Anand relieved after ending 'black' jinx against Topalov

NEW DELHI: It may not match the ecstasy of retaining the World Championship title but Indian chess wizard Viswanathan Anand is both delighted and relieved to have snapped a black jinx against his Bulgarian nemesis Veselin Topalov.

Both levelled at 5.5 after 11 rounds, Anand weaved a black magic in the decider, conjuring a stunning win over the local favourite to retain the world title in Sofia, Bulgaria.

It came as a fitting reply to Topalov's pre-match bragging that he would have the edge against the Indian because of his white pieces.

"I think I have lost my four or five games against Topalov with black but with white I won my last three. So it was very important to win this with black," a content Anand said.

"May be it is fitting in a way that finally I corrected this problem that I have been having with the black pieces," he said.

"In general, for the last four years we have been beating each other with white, so it was getting a bit one-sided," Anand said.

Graceful as usual, Anand lauded his opponent Topalov for showed great determination and fighting spirit to take the 12-game encounter down to the wire.

"He is one of the strongest players in the world. I think he is one of the grittiest and I feel a decade older after this match," Anand said.

Anand has triggered off a chess revolution in the country and asked how much effect his latest triumph would have on the mind of the Indian chess players, the champion chess player said, "Right now I can't think of any sort of legacy. I am just relieved that I am still gonna wake up tomorrow as world champion."

Malaysia stun India at Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

IPOH: Malaysia stunned India 5-2 at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on Wednesday to keep alive their chances of making the final on home soil.



It was the biggest margin of victory ever achieved by a Malaysian team over the Indians, who are the defending champions in the tournament being played in northern Malaysia.



India still lead the standings with 10 points and a win over Egypt on Saturday will give them a place in the final.



Malaysia's hopes will hinge on whether they win their next match, against China on Thursday, and also on the Australia-South Korea result in the round-robin event.



The first-half ended 1-0 in favour of the Malaysians with Mohamed Amin Rahim scoring off a penalty corner in the 27th minute.



The game came alive in the second-half, with Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin scoring in the 39th minute and Mohamed Razie on target in the 41st.



As Malaysia dominated, India wasted their chances, pulling a goal back in the 44th minute through Danish Mujtaba but failing to stop the home side's stampede.



Amin scored a fourth goal in the 48th minute followed by Azreen Rizal on the hour.



India's second goal was scored by Ravi Pal in the 68th minute.



Meanwhile, world champions Australia let slip a three-goal advantage to earn a 5-5 draw with Pakistan in an exciting match.



Both teams were parading a host of young players and Pakistan overcame a shaky start to share the points after scoring a last-minute goal.



Timothy Bates, Grant Schubert and Christopher Ciriello scored in the first-half for the Australians while Mohamed Rizwan replied for the Pakistanis.



It was 4-1 to the Australians by the 40th minute with Ciriello adding his second. But the cracks showed in the Australian game and Pakistan took advantage.



Skipper Mohamed Imran was on target twice while Mohamed Irfan and Mohamed Ummar Bhutta added the other goals.



Schubert was the scorer of the fifth goal for the Australians.



Pakistan coach K. M. Junaid said the result was a huge bonus for his team considering they are rebuilding.



"This shows we are on the right track in giving the youngsters a chance to gain valuable experience. They have a lot of potential," he said.



"We did not expect to get a draw after falling behind 1-4. The players have made me proud and we must give them all the opportunity to make the grade at the senior level."



The race for a finals berth is still wide open with five teams still in the hunt.



TOI

It's England's consistency vs Lanka's flair on May 13

GROS ISLET: England's new-found consistency will be pitted against Sri Lanka's characteristic flair when the two teams clash in the first semifinal of the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday.

England's display in the tournament has been a revelation of sorts with Paul Collingwood and his men winning all three Super Eight stage matches with consummate ease.

With their maverick top order batsman Kevin Pietersen returning to the ranks after a brief break to watch the birth of his first child, England's batting order would have a formidable look about it.

Pietersen has been in sensational form but even without him, England hardly broke a sweat as they upended New Zealand to prove that they don't rely on an individual or two to see them through.

In Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb, England have an opening pair which scores at a brisk rate and with Pietersen, set to return at Ravi Bopara's expense, and Collingwood to follow, their batting line-up is quite capable of laying the foundation for a big total.

In the middle order, the exciting Eoin Morgan, Luke Wright and all-rounder Tim Bresnan have the penchant to assert themselves early which suits the team.

Their bowling department also has the necessary variety. Bresnan and his new-ball colleague Ryan Sidebottom have more often than not given the early breakthrough while Stuart Broad has been among the wickets as well.

In the slow bowling department, Michael Yardy has been parsimony personified while Graeme Swann has struck regularly.

England's might notwithstanding, it is not going to be a cakewalk against the Sri Lankans who are high on confidence after sneaking through to the last four stage.

Unlike England, consistency has not been Sri Lanka's strong point in the tournament and even after beating India, they had to wait for an Australian triumph over the West Indies before a semifinal berth could be theirs.

The islanders, however, would take heart from their success against India, especially with Tillakaratne Dilshan returning to form and youngsters like Angelo Matthews and Chamara Kapugedera coming to the party.

Captain Kumar Sangakkara also looked in fine touch against India and he would hope Mahela Jayawardene, who had a brilliant run in the tournament before it was punctuated by two poor outings, to hit form on Thursday.

In Lasith Malinga, Thissara Perera and Angelo Mathews, they have quite a potent attack and Sangakkara would expect them to trouble the English batsmen Thursday.

TOI

India suffer 2-5 defeat against Malaysia in Azlan Shah

STAFF WRITER 20:24 HRS IST

Ipoh (Malaysia), May 12 (PTI) A lacklustre India suffered a disappointing 2-5 loss against Malaysia in a round-robin match to slump to their first defeat in the Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here today.

Despite the loss, India still topped the seven-team table with 10 points and they will have to beat Egypt in their last fixture on Saturday to make it to the summit clash.

Malaysia, on the other hand, jumped to the second spot with eight points after today's win, their biggest-ever against India.

Malaysia sounded the board through Mohamed Amin Rahim (27th and 48th minute), Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (39th), Mohamed Razie (41st) and Nasir Azreen Rizal (60th minute) while the Indian marksmen were Danish Mujtaba (44th) and Ravi Pal Singh (67th).

India needed to beat Malaysia to secure their place in Sunday's final but they seemed complacent throughout the match.