Anand faces Kramnik in first round of Sparkassen Meet

Dortmund, June 23 (UNI) Viswanathan Anand will be looking to consolidate on his numero uno position as he kicks off his campaign against Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik in the first round of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting here today.

Ahead of the tie, Kramnik holds an edge over the Indian Grandmaster as he starts the proceedings with white pieces.

However, Anand, who is top rated player in the meet, has the advantage of starting with white pieces in three games -- against Peter Leko (second round), Arkadij Naiditsch (fourth round) and Evegeny Alekseev (sixth round).

Apart from Kramnik, the world number one will play with black against Boris Gelfand (third round), Shakhriyar Mamedyrov (fifth round) and young Magnus Carlsen (seventh round).

Meanwhile, a notable absentee from the event would be Grandmaster Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, who recently won of the Mtel Masters in Sofia.

The ten-day meet will witness eight of the world's top players competing in a single round robin league.

Participants: 1. Viswanathan Anand (IND) 3 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 6. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 8. Peter Leko (HUN) 11. Boris Gelfand (ISR) 22. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 30. Evgeny Alexeev (RUS) 52. Arkadij Naiditsch (GER) UNI XC SSC SAM DS1500