Miskolc Day 2: both games drawn, Anand leads

Peter Leko vs Anand in Miskolc, Hungary This Rapid Chess event is taking place in Miskolc from June 2-7, 2009. The year’s most prestigious clash in Hungary is being organized at the National Theater, 1 Déryné str, Miskolc. The number one Hungarian grandmaster, Peter Leko takes up a duel of eight games against the Indian World Champion Viswanathan Anand. The games will be played at a rate of 25 minutes for all moves with a bonus of ten seconds per moves. Colours change at half-time. In case of a 4-4 draw blitz games will decide the winner. The arbiter of the Match is WGM Zsuzsa Veroci, Head of Communication of the Hungarian Chess Federation. At the end of each day of play there will be a press conference of 10-15 minutes with both players. On the final day the press conference will last 30 minutes.

Miskolc 2009 – Day two

Match arbiter WGM Zsuzsa Veroci announced the start of day two and game three in Miskolc

Zsuzsa had some explaining to do: Anand clearly had white on the table and on the computer screens, in game three after having white in game two. At the welcome dinner the matter had been discussed and the players had agreed to switch – after half the games, as is often done, or on each day, as Anand had understood it to mean. In a brief discussion before game three the matter was decided: the colours will be switched on each day. On Saturday Anand will have black in the first game and on Sunday white. Peter Leko agreed to follow this system.

More good news: Anand's baggage arrived in the morning, so he is able to wear his favourite shirts

The public are rooting for him: Peter Leko, Hungary's top grandmaster

And day two is under way. The following commentary is by GM Ferenc Berkes and IM Gyula Meszaros, who are doing the live commentary for the audience in Miskolc.

Anand,Viswanathan (2783) - Leko,Peter (2751) [D47]
Miskolc Rapid (3), 04.06.2009 [Meszaros/Berkes]

1.d4 d5. Of course, Peter didn't want to play again his favourite Grunfeld defence because of his lost second game. 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3. Peter has chosen the Anti-Meran System, which is Anand's prefered weapon but with Black! 5...Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.a3 b4 10.Ne4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 bxa3 12.0-0 Bd6 13.b3 Nf6 14.Nd2!? This is a well-known position where White sacrifices a pawn to sharpen the fight. 14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxh2+ 16.Kxh2 Qh4+ 17.Kg1 Qxe4 18.f3 Qg6. While the target of White are the black squares around the black king Leko starts immediatly counterattack against the g2 square. 19.Bxa3 h5!

20.Qd2N. A harmless novelty. Black has more dangerous threats, which is why Anand has to exchange the queens. [20.Bc5 h4 21.e4 Qg3 22.Qe1 Qxe1 23.Rfxe1 a6 24.f4 f6 25.Re3 1/2-1/2 Czarnota-Balogh, Baden Baden 2009] 20...Qg3 21.Bc5 [21.Qb4?! 0-0-0 22.Bb2 (22.Rf2 h4) 22...a6 23.Rfc1 h4 24.Rxa6 h3! 25.Raxc6+ Bxc6 26.Rxc6+ Kd7 27.Qb7+ Ke8-+] 21...h4 22.Qf2 Qxf2+ 23.Rxf2 a6 24.e4 f6 25.Ra4 Rd8! 26.f4 Kf7 27.Kh2! Rd7 Inaccuracy. Thought the position is very close to equal, Black could have more hopefully continuations, for example: [27...Rh5!? 28.Kh3 Bc8; 27...Rh6!?] 28.Ra3! with the idea b4, Rh3 28...Bc8 draw. [Click to replay]

A bird's eye view of game three

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The start of game four, with the stage crawling with media people

A lone technician in charge of the game display and the Internet coverage

Leko,Peter (2751) - Anand,Viswanathan (2783) [D97]
Miskolc Rapid (4), 04.06.2009 [Meszaros/Berkes]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 An intresting "provocation": Anand is not afraid to play Grunfeld with black! 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6 8.Be2 b5 9.Qb3 c5 10.dxc5 Bb7 11.0-0 Nbd7 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 Nxc5 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Qa3

