Anand settles for another draw in Isle of Man Chess

Former World Champion Viswanathan Anand struggled for the second day running as he was held to a draw by almost-retired Robert Hess of the United States in the second round of Isle of Man International Chess tournament here on Monday.

Anand was on the verge of losing to 13-year old Raunak Sadhwani in the first round and had to find some fine manoeuvres to stay in the game.

In the second round also, the Indian continued to hunt for his form and again employed defensive approach towards the business end of the game.

Hess is a noted commentator and was the appointed coach of the US women's team earlier this year for the chess Olympiad.

Anand faced the French defense with white and could not get much and it was a tiring rook and pawns endgame, with a pawn less, that the Indian had to defend a long time before salvaging a draw after 78 moves.

Upsets continued in the tournament with Indians involved in making most of the opportunities.

At the top of the list in the second round was ...