León Masters: Anand beats Topalov and Santos to claim tenth title

Aruna’s birthday present

The 37^th edition of the “Magistral Ciudad de León” took place on June 28-30 at the Spanish city’s Auditorium. A 4-player knockout tournament with a rapid time control was once again the format of the festival’s main event.

Three matches took place, one per day, from Friday to Sunday. The semifinals were played on Friday and Saturday, and the two winners faced each other on Sunday. The drawing of lots resulted in Vishy Anand facing Veselin Topalov in the first semifinal and Arjun Erigaisi facing Jaime Santos in the second semifinal.

Master Class Vol. 12: Viswanathan Anand

This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.

Each match consisted of four rapid games (20 minutes for the game plus 10-second increments). In case of a draw, two blitz games followed (5 minutes + 3-second increments); if the tie remained, the match winner would be decided in Armageddon (White gets 6 minutes, Black gets 5 minutes and draw odds).

Anand defeated Topalov by a 2½-1½ score on Friday, while Santos stunned top seed Arjun by the same score in the second semifinal. In the final, Anand got the better of Santos — who was the defending champion — in an exciting match.

This was Anand’s tenth title in León. For many years, the legend from Chennai lived in Collado Mediano, a small city near Madrid, so he speaks Spanish fluently and has often participated in top events organized in Bilbao and León.

Coincidentally, the 54-year-old obtained the title on his wife’s birthday. It is well known that Aruna Anand has played a vital role in her husband’s career. As Vishy himself recounted on his X account, it was Aruna who encouraged him to play in León despite her birthday being on the same date as the final:

It was yet another achievement by the 5-time world champion, who continues to show his strength while semi-retired from official competitions!

Vishy Anand facing Jaime Santos in the final | Photo: Luque

Topalov 0 - 1 Anand

Analysis by Klaus Besenthal

Topalov, Veselin2727

0–1

Anand, Viswanathan2751

37th Magistral de Leon 2024 28.06.2024[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Rb8 9.d3 d6 10.h3 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.axb5 axb5 13.c3 Nc6 14.Na3 h6 15.Nc2 Re8 16.Ne3 Bf8 17.Bd2 Be6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Qb3 Qc8 20.Ra2 Re8 21.Rea1 Qe6 22.Nd5 Kh8 23.c4 bxc4 24.Qxc4 Rec8 25.Nxf6 Qxf6 26.Bc3 Nd4 27.Nd2 Ne2+ 28.Kf1 Nf4 29.Ra7 Kg8

In this position White was confronted with the threat of Qg6. 30.R1a6?! The best defence was hard to find - even for former world champions: 30.g3! Nxh3 31.Kg2 Nxf2 32.Rf1 Ng4 33.Qxf7+ Qxf7 34.Rfxf7= 30...Re8! Anand first protects e5. This was the intention of R1a6: 30...Qg6 31.g3 Nxh3 32.Bxe5= 31.Rd7? 31.g3? would lose now: Nxh3 32.Kg2 Nxf2 The move Rf1 is no longer available. Relatively better was 31.Nf3 Nxh3 32.Qa4 and Qd1 might follow. 31...Ra8?! 31...Qg6!-+ Or even 31...Re6-+ 32.Raa7? 32.Nf3 32...Rxa7 33.Rxa7 Qg6 34.g3 Nxh3 35.Nf3 Qh5 36.Kg2 Re6 37.Nh4

Black was winning here. 37...Nf4+?! But this is not the best solution. 37...g5! 38.Kxh3 gxh4 39.g4 Qg5 The threat is Qc1, Rf6, h6-h5... 38.gxf4 exf4 39.Nf5 With 39.Qd5 Qxh4 40.Qf5 Rg6+ 41.Kf1 Qg4 42.Qxg4 Rxg4 43.b4 White could still fight for a draw. 39...Qd1 40.Rxf7 One last attempt. Both contenders fight inventively. Kxf7 41.Qd5 Qg4+ 42.Kf1 f3 43.Ne3 Qg5 44.e5 dxe5 45.Qxf3+ Kg8 46.Qd5 Qg6 47.Nc4 Kh7 48.Nxe5 Qf5 49.Qe4 There is hardly anything else left: Bd6 is threatened. Qxe4 50.dxe4

