Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand came up with a rock-solid performance with the black pieces to hold World champion Vladimir Kramnik in the opening round of the Dortmund International Chess Meeting here on Saturday.
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan, the third seed, started off on a high note by emerging as the lone winner in the first round after defeating local hope GM Arkadij Naiditsch.
Other games between Norwegian teenager Magnus Carlsen and Peter Leko of Hungary and Israel’s Boris Gelfand versus Russian Evgeny Alekseev ended in draws.
Anand played the Slav Defence against Kramnik and got a satisfactory position from the opening. He then slowly proceeded to neutralise the slight advantage held by his opponent by trading pieces and getting rid of Kramnik’s bishop pair.
Kramnik tried to make most of the chances he had, but Anand blocked every attempt to infiltrate into his position. Finally, a Queen endgame with equal pawns was reached and a draw was agreed to after 35 moves.
The game between Mamedyarov and Naiditsch began with the two knight’s defence, a relatively rare opening in such top level events.
Mamedyarov, whose pieces were more active, had a slight advantage after the opening despite the symmetrical pawn structure. Naiditsch managed to exchange queens but damaged his pawn structure in the process. Mamedyarov exploited the pawn weakness with technical precision and won on the 44th move in a bishop ending.
Carlsen and Leko adopted a cautious approach to their first round encounter. The 16-year-old Carlsen chose a side line in the Spanish opening which resulted in the simplification of the position. The position held very few prospects for either player and they agreed to a draw on the 29th move.
Gelfand played the Catalan Opening against Alekseev. He tried to complicate matters by sacrificing a pawn for the initiative. Alekseev defended sensibly and returned the pawn to equalise the game. The game ended in a draw in 29 moves.
Results (Round 1): Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze, 1) bt Arkadij Naiditsch (Ger); Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 0.5) drew Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 0.5); Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 0.5) drew Peter Leko (Hun, 0.5); Boris Gelfand (Isr, 0.5) drew Evgeny Alekseev (Rus, 0.5).