Sofia (Bulgaria): World number two Viswanathan Anand delivered when it mattered the most and put it across world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to reach 2 points in as many games in the Mtel Masters super tournament.
After beating Frenchman Etienne Bacrot in the first round of the second edition of this prestigious event Anand delivered the goods for the second day running and is set to become the number one player in the world, a feat that has thus far eluded the Indian ace.
While the first victory came after Bacrot made a few mistakes while on top, the win against Topalov saw Anand at his best, handling the positional intricacies and coming up with his best attacking game when the situation demanded.
With two points in his kitty, Anand was a full point ahead of Topalov with 8 rounds still remaining in the category-20 super tournament being played on a double round robin basis between 6 players.
Anand took his tally to 2 points from as many games. Anand also ensured that he will go in to the third game with a half point lead and the nearest contender for the Indian ace at this stage is former Russian champion Peter Svidler who scored an emphatic victory over former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine.
With Anand having a cent per cent score in the super tournament, Svidler, having drawn the first round game against Topalov, is just half a point adrift of the Indian.
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As the third game of the second round of the event was still in progress, it remained to be seen if former world championship finalist and Russian turned American Gata Kamsky could remain close to Anand as his slightly better position against Bacrot was still a matter of theoretical discussion.
Anand was at his best against Topalov and cruised to what will be referred to as a great feat against a reigning world champion.
Playing his second black in as many days Anand was a picture of confidence in the Ruy Lopez game in which Topalov was simply outplayed.
While Anand followed simple basics in this all-important encounter, Topalov was always looking for methods to find a way to get a better position and that in the end proved disastrous for the Bulgarian.
Anand got a tangible advantage when Topalov erred in the middle game and gave the Indian ace enough initiative on the king side to launch a direct attack.
Anand took his chances when the opportunity presented itself and cruised to what will be restored as a memorable victory against Topalov.
Anand said, "Too much of the tournament is still left. 80 per cent of the tournament is still to go, I mean I don't need to explain as to how valuable today's point was but any way the whole tournament is still ahead", said Anand after winning in 36 moves.
Svidler was the other big gainer of the day as he scored an emphatic victory over Ponomariov who employed the Sicilian Nazdorf as black. Svidler took 43 moves to score his first win in the event.
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