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Anand, Kramnik tie for title

Vishwanathan Anand (6) of India tied with top-seed Vladimir Kramnik (6) of Russia at the conclusion of the Sparkassen Chess Supertournament in Dortmund.

In the ninth and final round, Anand outclassed former world championship candidate Dr Robert Hubner of Germany, despite the disadvantage of black pieces. On the other hand, Kramnik agreed to a draw with FIDE world champion Alexander Khalifman in just 15 moves.

Peter Leko of Hungary did his best to try and catch Anand and Kramnik, taking huge risks in his last game, against computer programme Deep Junior 6, only to come to grief against the machine's flawless end-game technique.

The tie for top place helps Anand gain valuable rating points, and brings him within striking distance of Kramnik, who earlier this year took over the number two slot from the Indian ace. The difference between the two now is just 8 points. Anand will play in the World Cup, in China, in September, while Kramnik will face off against Kasparov in a title match in London in October.

With black, Anand played the Queen's Gambit against the German veteran, who in turn opted for the solid Catalan System. Anand went for the closed setup against the Catalan, for the first time in his life, and this threw the German, who is known for his preparation and homework, off his stride.

Hubner got into trouble as early as his 12th move, and never really recovered. The capture of a pawn by Anand left Huebner at a disadvantage, with a clearly weakened structure, and he was forced to surrender the advantage of paired bishops to get out of that mess. But by the time Huebner had worked himself out of that situation, Anand came up with a superbly calculated manoeuvre, netting him another pawn and placing the white king in a very vulnerable position.

The 39-move game was the highlight of the day, drawing the attention of all the spectators -- and included in that list were Kramnik and Khalifman, who had by then quickly gone through the motions and settled on a draw. Khalifman in fact had an advantageous position, but offered the draw after just 15 moves -- which Kramnik accepted gratefully.