Leko vs Adams drawn 4-4

An eight-game rapid chess match between the world's No. 3 Peter Lékó (Hungary) and No. 6 Michael Adams (England) took place between June 2nd and 5th 2005 in the Kossuth Cinema of Miskolc, Hungary. Péter Lékó was born on 8th September in 1979 in Subotica, he has been living in Szeged since 1980. At 2763 Elo he is ranked fourth in the FIDE rank list published 1st April 2005, i.e. number three if one removes the retired Garry Kasparov. Michael Adams was born on 17 November 1971 in Truro, Cornwall. He was ranked number seven at 2737, i.e. number six without Garry Kasparov. The event was held in Miskolc, the third city in Hungary. The people there are great lovers of sport and culture, it is a city of music festivals and has a long tradition of chess activity. Miskolc has produced multiple-winning teams in national championships, as well as a number of noted players on the international scene.

The last two games were the deciders, but apparently the two players all fought out. On the final day the games were uneventful – especially compared to the drama and fireworks of the previous three days. The match ended with the following unusual table:

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• Official web site

Leko and Adams at the start of game seven

In game 7 Peter Leko offered the draw, and he explained that he did this because he had not forgotten the first game. In that encounter he had equalised with the black pieces, got a slight advantage, played for a win and got himself mated in one move. So this time he decided to be prudent and not try any more tricks.

A view of the stage setup during game eight. There were about 500 spectators on the final day in the Kossuth Cinema.

The two players at the end of the eight-game match

Leko's coach (and father-in-law) GM Arshak Petrosian

Sofia Leko with her father

Peter Leko speaks to the audience after the match.

Leko said he was of course happy with 4:4 result after his loss of the first three games. He said that playing a second game after less than an hour's break was not easy for him, he had difficulty "recovering" from the previous game. He also mentioned that after the experiments with black in games 1 and 3 he realised that he would have to work on his opening repertoire before Dortmund and Argentina. "This match against Adams was a good test for me."

Michael Adams has his say

When asked about his best game Adams said that it was the third. To this Peter Leko said jokingly that his best game was the first! "If I had not played Ke8, I would never have played as well as I did and won three games in a row." Mickey said he did not have enough time to see the beautiful town of Miskolc, and promised to come again if he is invited – or maybe just as a tourist.

Adams gets the "Trophy of Miskolc" from the Mayor Sandor Kali

Leko gets a beautiful chess set, made by the famous Hungarian porcelain factory "Holohaza", for the best game of the match (number six).

Images from Miskolc, Hungary's third largest city