Viswanathan Anand out of London Chess Classic

Former world Chess champion, Viswanathan Anand has bowed out of the London Chess Classic after losing the quarterfinal game to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia 0.5-1.5.

It turned out to be a disappointing game for Anand as he ran out of steam in the second game with white pieces and found himself in a lost position.

Kramnik opted for the Tarrasch defence and Anand avoided routine theory that allowed the Russian to equalise without batting an eye.

Anand made a positional error on the 15th turn that gave Kramnik the initiative to look for more and the latter came up with some sterling manoeuvres to seize the advantage. Anand was already fighting a lost position after 20 moves and a final blunder cost him a piece and the game soon after.

While the second game was almost a no-show by Anand, the first game was a clear indication of his good form displayed thus far. Playing black Anand went for the Semi-Slav defence and looked a little worse out of the opening when Kramnik moved his queen over to the sixth rank.

The game ended in a draw in the ensuing endgame, and it was a rather abrupt end to the contest when Anand failed to find his rhythm in the return game.

In the other quarterfinal, Hikaru Nakamura of United States defeated Nigel Short to cement his place in the semis.