Viswanathan Anand defeats Teimour Radjabov in 7th Norway chess round

Viswanathan Anand, a veteran Indian chess master, defeated Azerbaijan’s Teimour Radjabov in the Armageddon in the seventh round of the Norway Chess Championship on Wednesday, June 8. He remained in second place behind World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen after that.

Following his victory in the seventh round, the 52-year-old veteran campaigner currently has 13 points. Anand is now half a point behind Carlsen, who suffered a shock defeat in the sudden death tie-break to Aryan Tari of Norway.

The match between Radjabov and Anand in a Guicco Pianissimo game concluded in a tie after 42 moves. The former world champion then required only 25 moves in the sudden death tie-break (Armageddon) to defeat the Azerbaijan player and gain a much-needed victory.

Meanwhile, after the classical match ended in a stalemate, top-ranked Carlsen was defeated by his countryman in 37 moves. Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beat Anish Giri to take third place with 11.5 points, followed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who beat Wesley So. Both won the classical for a total of three points.

Hao Wang of China overcame experienced Veselin Topalov in the Armageddon in the other match of the day. In this year’s competition, if the traditional game ends in a tie, the players compete in an Armageddon (sudden death).