Tata Steel Chess Masters | Viswanathan Anand finishes tournament in joint third place

Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand settled for a joint third-place finish after he played out a draw with compatriot Vidit Gujrathi in the 13th and final round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee.

With three victories, nine draws, and a solitary defeat against World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Anand finished the season opener at 7.5 points and will add six points to his existing rating. Carlsen, who finished with 9 points in his final game against Giri, handed him the victory in Wijk Aan Zee. This was Carlsen’s seventh victory in the super tournament.

The second spot went to Giri who ended on 8.5 and it was a three-way tie for the third place shared by Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia, Ding Liren of China, and Anand respectively. Gujrathi proved that his elevation to the top group was not a flash in the pan as he ended a creditable sixth on seven points. He lost two, won three and drew the remaining eight games.

In his final game of the competition, Anand opened with the king pawn and faced the Petroff defense which was also used by Jan Krzysztof Duda of Poland a couple of days ago. Anand in a symmetrical pawn structure and Gujrathi equalised without much ado. The players decided to sign peace in 30 moves vide repetition.

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