Moscow: World Champion Viswanathan Anand`s hope of winning the Tal Memorial chess championship is all but over after the Indian played out a draw against Hikaru Nakamura in the penultimate round here.
With his eighth consecutive draw in as many rounds in the 10-player round robin tournament, Anand is almost out of the reckoning for a top finish as he has only four points in his kitty out of a possible eight.
Anand will face his world championship challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel in the next round.
Levon Aronian displayed immaculate technique and great determination to beat Peter Svidler of Russia and surge ahead in the points table with one round still to go.
On a day when the other games ended in draw affairs, Aronian took his tally to five points in all and is now followed by Russian duo of Sergey Karjakin and Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine and Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who all have 4.5 points apiece.
Anand holds the sixth spot while Russians Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler are tied on the seventh spot on 3.5 points each. Sharing the last spot are Gelfand and Nakamura of United States.
Against Nakamura, Anand tried to make his last white count but missed the opportunity.
Nakamura employed the King`s Indian defense and faced the Saemisch variation and Indian ace was soon in control after an unwarranted pawn advance by the American on the queen side.
Another inaccuracy by the American left the pawn hanging but Anand misseed the opportunity and the game ended in a draw after 33 moves.
Aronian was in control right through a positional squeeze against Svidler. Not going for topical variations, Aronian chose a subtle line that gave white a minimal advantage and the grind was on for a long time.
Svidler went for passive defense when he should have been looking for counter play in the queen and minor pieces endgame and that cost him dearly.
With a remarkable knight sacrifice, Aronian created passed pawns that the Knight was unable to stop. The game lasted 54 moves.
In other games of the day, Magnus Carlsen could not avoid an equalising break through in the centre against Nepomniachtchi from a Sicilian Rossolimo and subsequent exchanges led to a draw by perpetual checks.
Vladimir Kramnik could not make headway after Karjakin defused the tension and drew in 43 moves while in a Semi Slav defense, Gelfand found a piece sacrifice to force a draw with Vassily Ivanchuk.
Results after round 8: V Anand (IND, 4) drew with hikaru Nakamura (USA, 3); Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR, 4.5) drew with Boris Gelfand (ISR, 3); Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 4.5) drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS, 4.5); Levon Aronian (ARM, 5) beat Peter Svidler (RUS, 3.5); Vladimir Kramnik (RUS, 3.5) drew with Sergey Karjakin (UKR, 4.5).
PTI
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.