The Alekhine Memorial split between Paris and St Petersburg has been won jointly by Lev Aronian and Boris Gelfand. The final scores (out of 9) were as follows: Aronian and Gelfand 51/2; Anand 5; Vitiugov, Fressinet, Kramnik, Adams and Vachier-Lagrave 41/2; Ding Liren 31/2 and Svidler 3. Britain’s Michael Adams got off to a blazing start, winning against both Anand and Svidler. However, these were to be his only two victories and his final placing was creditable rather than glorious. The concluding phase of his game against the world champion was instructive.
Anand-Adams: Alekhine Memorial, Paris/St Petersburg 2013 (see diagram 1)
Endgames often come down to a race between a mass of passed pawns and a rook. Inexperienced players often allow the pawns to triumph. Great precision can be required from the side with the rook while the player with the pawns has a far simpler task, namely pushing the pawns as quickly as possible in order to make a new queen.
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