Tata Steel Chess: Anand, Nihal share lead after Rd 6

IMAGE: Nihal Sarin surged into joint lead with three successive wins. Photograph: FIDE

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand recovered from an early setback to register two victories and emerge as joint leader with Nihal Sarin after six rounds of the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid, in Kolkata, on Thursday.

Rounds four to six produced fighting chess and frequent shifts at the top of the standings in both the Open and Women’s sections. Both Anand and Nihal are tied on 4.5 points.

In round four, the 56-year-old Anand appeared to be pressing in the middle game before a rook blunder allowed Arjun Erigaisi to turn the tables. The young Indian defended patiently and later capitalised on an endgame error to seal the win.

Anand, however, bounced back strongly, picking up full points against Hans Niemann and Volodar Murzin in the next two rounds to return to the top of the standings.

Nihal, meanwhile, surged into joint lead with three successive wins. He first capitalised on a knight blunder by Niemann, followed it up with a neat back-rank combination against Murzin, and then showcased fine endgame technique to defeat compatriot Vidit Gujrathi in a knight endgame.

Elsewhere, Aravindh Chithambaram went down to Wei Yi, while R Praggnanandhaa methodically outplayed Murzin on the queenside.

In round five, Anand’s clash against Niemann featured opposite-side castling in the Italian, with the Indian defending calmly before converting with active rook play and a superior pawn structure.

Vidit and Praggnanandhaa settled for a quick draw, while Arjun prevailed in a subtle rook endgame by pushing a pawn race from a symmetrical position. Aravindh was also punished for an endgame pawn blunder by Wesley So.

Round six saw Anand deliver a positional master-class in an opposite-coloured bishop middle game against Murzin to stay atop the leaderboard.
In the women’s section, Kateryna Lagno led the standings with 4.5 points from six rounds.

Among the Indians, Vantika Agrawal was placed fifth with three points, while Harika Dronavalli, R Vaishali and Rakshitta Ravi were tied on 2.5 points. World champion Divya Deshmukh was at the bottom with two points.

Rakshitta earlier produced a fearless attacking display to defeat Nana Dzagnidze in an opposite-side castling battle, while Lagno converted an endgame advantage against Divya and Stavroula Tsolakidou outplayed Vantika in a controlled encounter.

Aleksandra Goryachkina later overcame Divya after weathering early pressure, while Dzagnidze capitalised on an opening error by Carissa Yip, and Vantika handed Rakshitta her first loss of the event.

Vaishali then powered past Rakshitta with strong central pawn play, while Lagno defeated Tsolakidou to move into the sole lead.