Riyadh: Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand exacted sweet revenge of his 2013 World Championship loss as he defeated World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in their ninth round match at the at the World Rapid Chess Championships here Thursday.
Playing with black pieces, Anand began the game with an aggressive approach and managed to achieve victory in 34 moves. It was all the more creditable because any player starting with white has an advantage and Carlsen played with white pieces.
The win helped Ananda take his tally to seven points after nine rounds. He has remained unbeaten so far in the event with five wins and four drawn games.
Before facing the Norwegian Carlsen, the Indian drew his match against Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev and he is currently among the joint leaders. The two others with the same number of points as Anand are Vladimir Kramnik and Wang Hao
Anand, the former World No.1 lost his crown to Carlsen in 2013 and although he defeated the Norwegian in 2014, the win Thursday will be a perfect way to finish an underwhelming year for him.
Agencies