IOM Chess Meet: Vishwanathan Anand wins the penultimate round, moves to joint third spot

Viswanathan Anand gained a slight advantage in the middle game and used it well to grab a quick win over Laurent Fressinet, enabling him to move into joint third spot after the penultimate round of the Isle of Man International Chess tournament on Saturday.

After 41 moves, Fressinet resigned and Anand took his points tally to 6 from a possible 8. However,  neither the 47-year-old nor the other five GM’s present in joint third spot have a shot at the title since the world champion Magnus Carlsen is a full point ahead of all whereas Hiraku Nakamura, his last round opponent, is half a point behind in second.

This will lead to Carlsen being crowned as champion even if he manages to get the game to a draw and, on the other hand, Nakamura will be able to claim the title if he inflicts the tournament’s first loss on the Norwegian.

Other Indian players also tasted victory, with Swapnil Dhopade defeating veteran Nigel Short in 72 moves while Vidit Gujrathi getting a quick draw against Pavel Eljanov. Both players have a total of six points after eight rounds as well.