Anand helps Baden-Baden top Bundesliga

KOLKATA: Viswanathan Anand played his part in helping Baden-Baden seal the German Bundesliga title earlier this week. Sixteen teams battled against each other in a roundrobin format in one of the strongest chess leagues of the world. The 15 rounds were spread over seven months, from October 2016 to early May. The ties were played only during weekends, to draw more spectators.
Every tie was played on eight boards with each team nominating up to 16 players from any federation.
Anand, who has been playing for Baden-Baden since 2002, missed most of the early rounds as he was playing other tournaments. But he was there for the final three rounds, which were played from April 29 to May 1.
The five-time World champion played four games for his team this season and managed to score three points out of a possible four.
In Round 13, Anand drew with Hungarian GM Robert Ruck, who was playing for Schwegenheim with white pieces. The day after, Anand came back strongly to beat Dutch GM Erwin l'Ami in a game where he played with computer-like precision with white. Baden-Baden, easily the strongest side, dominated the league right through, en route to bagging their 11th title in the last 12 years with two rounds to spare.