Anand beats Aronian to jump to joint lead

ZURICH: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand celebrated the Indian World Cup victory with a crushing win against Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second round of Zurich Chess Challenge, here.

Under tremendous pressure to perform like the Indian cricket team, Anand delivered the goods thanks to a remarkable piece of homework and gave no chance to Aronian who had beaten the Indian ace just a few days back during the Grenke Chess Classic.

The victory helped Anand to find himself in joint lead alongside Hikaru Nakamura of United States who played out a draw with Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. In the other game of the day, Italian Fabiano Caruana opened his account, drawing with Sergey Karjakin of Russia.

With just three rounds in the Classical format remaining, Anand and Nakamura have three points apiece while Kramnik and Karjakin follow the two leaders a full point behind. Aronian and Caruana are on one point and in desperate need to do some catch-up act.

The tournament is played under a unique format that clubs the rapid and Classical format together. More points are given in Classical format wherein each win counts for two points whereas in rapid every win is worth one point each. The rapid section will be played on the last day of the tournament.

After an easy draw in the opener against Kramnik, Anand played his second successive white and used an improvement over his game against Magnus Carlsen of Norway during the last world championship match.

The deviation from the earlier game was uncorked on the 12th move, and just a few moves later Anand sacrificed a Bishop to march his central passed pawn to the seventh rank. Aronian sank in deep thought during the proceedings and spent about an hour from move 19-21 but still could not find the right path to safety.

Anand knew the position inside out and it took him little time to seize the initiative. Aronian decided to give the piece back to ease some tension but in only resulted in a hasty end to the game as Anand won another piece. The game lasted just 28 moves and was the first to end in the day.

Kramnik drew with Nakamura out of a Reti opening as white. Getting a small advantage in the middle game, Kramnik pushed for more but Nakamura was up to the task in defense and has now come out well with his first two black games in the tournament. The game was drawn in a level rook endgame on move 40.

Caruana and Karjakin played the longest game of the day out of an Anti-Berlin that is slowly becoming the most popular opening in elite circles. Playing black Caruana decided against castling and pushed his king side pawns to create some weaknesses. Karjakin's counter play was decent as the players arrived at a queen and minor piece endgame after the dust subsided and the peace was signed on move 41.

Results round 2: V Anand (Ind, 3) beat Levon Aronian (Arm, 2); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 2) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 1); Vladmir Kramnik (Rus, 2) drew with Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 3).

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Mayweather fight 'near' as Pacquiao agrees to drugs tests

MANILA: Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao said a much-anticipated fight with unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather was "near" after he agreed to a key demand to undergo drug testing.

The eight-division world champion said negotiations were nearly complete after he dropped his opposition to drugs screening -- and even suggested a $5 million fine if he tests positive.

"(The fight) is near. The negotiations are nearly finished," Pacquiao told reporters on Monday during a break from evening sessions in parliament, where he represents one of the Southeast Asian nation's poorest provinces.

"We agreed that this fight has to happen. We are ironing out the kinks. He (Mayweather) said he wants the fight to push through."

Boxing fans have for years been clamouring for a showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather, the two "best pound-for-pound" fighters of their generation.

Pacquiao is 57-5 with two draws and 38 knockouts, while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts.

The mega-fight could go down in history as boxing's biggest and most lucrative, with a British newspaper reporting at the weekend that the pair had agreed to a $250 million deal.

However time is running out for fans to see them fight in peak form, with Pacquiao aged 36 and Mayweather 37.

In a brief television interview on Sunday, Mayweather denied a deal had been signed but said he was "hopeful" the fight with Pacquiao would happen.

In his comments on Monday, Pacquiao declined to say how much the deal would be worth and gave few other details. However he said a rematch clause in the contract was unlikely.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, last month ignited buzz over the fight occurring in Las Vegas in May when he said negotiations in the contracts had been "narrowed down to extraordinarily small points".

Among the many factors that have prevented the two from getting into the ring in the past was a demand by Mayweather that he receive a bigger share of the fight's revenues.

Mayweather had also demanded strict Olympic-style drug screening that would require blood tests 30 days before the fight, instead of a few days.

Without giving specifics of the current requirements by Mayweather about the drug testing, Pacquiao said that he had agreed.

"We agreed to their demand. In fact, I suggested a $5 million fine if I test positive for drugs," he said.

