Press Trust of India
Zurich, Feb 20: Viswanathan Anand went down to Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the Armageddon game and had to be content with a second place finish in the Zurich Chess Classic that concluded, here Friday.
A sudden change in rules during the final stages of rapid competition paved the way for a final game even though it was not stipulated in the initial regulations.
It was clear that the five-time World Champion was not mentally ready for another game after a long day of chess and it showed as Anand crumbled with white pieces.
For the records, Anand started the day with a full point lead but two losses against Nakamura and Levon Aronian of Armenia cost him dearly in the five rapid games slated on the final day.
The Indian ace, however, scored a crushing victory against Fabiano Caruana of Italy and drew the remaining two games against Russian duo of Vladimir Kramnik and Sergey Karjakin. Anand ended Rapid sections with two points out of a possible five and gave Nakamura the chance to catch him on points table as the American scored three points to reach nine points for a tied first with Anand.
