Anand Wins With Black to Take 2-1 Lead

Viswanathan Anand struck a huge blow with the Black pieces, winning Game 3 of the World Chess Championship Match and taking a 2-1 lead over Vladimir Kramnik. Anand played into an endgame which left him down two pawns, but gave him a strong attack in return. Under great pressure from Anand's attack, Kramnik blundered, bringing a fast end to the game on move 41.

A win with the Black pieces puts Anand in very strong position with nine games to play. However, it's worth remembering that Anand also struck first in his match against Kasparov, before losing 4 of the next 5 games. From Kramnik's end, it will be interesting to see if this causes him to play more aggressively for a win in the next few games.

The moves from today's game follow. The next game will be played tomorrow (Saturday), with Sunday being a rest day.

White: Vladimir Kramnik
Black: Viswanathan Anand
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 gxf6 13.0-0 Qb6 14.Qe2 Bb7 15.Bxb5 Bd6 16.Rd1 Rg8 17.g3 Rg4 18.Bf4 Bxf4 19.Nxd4 h5 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Rxd7 Kf8 22.Qd3 Rg7 23.Rxg7 Kxg7 24.gxf4 Rd8 25.Qe2 Kh6 26.Kf1 Rg8 27.a4 Bg2+ 28.Ke1 Bh3 29.Ra3 Rg1+ 30.Kd2 Qd4+ 31.Kc2 Bg4 32.f3 Bf5+ 33.Bd3 Bh3 34.a5 Rg2 35.a6 Rxe2+ 36.Bxe2 Bf5+ 37.Kb3 Qe3+ 38.Ka2 Qxe2 39.a7 Qc4+ 40.Ka1 Qf1+ 41.Ka2 Bb1+ White resigns.