Norway chess: Anand's loss is Carlsen's gain

Stavanger, June 10

Indian maestro Viswanathan Anand’s campaign at the Norway Chess tournament suffered a setback after a loss to Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the ninth round, while Magnus Carlsen beat Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to take sole lead in the tournament.

Anand, who had shone with a victory over Carlsen to lead the standings after the fifth round, was beaten by Mamedyarov in 22 moves in the classical match in a Petrov Millennium Attack game late on Thursday. As the tournament resumed after Wednesday’s rest, the 37-year old Azerbaijan player capitalised on an error to pick up three full points. Anand, who was second behind world No. 1 Carlsen after seven rounds, slipped to third with 13 points.

Meanwhile, Carlsen defeated Vachier-Lagrave via the Armageddon after the regular classical game ended in a 79-move draw. He now leads with 15 points.