Viswanathan Anand cruised to a brilliant victory against world's youngest ever Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine in the first round of the Corus Super Grandmasters chess tournament in Wijk Aan Zee, on Saturday.
Anand's victory with black pieces really came in handy, as the Indian stalwart was able to match world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria who also scored a thumping victory over Gata Kamsky of the United States.
The opening day of the category-19 event also saw Ukrainian genius Vassily Ivanchuk coming out triumph against third seed and world cup winner Levon Aronian of Armenia. The remaining four game of the first day ended in draws, mostly after tough fights.
After the first round Anand, Ivanchuk and Topalov share the lead with a perfect score while as many as eight players follow them a half point behind. The three losers of the first round were naturally relegated to the last spot.
In the 'B' group being held simultaneously, the other Indian in the fray Koneru Humpy also coasted off to a good start by holding highly regarded and once world championship candidate Slovenian Alexander Beliavsky to a draw.
Playing black, Humpy used her practical skills to keep the immensely experienced Beliavsky at bay for the major part of the game and in the end forced a draw after 60 moves in this keenly contested game.
Humpy's was the lone drawn game in this section as the players with white pieces proved superior in the remaining six games of the 'B' group.
Anand's victory signified the importance of class over skills. Karjakin, who became a Grandmaster at the age of 12 years and seven months almost three years back, was taken to task in the tactical department of the game by the Indian, who romped home in style.
Normally in chess it is believed that the older lot plays more positional and less tactical chess. However, those speculations were well rested by Anand who played the black side of a Sicilian Nazdorf and went for the blood in the English attack by Karjakin.
If Karjakin thought he had a game on after the opening, he was grossly mistaken once Anand unleashed a brilliant tactical sequence starting from the 24th move. What followed thereafter was a delight for the followers of the game worldwide through internet and many who had gathered to watch the stars in action.
With a double piece sacrifice, Anand ensured that his attack was faster against the king and bruised Karjakin consistently to force a checkmating web. It took just 37 moves for the wily Indian to get off to a flier in the event.
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