menu arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark
ENG
  • Select Languages
  • हिंदी | Hindi
Search
Chess
  • News
  • Videos
Sports Home Chess News Viswanathan Anand Draws With Fabiano Caruana in London Chess Classic

Viswanathan Anand Draws With Fabiano Caruana in London Chess Classic

Advertisement
Ad

It turned out to be an easy day in office for Viswanathan Anand according to machines even as the pundits thought the Indian ace was not up to the mark against the younger American

  • Press Trust of India
  • Updated: December 10, 2016 06:15 pm IST
Read Time: 2 min
Viswanathan Anand Draws With Fabiano Caruana in London Chess Classic
Viswanathan Anand is a five-time world champion. (File photo)© AFP

Highlights

  • Viswanathan Anand drew with Fabiano Caruana in London Chess Classic
  • This was a first round match in the tournament
  • Vladimir Kramnic won against long-time rival Veselin Topalov
London:

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand got off to a good start with an easy draw against World No.2 United States' Fabiano Caruana in the first round of the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the Grand Chess tour.

It turned out to be an easy day in office for Anand according to machines even as the pundits thought the Indian ace was not up to the mark against the younger American.

The heat was turned on early in the tournament as Wesley So of United States accounted for compatriot Hikaru Nakamura while Russian Vladimir Kramnik had it easy against arch-rival Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

Levon Aronian of Armenia also got off to a winning start at the expense of Michael Adams of England while Anish Giri of Holland had little difficulty in holding his fort against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France.

Advertising
Advertising

Aronian, Wesley and Kramnik thus emerged as the early leaders in the 10-player round-robin tournament and they are followed by Anand, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave and Caruana a half point behind. Topalov, Adams and Nakamura share the eighth spot with eight rounds still to come.

Anand solved his opening problems, showing deep insight in an English opening game. Caruana exerted pressure on the queen side by pushing his pawns forward but the Indian was able to keep white pieces in check with a timely counter-attack.

Once the centre was opened by Caruana, pieces changed hands in quick time and although Anand had two knights against two bishops in the ensuing endgame, the position was always within the boundary of a draw.

Wesley So was in no mood to give any birthday present to Nakamura who turned 29. Playing the black side of a Grunfeld defense, Wesley sprang an early surprise in the opening and was duly rewarded as Nakamura went berserk with his planning. The end result was a two pawns down endgame for the birthday boy and he called it quits soon.

Kramnik and Topalov do not shake hands since 2006 when Topalov was crushed by Kramnik in the world championship match marred by controversies. The rivalry between the two often brings out high-octane games and first round was no exception.

Kramnik was meticulous and remorseless at the same time as he went about choking black in the middle game arising out of another Grunfeld. The Russian did not relent till Topalov threw the towel in.

Advertisement

Aronian won a nice game by putting consistent pressure on local star Michael Adams while Giri and Vachier-Lagrave drew quickly out of a Sicilian Najdorf defense game where the former played black.

Results, round 1: Fabiano Caruana (USA) drew with V Anand (IND); Levon Aronian (ARM) beat Michael Adams (ENG); Hikaru Nakamura (USA) lost to Wesley So (USA); Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) drew with Anish Giri (NED); Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) beat Veselin Topalov (BUL).

Advertisement
Topics mentioned in this article
Chess Viswanathan Anand
Advertisement
Get the Latest Cricket Updates, Check IPL 2025 News, Schedule, Points Table and Results at NDTV Sports. Like Us On Facebook Or Follow Us On Twitter For More Sports Updates. You Can Also Download The NDTV Cricket App For Android Or iOS.
Show full article
Trending Links
  • Paralympics 2024
  • Jay Shah
  • Virat Kohli
  • Paralympics Medal Tally
  • India's Schedule Paralympics 2024
  • Rohit Sharma
Follow us on:
facebook
twitter
Cricket
  • Live Scores
  • Series
  • Fixtures
  • Results
  • News
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Features
  • Teams
  • Players
  • Venues
  • ICC Ranking
Football
  • ISL 2022-23
  • EPL 2022-23
  • News
  • Features
  • Photos
  • Fixtures
  • Results
  • Videos
  • Teams
  • Players
  • Matchcentre
More Sports
Formula 1 Tennis Hockey Badminton Golf Nba Kabaddi Shooting Swimming Table Tennis
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Feedback
  • Disclaimer
  • Investor
  • Complaint Redressal
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics © Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2025. All rights reserved.
Select Language
  • Languages
  • हिंदी | Hindi
Search
  • Featured Links
    • England vs India
    • IPL 2025
    • IPL 2025 Schedule
    • EPL Table
    • EPL Schedule
  • Featured Sports
    • Cricket
    • Football
    • Formula 1
    • Tennis
    • Hockey
    • Golf
    • Badminton
  • More Sports
    • Kabaddi
    • NBA
    • Boxing
    • Athletics
    • Chess
    • Swimming
    • Shooting
    • Wrestling
    • Table tennis
    • Othersports
  • More from NDTV
    • NDTV
    • Business
    • Hindi
    • Movies
    • Cricket
    • Health
    • Food
    • Tech
    • Auto
    • Apps
    • Trains
    • Art
arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow