CHESS #591

Anand and Leko are facing off in the annual Miskolc Challenge Rapid match. In this, Peter Leko picks a worthy opponent to challenge, and the town of Miskolc hosts it at the Hungarian National Theatre. In 2008 and 2007, Leko lost to Carlsen and Kramnik respectively so he cannot be accused of seeking easy meat.

Anand leads 1.5-0.5 after day one. Both games featured the Grunfeld Defence. Leko and Anand are known for their pronounced 1.e4 preference but adopting Queens pawn openings is less surprising than both choosing to defend with the Grunfeld as black.

Anand hasn't played the Grunfeld at all in the last seven years though he used it a fair amount in the mid 1990s and early 2000s. However, his second Surya Sekhar Ganguly does play it so he may have prepared it as an alternate for the Title match against Kramnik. Leko used to be a regular Grunfeld player until about four years ago. He shifted away around that time.  

Ganguly incidentally has won the just-concluded Asian Championships at Subic Bay, Philippines and he will lead a contingent of four Indians including Sasikiran, Kunte and Chanda to the World Cup. Chinese wunderfraulein Hou Yifan also qualified for the WC tyiong for third place behind Ganguly and Zhou Weiqi.  In the women's edition, Zhang Xiaowen won with Ding Yixin second and Meenakshi Subbaraman third. These three qualify for the next women's world championship.

In the first game of the Miskolc match, Anand had some pressure with black and only 30 seconds left, when he offered a draw. In Game two, he gained an enduring plus and converted. If both continuing playing Queens Pawns, there may be an overdose of Grunfelds. If Leko switches back to e4,  Anand may respond with the Sicilian Najdorf or Caro Kann. Leko also plays Caro Kanns though his first choice is the Marshall Gambit and his second, the Petroff.

The Miskolc Rapid follows on the heels of a Rapid Match between Ivanchuk and David Navarra. That took place in Prague under the auspices of the Prague Chess Society. It was opened by Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who is a keen woodpusher. The Czech no:1, Navarra is noted for his sharp style but also his propensity to make massive blunders. He was out-classed by the legendary Ukrainian. Ivanchuk won 5.5-2.5 though Navarra did log one consolation win.

The diagram, WHITE TO PLAY, (Anand Vs Leko, Miskolc, Game II, 2009) is a classic case of a Grunfeld gone wrong. White cements his edge with 16.e5! Bc6 17.h5 g5 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.exf6+ Qxf6 20.h6+! This forces the black K into the corner, and the endgame is winning after 20...Kh8 21.Qxg5 Rf8 22.Qxf6+ Rxf6 and white finished the job efficiently (1-0, 46 moves).