Another issue that needed to be resolved was the fighters' contracts with rival networks. Mayweather is with Showtime while Pacquiao has a deal with HBO.

But there is a precedent. The last time Showtime and HBO made such a deal was for a Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis matchup in 2002.

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Pacquiao fight not set yet, Mayweather says

The author has posted comments on this articleAFP | Feb 16, 2015, 11.49AM IST

Page 1 of 4

NEW YORK: Unbeaten fighter Floyd Mayweather said on Sunday that neither he nor Manny Pacquiao have signed a deal for a May mega-fight, but he still hopes to get into the ring with the Filipino icon.

Mayweather, attending the NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, said in a brief television interview during the contest that global reports about a virtually done deal for the long anticipated bout were premature.

The Sunday Telegraph in London, citing a source in the Pacquiao camp, reported "Pac-man" had signed a deal for a fight expected to be worth $250 million.

"That's not true," Mayweather said. "I haven't signed yet and he hasn't signed yet.

"It's just been speculations and rumors," Mayweather said. "But I'm hopeful we can make the fight happen."

Buzz about a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight on May 2 in Las Vegas has been growing all month after the Asian star's promoter Bob Arum said a deal could be looming.

Filipino southpaw Pacquiao is 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts.

The two were long-time rivals as the "best pound-for-pound" boxers of their generation, but the dream fight has never materialized to the disappointment of the boxing world.

Various issues have scuttled previous attempts to make the fight, including a falling-out between Mayweather and Arum.

Drug testing protocol issues contributed to the breakdown of talks five years ago, but after the fighters met at an NBA game in Miami in late January talks seemed to be progressing.

One issue that must be resolved is the fighters' contracts with rival telecasters.

Mayweather has a contract with Showtime while Pacquiao has a deal with HBO, so the rival telecasters must also decide how to divvy up the spoils.

The last time Showtime and HBO made such a deal was for a Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis matchup in 2002.

Article continues

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Anand draws with Caruana

ZURICH: Viswanathan Anand played out a tense draw with Fabiano Caruana of Italy and slipped to second spot after the end of the third round of the Zurich Chess Challenge here.

After a brilliant victory against Armenian Levon Aronian in the previous round, it was a tipsy-turvy battle against Caruana for Anand that was finally drawn.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States, meanwhile, regained the sole lead defeating Russian Sergey Karjakin. In the process, Nakamura became the first player from America and 10th overall to breach the 2800 rating barrier in live world rankings.

The other game between Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia ended in a draw.

With two rounds under Classical format and five under rapid still remaining, Nakamura sits pretty in the tournament with five points in all, while Anand is in close pursuit a full point behind.

Kramnik is in sole third spot on three points coming from three draws while Karjakin, Aronian and Caruana are not so far behind the Russian with two points apiece.

For the purpose of determining rankings, the rules here are unique as each victory in Classical format earns two points compared to one in rapid, which will be held on the last day of the event.

Caruana surprised Anand early in the opening by allowing the Neo Grunfeld vide a relatively less-played move order. Soon it was clear that the Italian meant business as he grabbed Anand's rook for a minor piece by seriously compromising his development.

Anand won a pawn back to increase his compensation but Caruana defended valiantly, pushing Black back step by step after the trade of queens.

Anand had his task cut out and he stayed put with some wily manoeuvres even as the Italian seemed to have seized the control. The mistake from Caruana came on 24th move that met with a super blow from Anand and the Indian was back into the game with a bang.

However, Anand was in serious time pressure by this time and Caruana escaped with an easy draw instead of suffering for a long time.

Nakamura played a gamble and it paid off big time. Playing white, Nakamura employed a dangerous but deeply analysed variation in the English opening. Karjakin's attempts to find out the correct moves in a very wild and complex position proved futile. When the game ended in just 27 moves, Nakamura still had an hour left on his clock.

Kramnik faced the Catalan opening from Aronian and it was a topical variation on board in the middle game. Kramnik had to defend unpleasant position for a long time after he lost a pawn but the technicalities were far from easy for Aronian. The draw was a just result after 61 moves.

Results round 3: Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 2) drew with V Anand (Ind, 4); Levon Aronian (Arm, 2) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 3); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 5) beat Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 2).

