Kramnik wins Advanced chess

Vishwanathan Anand crashed to his first defeat in the Advanced Chess championship in four years, when he suffered a 2.5-3.5 loss to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in Leon, Spain, on Sunday.

The six-game match ended with another drawn encounter between the two leading Grandmasters.

The third game, which saw Kramnik beat Anand, proved decisive.

For Kramnik, playing in Advanced Chess for the first time, it was a sweet revenge, since he had lost to Anand in their last match at the Mainz Chess Classics 2001.

The event at Mainz was a rapid chess event. At Leon, with the aid of the computer, Kramnik proved superior.

It was the Berlin Wall of defence against the Ruy Lopez yet again that gave Kramnik the much desirable draw in the sixth and final game, with the black pieces.

The opening had served Kramnik very well in his Braingames triumph over Garry Kasparov and against Anand too it gave him the edge.

Anand could not really manage anything substantial out of the opening and just routine exchanges ensued before an equal position was reached on board. On the 20th move, the peace treaty was signed.

Earlier in the fifth game, Anand had to be content with another draw. It was a simple and effective equalising play by Kramnik with the white pieces that did not give any chances to Anand.

Playing black, the Indian yet again employed the Queens Gambit Declined that cost him a full point in the third game of the match. However, this time Anand had his task cut out, as he did not try much, obviously banking his chances of a comeback in the last game where he had the advantage of white pieces.

Kramnik went for the early trade of queens, making his intentions clear, and the pieces got exchanged at regular intervals. The Russian did not mind that and secured a miniscule advantage in the proceedings.

Soon it was a rook and Bishops endgame in the final phase of the game wherein Anand temporarily sacrificed a pawn to get equality. The Bishop also got exchanged on the 33rd move for a pure rook and pawns endgame that was just a draw. The truce was agreed to in 38 moves.

The loss is a big blow to Anand's reputation as the best player in Advance Chess. Anand was a winner of the finals of this tournament in 2000 and 2001 while he crushed Anatoly Karpov 5-1 in a one-to-one match in 1999.

World champion in 2001, Anand will play against his successor Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in a rapid chess match in Mainz, Germany, in the middle of August.