Games: chess
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Your support makes all the difference.All three games in the second round at Linares produced decisive results: Anand beat Svidler, Ivanchuk lost to Shirov, and Topalov lost to Kramnik. With only seven players in the tournament, one is free each round, and this time it was Kasparov's turn. In the third round he will face Anand, who is the only player with two out of two.
Anand's second win was a typically energetic game beginning with a bold pawn sacrifice in the opening. White's 7.e5! has the tactical justification that 7...dxe5 is met by 8.Be4 Rb8 9.fxe5 when the threat of Ba7 leaves Black no time to capture the e-pawn. After Svidler's 7...Bb7, however, White's only consistent continuation was to push on to e6, giving up the pawn to create cramp and confusion in the Black camp.
While Black struggled to untangle his K-side pieces, Anand found a way to create play on the other wing. After 19.c3, Black felt obliged to keep the position closed, but his pawn at b3 gave White an object of attack.
Black was always under pressure, but the end came in a nice burst of tactics. After 37.g4 Svidler had relied on 37...Nh4 to get him out of trouble, but after Black had regained his queen, White's calm 40.Re2 ensured the win of material. Even 40...Rc1+ 41.Kg2 would not have helped.
White: Viswanathan Anand
Black: Peter Svidler
1 e4 g6 22 Qd3 a5
2 d4 Bg7 23 Ra3 Kf7
3 Nc3 d6 24 Nd2 Ng6
4 Be3 a6 25 Qe2 Nh4
5 Nf3 b5 26 f3 Ng6
6 Bd3 Nd7 27 c4 Qf5
7 e5 Bb7 28 Ne4 Kg8
8 e6 fxe6 29 Qd1 Rb4
9 Ng5 Nf8 30 Rxb3 Rxc4
10 0-0 Nf6 31 Rb5 Qf7
11 Re1 Qd7 32 Rxa5 Kh7
12 Bd2 h6 33 Rb5 d5
13 Nf3 Rb8 34 Nc5 Qf5
14 a4 b4 35 b3 Rc3
15 Ne4 Nxe4 36 Qd2 Rc2
16 Bxe4 Bxe4 37 g4 Nh4
17 Rxe4 Qc6 38 gxf5 Nxf3+
18 Re3 Qc4 39 Kh1 Nxd2
19 c3 b3 40 Re2 Nc4
20 Re1 g5 41 Rxc2 Nxe3
21 Be3 Qd5 42 Re2 resigns
Scores after two rounds: Anand 2; Kramnik 11/2; Shirov 1; Svidler, Ivanchuk and Kasparov 1/2; Topalov 0. Kasparov and Topalov have played only one game each.
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