Final position after 68…Kd3
After the first 3 games in the final were drawn, Anand won the final game with the Black pieces to win the Rapid Championship in Mainz.
Aronian, L (2750) – Anand, V (2792) [E05]
Classic Rapid Final, Mainz GER (4), 08.19.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Ra7 11.Rc1 Be4 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.e3 Qa8 14.Qd1 b4 15.Qf1 Rd8 16.Be1 a5 17.a3 Bd6 18.Nfd2 Bxg2 19.Qxg2 Ra6 20.Nc4 Nd5 21.Nbd2 bxa3 22.bxa3 Be7 23.Rab1 a4 24.Qf1 Nb8 25.Ne4 Nd7 26.Nc3 c5 27.dxc5 Nxc3 28.Bxc3 Nxc5 29.Bb4 Bf8 30.Rd1 Rc8 31.Ne5 Ra7 32.Rbc1 Rac7 33.Qg2 Qxg2+ 34.Kxg2 f6 35.Nf3 e5 36.Ne1 Kf7 37.Rc4 Nb3 38.Rh4 Bxb4 39.Rxb4 Ra7 40.Kf3 Rc3 41.Nd3 Rc2 42.Rb6 Ra2 43.Nb4 Rxa3 44.Nc6 Rc7 45.Nd8+ Kg6 46.Ne6 Re7 47.g4 Rxe6 48.Rxe6 Nd4+ 49.Rxd4 exd4 50.Re4 dxe3 51.fxe3 Ra1 52.h3 a3 53.Ra4 a2 54.Kg2 Kf7 55.Ra6 Ke7 56.e4 Kd7 57.h4 h6 58.g5 hxg5 59.hxg5 Kc7 60.Kh2 Kb7 61.Ra3 Kc6 62.gxf6 gxf6 63.Rc3+ Kb5 64.Rc2 Kb4 65.Rf2 Rh1+ 66.Kxh1 a1Q+ 67.Kg2 Kc4 68.Kf3 Kd3 0-1
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Anand is King!
Doesn’t it seem that Anand has never really gotten his due? He’s 37 now, certainly not at his peak and he’s still beating people like Aronian, who is no slouch at rapid chess having just beat Kramnik. He always was in Kasparov’s shadow and now in Kramnik’s and Topalov’s. The truth is he has simply been magnificent through the years. He’s not Kasparov but he’s great in his own right. One can only hope that he has enough in his tank to show what’s what at Mexico. By the way and unrelated, I hope chess players realize how great it is to have someone like Susan Polgar around. Do you?