Viswanathan Anand emerges victorious at the Leon Masters for the record 10th time

Viswanathan Anand, the first Indian to win a medal in any World Championship, defeated Spaniard Jaime Santos Latasa 3-1 in the finals to win the Leon Masters for the record 10th time in Leon, Spain.

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Won first title in 1996

Anand won his first title here 28 years ago in 1996. The 54-year-old Anand, who lived in Spain for many years before shifting his base back to Chennai, proved yet again that this was one of his favourite hunting grounds.

The format features four players

The format included four players, which featured Viswanathan Anand and his compatriot Arjun Erigaise, along with Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov, and Santos Latasa. In this, four games of 20-20 minutes are played in which after each move the players get 10 seconds more to make the next move.

Arjun lost to Santos Latasa

Arjun, who was ranked fourth in the world rankings, had caused an upset by losing to Santos Latasa by a score of 2.5-1.5 in the second semi-final. This was considered a sensational victory for the latter given the vast difference in the ratings.

Anand exhibited remarkable precision and tactical acumen

Earlier in the preliminary semi-final against Topalov, Viswanathan Anand won the third game while three more games ended in a draw. The Indian giants had secured a place in the final with a 2.5-1.5 win.

Though the scoreline suggests otherwise, Anand conceded that it was not so easy. Santos Latasa pushed hard in the first game and in the second too, he had an extra pawn in a complicated game that ended in a draw.

Anand won the third game with black pieces out of an Italian opening. It was a balanced middle game wherein Anand was pleasantly surprised as the Spaniard went for a wrong trade that cost him two pieces for a rook and a couple of pawns.

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The technical genius in Anand was soon at work as he kept on creating problems that became increasingly difficult to solve for his opponent. The game lasted 45 moves. Santos Latasa faced the unpleasant task of winning on-demand as black in the final game.

This is something that even the best in the world would not feel comfortable with and Anand got a fine position after trading the Queens early out of a Rossolimo opening. Latasa kept looking for complications but Anand was determined and it was all over in 37 moves.