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Anand beats Nakamura to jump to sole lead

ZURICH: Known to rise back after every debacle, Viswanathan Anand made another strong comeback defeating Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the fourth round of the Zurich Chess Classic on Wednesday.

Trailing Nakamura by a full point at the start of the contest, Anand knew he had to win to go ahead and the Indian ace came up with a brilliant game on all counts to floor Nakamura, who recently won the Gibraltar open.

Under a unique points system that gives two points for a victory and one for a draw in Classical games, Anand took his tally to six points and is now a full point ahead of nearest contender Nakamura. The other games of the fourth round were drawn as Vladimir Kramnik signed peace with his Russian colleague Sergey Karjakin while Levon Aronian of Armenia achieved the same result against Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

Kramnik holds the third spot on four points with four draws thus far while, Aronian, Karjakin and Caruana have three points apiece. There is just one more game in the classical remaining post which the players will change gears and play five rapid game. However in rapid, only one point will be awarded for each win which means that the points scored in the Classical format might prove crucial for final standing.

Anand was at the top of his game against Nakamura. In the Queen's gambit declined, the five times world champion had beaten Magnus Carlsen also in the world championship and Nakamura took a different version of the opening.

Anand had a tight grip on the situation and black remained passive for the major part of the game. The lead that Nakamura had enjoyed over Anand probably played its part as the American was content to defend rather than play his trademark counter-active chess.

"I am happy with my play here, obviously it's nice to make some points and both my white wins were very convincing," Anand said in the post-game chat.

As it happened in the game, Nakamura fell prey to some enormous pressure on the queen side. Anand penetrated with his major pieces first and then finished off the game when his knight joined the party. The game lasted 41 moves.

Caruana had to defend a slightly inferior position against Aronian but the Italian was not in any danger out of a Queen's gambit declined where the former played white. The pieces changed hands at regular intervals and the game was drawn in 35 moves.

Results round 4: V Anand (Ind, 6) beat Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 5); Levon Aronian (Arm, 3) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 3); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 4) drew with Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 3).

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Mayweather fight 'near' as Pacquiao agrees to drugs tests

MANILA: Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao said a much-anticipated fight with unbeaten American Floyd Mayweather was "near" after he agreed to a key demand to undergo drug testing.

The eight-division world champion said negotiations were nearly complete after he dropped his opposition to drugs screening -- and even suggested a $5 million fine if he tests positive.

"(The fight) is near. The negotiations are nearly finished," Pacquiao told reporters on Monday during a break from evening sessions in parliament, where he represents one of the Southeast Asian nation's poorest provinces.

"We agreed that this fight has to happen. We are ironing out the kinks. He (Mayweather) said he wants the fight to push through."

Boxing fans have for years been clamouring for a showdown between Pacquiao and Mayweather, the two "best pound-for-pound" fighters of their generation.

Pacquiao is 57-5 with two draws and 38 knockouts, while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts.

The mega-fight could go down in history as boxing's biggest and most lucrative, with a British newspaper reporting at the weekend that the pair had agreed to a $250 million deal.

However time is running out for fans to see them fight in peak form, with Pacquiao aged 36 and Mayweather 37.

In a brief television interview on Sunday, Mayweather denied a deal had been signed but said he was "hopeful" the fight with Pacquiao would happen.

In his comments on Monday, Pacquiao declined to say how much the deal would be worth and gave few other details. However he said a rematch clause in the contract was unlikely.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, last month ignited buzz over the fight occurring in Las Vegas in May when he said negotiations in the contracts had been "narrowed down to extraordinarily small points".

Among the many factors that have prevented the two from getting into the ring in the past was a demand by Mayweather that he receive a bigger share of the fight's revenues.

Mayweather had also demanded strict Olympic-style drug screening that would require blood tests 30 days before the fight, instead of a few days.

Without giving specifics of the current requirements by Mayweather about the drug testing, Pacquiao said that he had agreed.

"We agreed to their demand. In fact, I suggested a $5 million fine if I test positive for drugs," he said.

Another issue that needed to be resolved was the fighters' contracts with rival networks. Mayweather is with Showtime while Pacquiao has a deal with HBO.

But there is a precedent. The last time Showtime and HBO made such a deal was for a Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis matchup in 2002.

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Anand draws with Kramnik in Zurich Chess Challenge

ZURICH: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand on Sunday played out a draw with his 2008 challenger Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the first round of the Zurich Chess Challenge here.

