Norway chess: Anand, Giri share honours in round six; Carlsen moves into lead

Stavanger (Norway): Indian maestro Viswanathan Anand drew his sixth round contest against Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the Classical section of the Norway Chess tournament.

The classical match ended in a draw after which the Armageddon ended in stalemate early on Tuesday to leave Anand on 11.5 points and in second place. World champion Magnus Carlsen roared to the top spot with a victory over Azerbaijan’s Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to take his tally to 12.5 points after six rounds.

The classical match between Anand, playing black, and Giri saw the two players shaking hands for a draw after 35 moves in an English Variation game.

In the ensuing Armageddon (sudden death tie-break), the duo battled for 45 moves before it ended in a draw. As per Armageddon rules, the player playing black is deemed to have won the game if it ends in a draw.

The 52-year old Indian superstar, who had shocked Carlsen in the previous round, takes on Teimour Radjabov in round eight.

Barring the Carlsen-Mamedyarov clash, all the other matches ended in draws in the round. The Norwegian world No.1 defeated his Azerbaijan opponent in 56 moves.

In other matches on the day, France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat China’s Hao Wang via the sudden death tie-break while Wesley So (USA) got the better of Norwegian Aryan Tari. Veselin Topalov drew with Radjabov in the Armageddon to share honours.

In the ongoing Norway Chess tournament, the players take part in an Armageddon (sudden death) in case of a draw in the classical game.