Anand draws with Giri, slips to joint second

Wijk Aan Zee (Netherlands)

Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw as black against local star Anish Giri but slipped to joint second spot after the sixth round of Tata Steel Chess tournament. This was Anand’s third straight draw in the event and the Indian ace will look to heat things up in the next round when he plays with the slightly favourable colour in the game. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan emerged as the sole leader when lady luck smiled on him from a nearly lost position against Grandmaster B Adhiban. Giri, Anand and Wesley So of United States now share the second spot on four points apiece. Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Magnus Carlsen are joint fifth at the near halfway stage on 3.5 points. In the challengers’ section, Vidit Gujrathi played out a draw with Benjamin Bok of Holland while D Harika also split the points with Dmitry Gordievsky of Russia.

Cordoba (Argentina)

Mena, Santosh poised for strong finish at Dakar Rally

Hero MotoSports team’s rookie rider Oriol Mena is on course for a memorable finish in the Dakar Rally as he finished at the eighth spot overall at the end of the 13th and penultimate stage. In the overall rankings also, he stands at the eighth position among the bikers. CS Santosh also held his nerves to finish the penultimate stage at the 33rd position. In the overall rankings, Santosh is 34th.

New Delhi

Haryana hammer Mumbai, seal semifinal spot in PWL

Sumit Malik overcame Satender Malik to guide Haryana Hammers to a 4-3 win over Mumbai Maharathi in the Pro Wrestling League. Tied 3-3, Satender won the crucial bout 4-0 to help his side seal a spot in the semifinals. Results: Soslan Ramonov bt Harphool Gulia 15-1, Seema Bisla lost to Sun Yanan 4-9, Eedenebatyn Bekhbayar lost to Vladimir Khinchegashvili 4-8, Odunayo Adekuoroye bt Pooja Gahlot 4-2, Praveen Dahiya lost to Khetik Tsabolov 0-16, Sakshi Malik bt Sarita Mor 5-4, Satender Malik lost to Sumit Malik 0-4.

Coimbatore

I-League: Gokulam Kerala beat Chennai 1-0

A Santu Singh free-kick handed Gokulam Kerala a solitary goal victory over Chennai City in their I-League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Singh scored from the set-piece in the 60th minute to give the Kerala side their second win of the season. In Aizawl, Neroca FC rode on Nedo Turkovic’s late strike as they beat defending champions Aizawl FC 2-1. Turkovic headed home the winner in the 85th minute after his teammate Felix Chidi (65th) had cancelled out Aizwal defender Kareem Omolaja’s 39th-minute goal.

London

Hazard nets double as Chelsea ease to victory

Two goals from Eden Hazard helped Chelsea cruise to a 4-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League for their first league win of 2018. Chelsea’s midweek penalty shootout success over Norwich City in the FA Cup meant they had drawn their last five games in regulation time in all competitions but Hazard and Willian struck inside six minutes to set them on their way on Saturday. — Agencies