15...Rfe8N. Novelty: the rook gives his place for the queen but Leko finds the weak point of this plan. [15...Rac8 16.Bf4 Rfe8 17.Rac1 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Bxe5 19.Be3 Bd6 20.Rcd1 Qf6 21.Rd5+/= Alterman-Pelletier, Bad Wiessee 1997] 16.Bg5 Qf8 17.Bd2! +/=. This unpleasent "/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg" of the dark squared bishop does not give other choice to Anand to play a worse endgame. 17...Bxe5 [17...Rac8 18.Bb4 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Bxe5 20.Rac1 Qh6! 21.g3 Na4 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Bb7 +/=] 18.Nxe5 Rxe5 19.Rfe1 Rae8 20.Bf1 Rxe1 21.Rxe1 Rxe1 22.Bxe1 Ne6 [22...Ne4 23.Bb4 Qb8 24.Qe3 +/-] 23.Qg3! Keeping the queen is the strongest plan. At same time in my opinion (IM Meszaros) changing the queens was a reasonable possibility. The pair of bishops means a serious advantage in positions like this (symmetrical pawn structure, the central pawns are absent) and Black cannot easily build a fortress on the queenside because of the too advenced a6-b5 pawns. We have to mention that the time pressure helped neither the attacking nor the defending side! Time-wasting calculations of variations or a sure and longtime advantage in the endgame? Peter chose the first option. 23...f6!? 24.Bc3 Qd8 25.h4 Kf7 26.Qe3 h5 27.a3 Qd5 28.Qb6? [28.Qh6 Bc6 (28...Qe4 29.Qh7+ Ng7 30.Bd2!+/-) 29.Qh8 Ng7 30.Qc8 Nf5 31.Bb4 +/-] 28...g5! Anand begins counterplay on the king-side, reason is changing the pawns. 29.hxg5 fxg5 30.f3 h4 31.Qe3 h3! 32.gxh3 Qxf3 33.Qxf3+ Bxf3 34.Kf2 Be4 35.Ke3 Bf5 36.Be5 Kg6 37.Bg2 [37.b4 +/=] 37...Nc5!=. After this move White cannot save his pawns from the change on the queenside. 38.Bd6 [38.b4 Nd3 39.Bg3 Nb2! 40.Kd4 Be6 41.Bb7 Nc4 42.Bxa6 Nxa3=] 38...Nd3 39.b3 Ne1 40.Bb7 Nc2+ 41.Kd2 a5 42.Bg2 b4 43.axb4 axb4 44.Bc5 Na1 45.Bd5 Bxh3 46.Bxb4 Bf5 47.Bc5 Nxb3+ 48.Bxb3 Be4 49.Ke3 Kf5 50.Ba4 Bh1 51.Bc2+ Ke6 52.Kf2 Kd7 53.Kg3 Kc6 54.Be3 Kb7 55.Kg4 Ka8

56.Kxg5 Bg2 draw. [Click to replay]

After the second game Anand gives a wrap-up of the day's events for the audience

... as does Peter Leko, who was clearly disappointed not to have picked up a full point

Szylvia Barva, part of the organisation team, must also inform the national press

Dagobert Kohlmeyer, reporting for German wire services and the German ChessBase news page

And our faithful friend Vijay Kumar, who produces reports that reach an audience of about 400 million viewers in India, and not quite that many on the Europe Echecs web site...

... like this one Vijay produced for day two.

Photos by Frederic Friedel in Miskolc

Standings

	Nat.	Rtng.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Tot.	Perf
Peter Leko	HUN	2751	½	0	½	½					1.5	2696
Viswanathan Anand	IND	2783	½	1	½	½					2.5	2846

Remaining schedule of the Rapid Chess event

Friday	05 June	16.00h	Public event, ITC International Trade Center, 1. Mindszent Square, Miskolc
Saturday	06 June	16.30h	Fifth game of the match
		18.00h	Sixth game of the match
Sunday	07 June	16.30h	Seventh game of the match
		18.00h	Eighth game of the match
		19.30h	Closing ceremony