Viswanathan Anand stuns World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championship
What's the story?
Indian Grandmaster, Viswanathan Anand stunned World No.1 Magnus Carlsen in round nine of the World Rapid and Blitz Championship.
The former World No.1 lost his crown to Carlsen in 2013 and although he defeated the Norwegian in 2014, it would have been a great feeling to get one over him once more.
In case you didn't know...
The World Championship started on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Apex Convention Centre. Some top players like Hikaru Nakamura and the reigning women's world rapid and blitz champion Anna Muzychuk decided to not take part in the championship due to the venue of the championship.
Recently, Nakamura tweeted that it's horrible that the tournament is taking place in a country which doesn't even give basic human rights. Although, most of the top stars are taking part in the tournament and maybe, it's due to the record prize fund of $2 million.
The heart of the matter
Anand getting one over the World No.1 didn't come as a big surprise after Carlsen started the tournament with a defeat against Chinese GM Bu Ziangzhi. It has been a good tournament for Indians, as on the first day, P. Harikrishna defeated the reigning world champion Vassily Ivanchuk and Adhiban Baskaran won against the second seed, Maxime-Vachier Lagrave.
Anand started the game with black pieces and started out in a very aggressive style using his queen and bishop which controlled the long diagonal. The India Grandmaster defeated the Norweigan in just 34 moves.
What's next?
At the end of the second day, ten rounds have been played and Anand is sitting joint second in the table with 7.5 points alongside Svindler Peter and Wang Hao. Fedoseev Vladimir is at the top with 8 points out of a total possible 10. Anand is looking set to challenge for the mega prize.
Sportskeeda's take
Anand is in a great position and would be hoping to make the maximum use of it with a win in Riyadh.