Anand draws with Kasparov

St. Louis (USA), August 16

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand rose back from a bad start to register one win and two draws on the second day of the rapid chess event here. For the chess world, nothing else mattered on the second day apart from the clash between Anand and old rival Garry Kasparov.

The last time they played was over 4000 days ago when Kasparov was just a day away from his retirement.

After an initial skirmish, it was a balanced middle game as the pieces changed hands at regular intervals. Neither Anand nor Kasparov minded the draw that eventually ensued. And then there was this discussion. “We chatted like World War I veterans,” said Anand on a jovial note.

Anand is languishing at the bottom of the table. Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia emerged as the sole leader on eight points. Nepomniachtchi hogged the limelight to become the first person to beat Kasparov on his return.

The US duo of Hikaru Nakmaura and Fabiano Caruana, Le Quang Leim and Levon Aronina of Armenia share the second spot on seven points. — PTI