Anand defeats Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in Norway Chess

Ace chess player from India In the first round of the classical portion of the Norway Chess tournament in Stavenger, Norway, Viswanathan Anand defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in 40 moves.

The Indian GM earned three points after defeating the French player late Tuesday.

American Wesley So tied for first place with Anand after defeating Teimur Rajdabov in the first round, while Magnus Carlsen had to settle for a draw with China’s Wang Had.

Anand had stunned world champion Carlsen in round seven in the blitz tournament held prior to the Classical, finishing fourth.

The former world champion, on the other hand, lost in the fourth and ninth rounds to Anish Giri (Netherlands) and Vachier-Lagrave, respectively, to finish with 5 points in the 10-player blitz tournament.

Anand grabbed the lead in the Blitz rankings with 6.5 points, one point ahead of Carlsen, while Giri came in third. As a result, he earned the chance to choose his starting number in the traditional competition.

If the game ended in a tie, the players would play an Armeggedon (sudden death) game.