stellwagen and Harikrishna.
Ivan Cheparinov pushed hard against Jan Smeets and eventually lost. Etienne Bacrot and Jan Smeets are leading the group with 2.5 points.
In Group C Negi at last found the winning touch with a win over John van der Wiel in 29 moves to get onto the scoreboard. The 14-year-old, who lost his first two games, won in 29 moves in a French Winawer game.
Italian star Fabiano Caruana and German IM Arik Braun are smashing through the competition in Group C. The two are now leading with perfect scores of three out of three, a full point ahead of the rest of the pack.
Results, standings and pairings:
Group A
Round 3: Radjabov drew with L. van Wely; S. Mamedyarov drew with V. Kramnik; P. Eljanov drew with V. Anand; M. Adams drew with M. Carlsen; L. Aronian drew with P. Leko; V. Ivanchuk drew with B. Gelfand; J. Polgar drew with V. Topalov
Standings: 1. L. Aronian and M. Carlsen 2.5; 3. T. Radjabov 2; 4. V. Kramnik, M. Adams, V. Ivanchuk, J. Polgar, P. Leko, L. van Wely 1.5; 10. S. Mamedyarov, P. Eljanov, V. Topalov, B. Gelfand and V. Anand 1 point
Pairings, Round 4: L. van Wely v V. Topalov; B. Gelfand v J. Polgar; P. Leko v V. Ivanchuk; M. Carlsen v L. Aronian; V. Anand v M. Adams; V. Kramnik v P. Eljanov; T. Radjabov v S. Mamedyarov
Group B
Round 3: Y. Hou beat N. Short; D. Stellwagen drew with P. Harikrishna; W. Spoelman lost to E. Bacrot; S. Movsesian beat M. Krasenkow; J. Smeets beat I. Cheparinov; I. Nepomniachtchi beat G. Sargissian; E. L’Ami beat H. Koneru
Standings: 1. J. Smeets and E. Bacrot 2.5; 3. P. Harikrishna, D. Stellwagen, S. Movsesian and I. Nepomniachtchi 2; 7. E. L’Ami, I. Cheparinov and N. Short 1.5; 10. Y. Hou, G. Sargissian and M. Krasenkow 1; 13. H. Koneru 0.5; 14. W. Spoelman 0 point
Pairings, Round 4: N. Short v H. Koneru; G. Sargissian v E. L’Ami; I. Cheparinov v I. Nepomniachtchi; M. Krasenkow v J. Smeets; E. Bacrot v S. Movsesian; P. Harikrishna v W. Spoelman; Y. Hou v D. Stellwagen
Group C
Round 3: A. Ushenina drew with I. Krush; F. Nijboer beat S. Li; P. Negi beat J. van der Wiel; Z. Peng lost to A. Braun; M. van der Werf drew with P. Carlsson; D. Ruijgrok lost to F. Caruana; D. Reinderman drew with E. Grivas
Standings: 1. F. Caruana and A. Braun 3; 3. S. Li, D. Reinderman, P. Carlsson and J. van der Wiel 2; 7. M. van der Werf, E. Grivas 1.5; 9. F. Nijboer, P. Negi, I. Krush 1; 12. A. Ushenina and Z. Peng 0.5; 14. D. Ruijgrok 0 point
Pairings, Round 4: I. Krush v E. Grivas; F. Caruana v D. Reinderman; P. Carlsson v D. Ruijgrok; A. Braun v M. van der Werf; J. van der Wiel v Z. Peng; S. Li v P. Negi; A. Ushenina v F. Nijboer