fifteenth World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand defeated considered one of his nice rivals GM Veselin Topalov 2.5-1.5 on Friday to achieve the Ultimate of the 2024 Leon Masters. He’ll face the winner of Saturday’s Semifinal between GM Arjun Erigaisi and native hero GM Jaime Santos in Sunday’s Ultimate as he goals to make it 10 titles within the Spanish metropolis.
The second Semifinal begins Saturday, June 29, at 10:30 a.m. ET / 16:30 CEST / 8 p.m. IST.
This occasion is the thirty seventh version of the Leon Masters, a event that has been received by World Champions Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, and Magnus Carlsen. The participant who has most made Leon his house, nevertheless, is Anand, who has performed the occasion 15 occasions and received on a minimum of 9 events.
Leon Masters Winners
| # | 12 months | FED | Participant | # | 12 months | FED | Participant |
| 1 | 1988 | Javier Campos | 19 | 2006 | Viswanathan Anand | ||
| 2 | 1989 | Jozsef Pinter | 20 | 2007 | Viswanathan Anand | ||
| 3 | 1990 | Julio Granda | 21 | 2008 | Vasyl Ivanchuk | ||
| 4 | 1991 | Yevgeniy Vladimirov | 22 | 2009 | Magnus Carlsen | ||
| 5 | 1992 | Boris Gulko | 23 | 2010 | Boris Gelfand | ||
| 6 | 1993 | Leonid Yudasin | 24 | 2011 | Viswanathan Anand | ||
| 7 | 1994 | Alexander Beliavsky | 25 | 2012 | Francisco Vallejo | ||
| 8 | 1995 | Alexei Shirov | 26 | 2013 | Anish Giri | ||
| 9 | 1996 | Viswanathan Anand | 27 | 2014 | Wei Yi | ||
| 10 | 1997 | Veselin Topalov | 28 | 2015 | Wei Yi | ||
| 11 | 1998 | Garry Kasparov | 29 | 2016 | Viswanathan Anand | ||
| 12 | 1999 | Viswanathan Anand | 30 | 2017 | Wesley So | ||
| 13 | 2000 | Viswanathan Anand | 31 | 2018 | Wesley So | ||
| 14 | 2001 | Viswanathan Anand | 32 | 2019 | Parham Maghsoodloo | ||
| 15 | 2002 | Vladimir Kramnik | 33 | 2020 (on-line) | Leinier Dominguez | ||
| 16 | 2003 | Ruslan Ponomariov | 34 | 2021 (on-line) | Boris Gelfand | ||
| 17 | 2004 | Alexei Shirov | 35 | 2022 | Boris Gelfand | ||
| 18 | 2005 | Viswanathan Anand | 36 | 2023 | Jaime Santos |
54-year-old Anand mentioned it could be “magnificent” to spherical off his profession in Leon with a tenth win, whereas within the Semifinal he was paired to fulfill the participant he received a World Championship match towards in Sofia in 2010, 49-year-old Topalov.
The Bulgarian additionally has completely satisfied recollections of Leon, and never simply successful the title in 1997. He mentioned after the drawing of tons that he made his debut in elite chess 31 years in the past in Leon, when he performed within the 1993 event and bought to face former World Champion Anatoly Karpov—in truth, they shared third place on 5.5/9, with GM Leonid Yudasin scoring 7/9.
The opposite Semifinal is between two younger gamers, 27-year-old native star and defending champion, Santos, and 20-year-old Arjun, who has stormed as much as world number-four by taking part in in all places, each accepting invites and taking part in comparatively minor opens.
Anand 2.5-1.5 Topalov
The format is 4 speedy video games the place every participant has 20 minutes for all strikes, plus a 10-second increment every transfer. Provided that the rating is tied 2-2 will a playoff happen with 3+2 blitz video games.
The match opened with two wild attracts, with Anand later commenting on the dwell broadcast: “The reality is it was very tough. I didn’t begin the match very effectively, however I survived!”
I did not begin the match very effectively, however I survived!
—Viswanathan Anand
The primary conflict was a really sharp Vienna Recreation (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3) the place Topalov constructed up a dominant place the place his bishop on c6 fully dominated Anand’s rooks on a7 and e7. After 28…Re6? White was successful, however not after the Bulgarian’s 29.Bd7?. He was half-expecting his opponent to resign, but it surely turned out Black was out of the blue fully OK!
A wild first sport in Leon sees Topalov and Anand make a draw — there are as much as three 20-minute video games to go! https://t.co/J2ejYcVeGW pic.twitter.com/eSBna0NRP0
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 28, 2024
The second sport started with a gradual maneuvering Ruy Lopez however out of the blue burst into life when Topalov bought to sacrifice an change. Quickly afterward he bought an opportunity to launch a decisive assault on Anand’s king however missed one essential trick.
Topalov quipped that he’d made a mouse-slip when he later blundered a pawn.
Topalov blunders a pawn and out of the blue Vishy has all of the successful possibilities! pic.twitter.com/6TE1T2751y
— chess24 (@chess24com) June 28, 2024
Topalov famous, “In sport you need to take your possibilities,” and it was Anand who seized his probability in sport three.
An innocuous-looking middlegame place out of the blue noticed Anand capable of launch a kingside assault, and though 37…Nf4+?! is not one of many computer-approved kills it did in the end show sufficient to present Anand victory.
That is our Recreation of the Day, which will probably be analyzed quickly by GM Dejan Bojkov beneath:
The ultimate sport was, due to this fact, a must-win for Topalov, who performed the French Protection, however Anand quickly traded into an endgame the place solely he could possibly be higher and went on to make a draw from a place of energy.
Anand-Arjun could possibly be an interesting conflict of the Indian generations within the Ultimate on Sunday, however first Santos will attempt to cease Arjun in Saturday’s Semifinal.
The 2024 Leon Masters is a four-player knockout going down in Leon, Spain, from June 28-30, that includes GMs Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Arjun Erigaisi, and Jaime Santos. Every match consists of 4 20+10 speedy video games. If the scores are tied, the gamers compete in 3+2 blitz video games.
Earlier protection:
