Peter Leko wins Wijk aan Zee Tournament

[Jack Rabbit]

Peter Leko of Hungary has won the annual Corus chess tournament in the Dutch seaside resort town of Wijk aan Zee.

Leko played a short draw today against fellow Hungarian Judit Polgar while his nearest rival, Viswanathan Anand of India, fought to a hard draw against Russian Ivan Sokolov. Had Anand won his game against Sokolov, Anand would have shared first prize with Leko.

Leko finished with 8½ points out of 13 and Anand with 8. Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, who was leading the tournament earlier in the week, finished third with 7½ points. Four players -- Ms. Polgar, Michael Adams of Great Britain, Russia's Alexander Grischuk and reigning world champion Vladimir Kramnik, also of Russia -- finished with 7 points each. A full point is awarded for each victory and draws are worth ½ point each.

Leko defeated Anand in the first round of the tournament on January 14.

The 14-player field was one of the strongest in the history of competitive chess. Eight of the nine top-ranked players in the world competed this year at Wijk aan Zee. The exception was former world champion Garry Kasparov, who is still ranked number one. Kasparov was scheduled to play a match sponsored by the governing body of international chess, FIDE, against Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan aimed at reunifying the world chess crown. However, financing for the match fell through and the match will probably not be played at all. Kasparov, angry about declining an invitation to Wijk aan Zee in order to make himself available for a match that did not materialize, has told FIDE that he is no longer interested in participating in the reunification process.

[Stargleamer]

1. Peter's vegetarian diet shows that it has no effect

on his mental ability. Alas, he came within one point of winning the World Championship, when he lost the final game of his match with Kramnik, after leading 2 wins to 1.

With any luck we'll have a vegetarian world champ one day....

[Jack Rabbit]

2. Perhaps . . .

. . . and his name will be Vishy Anand.

EDITED to add photos:

From yesterday's action:

1. 2.

1. Veselin Topalov (White) and Peter Leko
2. Mickey Adams (Black) and Vishy Anand

Photos from the official tournament website