Anand has an extra exchange. The rest of the game he plays with a sure hand. 50...Bd6 51.Nc4 Bf4 52.f3 h5 53.Be1 g5 54.Bf2 Ra6 55.Bxc5 Ra1+ 56.Kg2 Rc1 57.b3 Rc2+ 58.Kg1 h4 59.Bd6 h3 60.Bxf4 gxf4 61.Nd6 Rc3 62.Kh2 Rxf3 63.b4 Kg6 64.e5 Re3 65.b5 Rb3 66.e6 Kf6 67.Ne4+ Ke7 68.b6 Rxb6 69.Kxh3 Kxe6 0–1

A practical repertoire for the positional player after 1.d4 Vol.1 – 3

I give promising mainlines for white against all black’s main replies to 1.d4 d5 that are engine-proof, easy to learn and can be played almost instantly.

Veselin Topalov | Photo: Luque

Santos 1 - 0 Arjun

Analysis by Klaus Besenthal

Santos Latasa, Jaime2626

1–0

Erigaisi Arjun2761

37th Magistral de Leon 2024 29.06.2024[Besenthal,Klaus-Guenther]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.d3 Be7 11.Nd2 0-0 12.Qe2 d5 13.Nf3 d4 14.e5 Nd7 15.c4 b5 16.b3 bxc4 17.bxc4 Rb8 18.g3 Qa5 19.Qd1 Rb7 20.h4 Rfb8 21.h5 h6 22.Bd2 Qa3 23.Bc1 Qc3 24.Bd2 Qa3 25.Bc1 Qc3 26.Bd2 Qb2 27.g4 Bd8 28.Rc1 Bc7

Santos initially found himself at a disadvantage in this position. 29.Rc2?! The obvious choice was 29.Bf4 Ba5 30.Re4 Qxa2 31.g5 with sharp play. 29...Qb1 30.Rc1 Qxa2 31.Bf4 a5 In any case, one pawn was gone. 32.Ra1 Qb3 33.Qe2 Ra7 34.Qe4 Qb7 35.Bg2 Nb4 36.Qe2 Qc8 37.g5 Finally he plays this move, after which it's clear that Black must also take care of the kingside. hxg5 38.Nxg5 f6? But that's not the way it works. Good was 38...Ra6 39.Qe4 f5! 39.exf6 Nxf6 40.Bh3 Kh8 41.Nxe6 Bxf4 42.Nxf4 Qd8 43.Ng6+ Kh7 44.Bf5

Suddenly White is winning - Black's activity on the queenside is no longer important. 44...Qd6 45.Ne7+ Kh8 46.Ng6+ Kg8 47.Qf3 Rb6 48.Re2 a4 49.Rae1 Qd8 50.Ne7+ Kf8 51.Nc8 Raa6 52.Nxb6 Rxb6 53.Bg6 Rb8 54.h6! This gives Re8+ even more momentum. 1–0

The Keymer Variation - 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3

This video course features the ins-and-outs of the possible setups Black can choose. You’ll learn the key concepts and strategies needed to add this fantastic opening to your repertoire. An easy-to-learn and yet venomous weapon.

Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Luque

All games

Master Class Vol.17 - Boris Spassky

In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

Links

• Official site
• Santos beats Gelfand in final, wins Leon Masters (2023)
• Gelfand beats Anand in playoffs, wins Leon Masters (2022)
• Boris Gelfand prevails in Leon (2021)
• Leinier Dominguez wins Leon Masters (2020)
• Maghsoodloo masters Leon (2019)