Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia in the seventh round to jump to the joint top position in the Sinquefield Cup on Thursday.
Anand’s second straight victory with white pieces took him to 4.5 points from seven rounds. He now shares the lead with overnight leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France and Levon Aronian of Armenia with two rounds to go.
“I was not thinking of an advantage at this point,” Anand said after the game. “He just seemed to fall apart,” said Anand after the game that lasted for 40 moves.
World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway remained within striking distance of the three leaders following an easy draw against Peter Svidler of Russia. With four points in his bag, Carlsen has an important final round lined up against Aronian.
Interestingly, the tournament is being dominated by non- Russians and non-US players. The top four Anand, Vachier, Aronian and Carlsen are the only four players to have a plus score in the tournament while the remaining six, are either from Russia or the host federation