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Anand gets closer to winning Grand Slam Masters Final |
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Friday, 19 September 2014 01:46 |
It is usually on the last day that the winner of Bilbao Masters Final is finally revealed - and quite often after a decisive tiebreak. The tournament’s 7th edition, however, might be decided tomorrow if five-times world champion Anand from India defeats Ukrainian player Ruslan Ponomariov.
Should that be the case, Indian Grandmaster would add up 13 points and become unbeatable for his two direct rivals, Ponomariov and Aronian, who played to a draw today.
With Vallejo closing the standings, Ponomariov (white) and Anand (black) will play tomorrow’s star match.
Bilbao Masters Final round 4 results:
Anand - Vallejo 1-0
Ponomariov - Aronian draw
Bilbao Masters Final round 4 standings:
1. Anand (India) - 10 points
2. Aronian (Armenia) - 6 points
3. Ponomariov (Ukraine) - 4 points
4. Vallejo (Spain) - 1 point
Despite being the oldest player, Anand seems to be displaying excellent both physical and mental conditions in Bilbao, before facing a rematch to regain the world title he lost against world number 1 Magnus Carlsen.
Today he proved to have panoramic view and great patience, quite like a bird of prey, thanks to which he is capable of spotting the slightest mistake in his adversary’s game and, from then on, claim the next piece without greater difficulty.
It was a small mistake that doomed Spanish champion Vallejo to failure this evening. During the analysis after the match, not even the Spanish player was able to detect what erroneous move had made him lose. Unemotional as usual, Anand confirmed without heroism that, after spotting specific moves on Vallejo’s part, he just did what he had to do to win the match.
The longest match today was the one between Ponomariov and Aronian. Unlike during the last three days, the youngest ever world champion took initiative with white and tried to get his second consecutive victory against reigning Bilbao Masters Final champion. His attempts, however, ended in draw, a result which makes it difficult for Aronian to renew the title, one of the most prestigious ones in the world chess.
At the European Club Cup, Socar reinforced their leadership faced with second in the ranking Obiettivo Risarcimento. Victorious after a difficult match, Socar seems like a great candidate for the title with only two days left.
Against all predictions, Batumi (Georgia) is closer to getting the women’s title after their fifth consecutive victory.
To download the day’s videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/bilbaochess/videos
For further information:
www.bilbaomastersfinal.com
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