World Chess Championship: Carlsen defeats Anand in game 9, extends lead to 6-3

Zee Media Bureau

Chennai: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand was put under tremendous pressure by Norwegian Magnus Carlsen who won the ninth game of the World Chess Championship on Thursday to take a 6-3 lead in the tournament. Carlsen now needs just .5 points to seal the tournament. Carlsen has won three matches in the tournament and is on the verge of winning the World Championship. Prior to this match, Viswanathan Anand was trailing 3-5 to the 22-year-old with just four games remaining in their World Championship title clash. The fans were hoping for a turnaround in the ninth game which was to an extent dominated by the Indian veteran. In the ninth game, Anand who was playing with white pieces missed out on several chances and suffered a shocking defeat that almost sealed the fate of the match. The 22-year-old Norwegian went for a Nimzo Indian defense as black and Anand, who knew this was his last chance for a strike, went for the Saemisch variation. Anand had used this system before, in World Championship match against Kramnik and later in a gem of a match against Wang Hao of China.