Tata Steel Chess: Anand draws, shares 2nd place; Vidit battling Carlsen

Viswanathan Anand drew with USA's Samuel Shankland and shares second spot with Chinese Ding Liren.

File image of Viswanathan Anand.

Viswanathan Anand played out a 35-move draw with black pieces against USA’s Samuel Shankland and slipped to the second place in the company of Chinese Ding Liren after three
rounds of Tata Steel Masters chess tournament here on Monday.

A second successive draw took Anand’s tally to two points, a tally matched by Ding Liren following his 50-move win over local Jorden van Foreest.

In the day’s longest battle, Vidit Gujarati was looking to force a draw against World champion Magnus Carlsen. Playing white, Vidit faced a pawn-deficit and had over one hour less than Carlsen on the clock in the endgame involving a rook each and pawns.

Ian Nepomniachtchi, overnight in joint lead with Anand, surged ahead by beating Vladimir Kramnik. This battle of the Russians was the first to witness a player win with white pieces. For Kramnik, lucky to escape defeat in the opener, a second straight defeat is a rarity in his distinguished career.

In the Challenger section, P. Praggnanandhaa eked out a second draw in as many days by holding local Erwin L’Ami in 35 moves of French Defence.