Viswanathan Anand wins Leon Masters for the 10th time

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand proved himself once again and defeated Spaniard Jaime Santos Latasa 3-1 in the final to win the Leon Masters for the 10th time in Leon, Spain. Anand, 54, who lived in Spain for many years before shifting his base back to Chennai, proved once again that this was one of his favorite hunting spots. It was in 1996, or 28 years ago, that Anand won his first title. The format featured four players, with his compatriot Arjun Erigaise, world number four, as fourth seed and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov being the other two players in the tournament.

Each round featured four games of 20 minutes each, with an increment of 10 seconds after each play.

Arjun had lost to Santos Latasa in the second semi-finals by a score of 1.5-2.5, which was considered a sensational victory for the latter given the huge difference in ratings.

At the start of the first semi-final, the legendary duel between Topalov and Anand ended in favor of the Indian who won the third game before drawing the remaining three.

Although the score suggests otherwise, Anand admitted it wasn’t that easy.

Santos Latasa applied a lot of pressure in the first game and in the second they also had an extra pawn in a complicated game that ended in a draw.

Anand won the third game with black pieces in an Italian opening. It was an even middlegame, where Anand was pleasantly surprised when the Spaniard opted for a wrong exchange that cost him two pieces for a rook and some pawns.

Anand’s technical genius soon came into play, as he created problems that became increasingly difficult for his opponent to solve. The game lasted 45 moves.

Santos Latasa faced the unpleasant task of winning on demand as black in the final game.

This is something even the best in the world wouldn’t be comfortable with and Anand got himself into a great position after negotiating Queens early in an opening at Rossolimo.

Latasa kept looking for complications, but Anand was determined and it was all over in 37 moves.

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