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Anand Takes Early Lead at Mtel Masters

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Anand Takes Early Lead at Mtel Masters

Viswanathan Anand was the only winner in the first round, staking himself to an early lead at the Mtel Masters in Sofia. Anand defeated French GM Etienne Bacrot with the black pieces to get the full point.

The Mtel Masters is one of the major events in world chess, and features an interesting field of six top grandmasters. They will play a double round-robin for a total of 10 rounds.

The tournament features the world's top two players - Anand, and FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov. Former FIDE Champion Ruslan Ponomariov is also competing, along with Bacrot and Peter Svidler, giving the tournament five players with ratings of 2700 or higher. The sixth player, American Gata Kamsky, is a former candidate for the World Championship, and is in the process of revitalizing his career after several years off.

In the first round, Ponomariov and Kamsky drew in a Ruy Lopez, while Topalov nearly won with the black pieces against Svidler.

The second round features what is possibly the most anticipated matchup in chess - Topalov vs. Anand. Both players now have ratings over 2800, and are in a tight race for the top spot on the rating list.

We will provide continuing coverage of the Mtel Masters in the coming weeks. For now, here is Anand's first round victory:

White: Bacrot, E (2708)
Black: Anand, V (2803)
Mtel Masters, Round 1
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 Be7 7. e3 Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. Bg3 d6 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. O-O Nd7 12. e4 Bf6 13. Rc1 g5 14. Bb1 h5 15. h3 Rg8 16. b4 g4 17. hxg4 hxg4 18. Nh2 Bh4 19. Bf4 Bg5 20. Qxg4 Qf6 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. Qxg8+ Ke7 23. Qxa8 Bxa8 24. fxe3 Qg6 25. Rf4 e5 26. Rf5 Qh6 27. Re1 exd4 28. exd4 Qd2 29. Nf3 Qxb4 30. Rc1 Bb7 31. Rb5 Qa3 32. Re1 Qc3 33. Rb3 Qxc4 34. Bd3 Qa4 35. Rc3 c5 36. Bc4 Qb4 37. Rcc1 cxd4 38. Nxd4 Ne5 39. Nf5+ Kd7 40. Bd5 Bxd5 41. exd5 Qf4 42. Rf1 Nf3+ 43. gxf3 Qxf5 44. f4 Qxd5 45. f5 Qd2 46. f6 b5 47. Rce1 Kc6 48. Ra1 Qd4+ 49. Kg2 Qb2+ 50. Kg3 b4 51. Kg4 d5 52. Kg5 Qg2+ 53. Kh4 Kd6 54. Kh5 a5 0-1