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Anand was able to keep the balance in game three of the World Championship match, an excellent result with black.  He chose to play the Slav Defense, and seemed to be equal or very slightly worse throughout, and drew without difficulty.  Vishy seems to have taken a page out of Kramnik's book, playing the Catalan successfully with white and then the Slav with black, and trade, trade, trade. 

Topalov must be upset about what has happened since he waffle stomped Anand in game one.  Anand was able to win game four in another successful Catalan.  That game is annotated on our website by the newest GM to move to Saint Louis, Hikaru Nakamura!

[imagefield_assist|fid=3633|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, the reigning U.S. Champion and the highest-rated American player, announced today he will be moving to Saint Louis following the U.S. Championship, which is scheduled for May 13-25.

The two-time U.S. Champion is relocating to Saint Louis from Seattle because of the support the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis has provided for American chess, particularly at the top level. The Chess Club's creation of a burgeoning chess scene in Saint Louis also factored into Nakamura's decision.

[imagefield_assist|fid=3627|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Topalov gave Anand the beatdown and the smackdown, as game one of the World Championship match was no contest.  Anand played the Gruenfeld Defense, and the position was about equal through the first 20 moves. 

Then, Anand weakened his kingside with f6, g5, and h6, and Topalov struck with great vengeance and furious anger, as Anand's king went on a journey to d8, where Topalov's brilliant play easily crushed Anand's weak defense.

[imagefield_assist|fid=3496|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Grandmaster Robert Hess took a four-way split of the first-place prize last weekend at the Bill Wright Saint louis Open. The event, which brought out seven grandmasters, was the largest ever held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

After his round five game, Hess tok the time to sit down for a brief interview to discuss his accomplishments over the past year and his preparation for the future, both the 2010 U.S. Championship and beyond.