Playing his first game against Kramnik since December last, Anand could not do much with white pieces as his opponent played a variation, which is being revived at the top level after a long time.

American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura continued from where he had left the Gibraltar International tournament and put it across Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

The other game of the day between Levon Aronian of Armenia and Sergey Karjakin of Russia also ended in a draw, making Nakamura an early sole leader.

Nakamura moved to two points with his victory, an important one considering that it came with black pieces and against the top rated player in the tournament.

The tournament has a unique points system in place that gives two points in every win in Classical chess and one for a draw. Once the Classical round-robin is over, six players will change gears to the rapid chess with reversed colours and in that each win will only give one point with half a point secured in case of draw.

With Nakamura going in front, Anand, Kramnik, Aronian and Karjakin are on one point each, while Caruana is yet to open his account. There are four more Classical rounds remaining.

For many years now, the Queen's gambit declined with an age old move order has been out of favour in top level chess. However, some recent discoveries have proved that it is worth a try and Kramnik obviously had done the homework when he apparently surprised Anand.

There was routine manoeuvring for a long time but Anand could not put any real pressure. The players first negotiated a Queen-less middle game for a long time and then it was time for the pieces to change hands. Soon a minor piece endgame was reached when the draw was signed after 47 moves.

Caruana put pressure on Nakamura for a long time but the latter was quite up to the task in finding out the resources. It was a Sicilian Najdorf, in which Caruana went for a fashionable variation and got a sound positional advantage which he kept intact till move 35.

Nakamura had kept the tension running meanwhile and Caruana was the first to crack as he fell prey for some unwarranted tactics. Soon there was attack on the white king and Nakamura finished off the game in style.

Aronian and Karjakin fought it out in a Semi Slav defense game, in which the Armenian was white. Karjakin made an error on the 20th move inviting a piece sacrifice that Aronian duly played but only after a few moves decided to repeat the moves that came as a shocker to those following the game.

The Armenian missed out on a nice opportunity as he could have played on with his finely deployed forces.

Results round 1: V Anand (Ind, 1) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 1); Levon Aronian (Arm, 1) drew with Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 1); Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 0) lost to Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2).

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Anand beats Aronian to jump to joint lead

ZURICH: Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand celebrated the Indian World Cup victory with a crushing win against Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second round of Zurich Chess Challenge, here.

Under tremendous pressure to perform like the Indian cricket team, Anand delivered the goods thanks to a remarkable piece of homework and gave no chance to Aronian who had beaten the Indian ace just a few days back during the Grenke Chess Classic.

The victory helped Anand to find himself in joint lead alongside Hikaru Nakamura of United States who played out a draw with Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. In the other game of the day, Italian Fabiano Caruana opened his account, drawing with Sergey Karjakin of Russia.

With just three rounds in the Classical format remaining, Anand and Nakamura have three points apiece while Kramnik and Karjakin follow the two leaders a full point behind. Aronian and Caruana are on one point and in desperate need to do some catch-up act.

The tournament is played under a unique format that clubs the rapid and Classical format together. More points are given in Classical format wherein each win counts for two points whereas in rapid every win is worth one point each. The rapid section will be played on the last day of the tournament.

After an easy draw in the opener against Kramnik, Anand played his second successive white and used an improvement over his game against Magnus Carlsen of Norway during the last world championship match.

The deviation from the earlier game was uncorked on the 12th move, and just a few moves later Anand sacrificed a Bishop to march his central passed pawn to the seventh rank. Aronian sank in deep thought during the proceedings and spent about an hour from move 19-21 but still could not find the right path to safety.

Anand knew the position inside out and it took him little time to seize the initiative. Aronian decided to give the piece back to ease some tension but in only resulted in a hasty end to the game as Anand won another piece. The game lasted just 28 moves and was the first to end in the day.

Kramnik drew with Nakamura out of a Reti opening as white. Getting a small advantage in the middle game, Kramnik pushed for more but Nakamura was up to the task in defense and has now come out well with his first two black games in the tournament. The game was drawn in a level rook endgame on move 40.

Caruana and Karjakin played the longest game of the day out of an Anti-Berlin that is slowly becoming the most popular opening in elite circles. Playing black Caruana decided against castling and pushed his king side pawns to create some weaknesses. Karjakin's counter play was decent as the players arrived at a queen and minor piece endgame after the dust subsided and the peace was signed on move 41.

