Anand with a Slight Edge at the Half
The match for the World Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Veselin Topalov started one day late, to everyone's dissatisfaction due to the thick cloud of volcano dust that covered Europe and blocked the air traffic. However, the first game showed that it was worth the expectations. Topalov detonated a home-made bomb and took the lead:
This striking loss made the “Tiger from Madras” furious, and the period between game two and four saw his clear superiority. First he leveled the score with the somewhat controversial, but definitely original decision in game two:
Then he easily held the black pieces by frankly borrowing know-how from his previous opponent for WCC- Vladimir Kramnik (with a super-solid Slav Defense). Finally he restored the balance of home-made wins in game four and took the lead:
Three out of four starting games proved decisive, something extremely rare for modern chess, and a great testimonial for the quality of the match.
The last two games saw the Bulgarian coming back in the match. In the fifth game he missed good chances to press on the whole board after:
While the sixth game saw a full-blooded battle, in which both opponents were searching for their chances.
Anand has a slight edge at the half time, and the chance to start the second half with the white pieces. Topalov finds his rhythm, and as usual starts to show his best towards the end of the match. In any case we are about to see the most thrilling and exciting chess from today on.
