Anand draws with Wang Yue, remains joint third

World champion Viswanathan Anand played his fifth draw on the trot and remained in joint third spot after the end of the 11th round of Magistral Ciudad De Linares chess tournament here today.

Anand could not break the defenses of Wang Yue who played white and took his points tally to 5.5 out of a possible 11. Playing black against Wang Yue, Anand stuck to his pet Nimzo Indian and did not face much difficulty in maintaining the balance.

The Chinese went for a topical structure and after accurate play by both sides a closed position was reached with just one open file and little action available for both players. Anand proposed the draw after making his 27th move which was immediately accepted.

With just three rounds to come after the final rest day on Wednesday it is a now or never situation for Anand and if the Indian ace has to catch up with Grischuk, he will have to strike immediately.

Draws was the order of the as none of the four games could produce a decisive result leaving the standings intact as they were after the end of the 10th round.