Results round 2: V Anand (Ind, 3) beat Levon Aronian (Arm, 2); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 2) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 1); Vladmir Kramnik (Rus, 2) drew with Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 3).

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Pacquiao fight not set yet, Mayweather says

The author has posted comments on this articleAFP | Feb 16, 2015, 11.49AM IST

Page 1 of 4

NEW YORK: Unbeaten fighter Floyd Mayweather said on Sunday that neither he nor Manny Pacquiao have signed a deal for a May mega-fight, but he still hopes to get into the ring with the Filipino icon.

Mayweather, attending the NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, said in a brief television interview during the contest that global reports about a virtually done deal for the long anticipated bout were premature.

The Sunday Telegraph in London, citing a source in the Pacquiao camp, reported "Pac-man" had signed a deal for a fight expected to be worth $250 million.

"That's not true," Mayweather said. "I haven't signed yet and he hasn't signed yet.

"It's just been speculations and rumors," Mayweather said. "But I'm hopeful we can make the fight happen."

Buzz about a potential Pacquiao-Mayweather fight on May 2 in Las Vegas has been growing all month after the Asian star's promoter Bob Arum said a deal could be looming.

Filipino southpaw Pacquiao is 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts.

The two were long-time rivals as the "best pound-for-pound" boxers of their generation, but the dream fight has never materialized to the disappointment of the boxing world.

Various issues have scuttled previous attempts to make the fight, including a falling-out between Mayweather and Arum.

Drug testing protocol issues contributed to the breakdown of talks five years ago, but after the fighters met at an NBA game in Miami in late January talks seemed to be progressing.

One issue that must be resolved is the fighters' contracts with rival telecasters.

Mayweather has a contract with Showtime while Pacquiao has a deal with HBO, so the rival telecasters must also decide how to divvy up the spoils.

The last time Showtime and HBO made such a deal was for a Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis matchup in 2002.

Article continues

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Anand draws with Caruana

ZURICH: Viswanathan Anand played out a tense draw with Fabiano Caruana of Italy and slipped to second spot after the end of the third round of the Zurich Chess Challenge here.

After a brilliant victory against Armenian Levon Aronian in the previous round, it was a tipsy-turvy battle against Caruana for Anand that was finally drawn.

Hikaru Nakamura of United States, meanwhile, regained the sole lead defeating Russian Sergey Karjakin. In the process, Nakamura became the first player from America and 10th overall to breach the 2800 rating barrier in live world rankings.

The other game between Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik of Russia ended in a draw.

With two rounds under Classical format and five under rapid still remaining, Nakamura sits pretty in the tournament with five points in all, while Anand is in close pursuit a full point behind.

Kramnik is in sole third spot on three points coming from three draws while Karjakin, Aronian and Caruana are not so far behind the Russian with two points apiece.

For the purpose of determining rankings, the rules here are unique as each victory in Classical format earns two points compared to one in rapid, which will be held on the last day of the event.

Caruana surprised Anand early in the opening by allowing the Neo Grunfeld vide a relatively less-played move order. Soon it was clear that the Italian meant business as he grabbed Anand's rook for a minor piece by seriously compromising his development.

Anand won a pawn back to increase his compensation but Caruana defended valiantly, pushing Black back step by step after the trade of queens.

Anand had his task cut out and he stayed put with some wily manoeuvres even as the Italian seemed to have seized the control. The mistake from Caruana came on 24th move that met with a super blow from Anand and the Indian was back into the game with a bang.

However, Anand was in serious time pressure by this time and Caruana escaped with an easy draw instead of suffering for a long time.

Nakamura played a gamble and it paid off big time. Playing white, Nakamura employed a dangerous but deeply analysed variation in the English opening. Karjakin's attempts to find out the correct moves in a very wild and complex position proved futile. When the game ended in just 27 moves, Nakamura still had an hour left on his clock.

Kramnik faced the Catalan opening from Aronian and it was a topical variation on board in the middle game. Kramnik had to defend unpleasant position for a long time after he lost a pawn but the technicalities were far from easy for Aronian. The draw was a just result after 61 moves.

Results round 3: Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 2) drew with V Anand (Ind, 4); Levon Aronian (Arm, 2) drew with Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 3); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa, 5) beat Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 2).

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