Viswanathan Anand loses to Ivanchuk, ends disastrous Legends campaign after 8 defeats
Chennai: Indian chess ace Viswanathan Anand's signed off second from bottom after his disappointing campaign at the Legends of Chess online tournament ended with a loss to long-time rival Vasyl Ivanchuk in the ninth and final round.
It was Anand's eighth loss in the USD 150,000 tournament. The 50-year-old ended in ninth position behind GM Peter Leko who finished last.
After all the four games ended in draws, the Anand-Ivanchuk contest went into the Armageddon (a tie-breaker), which also ended in a stalemate.
The Ukrainian emerged victorious as he played black in the decider late on Wednesday.
Anand started the match with a 57-move draw and the tie progressed in a similar vein with the players opting for quiet draws.
The Armageddon game was a 59-move affair before the former world champion signed peace with Ivanchuk.
The 50-year old Indian finished ninth in the standings with 7 match points and a solitary win (over Boris Gelfand) on his debut in the Magnus Carlsen Tour.
In other matches, world No.1 Magnus Carlsen beat Vladimir Kramnik 3-1 to finish with an all-win record after nine matches in the preliminary stage.
The Norwegian will now play Russia's Peter Svidler in the semi-finals, while Anish Giri (Hungary) takes on Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) in a repeat of their Chessable Masters semi-final.
Legends of Chess is an event in which Carlsen, Liren, Nepomniachtchi and Giri, semifinalists at the Chessable Masters (part of the Magnus Carlsen Tour), received an automatic invite and are up against six legends aged 40-52, who have been at the top of world chess at various points in their career.
The tournament is part of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. The winner of this event qualifies for the USD 300,000 Grand Final scheduled from August 9 to 20.
Results of Round 9:
Vasyl Ivanchuk (Ukraine) beat Viswanathan Anand (India) 2.5-2.5 (Ivanchuk wins by playing black after Armageddon is drawn); Magnus Carlsen (Norway) beat Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 3-1; Boris Gelfand (Israel) beat Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia) 3-2; Anish Giri (The Netherlands) beat Peter Svidler (Russia) 2.5-1.5; Ding Liren (China) beat Peter Leko (Hungary) 2.5-1.5.
Final standings: 1. Carlsen 25 match points, 2. Nepomniachtchi 20, 3. Giri 18, 4. Svidler 14, 5. Ivanchuk 13, 6. Kramnik 12, 7. Gelfand 11, 8. Liren 7, 9. Anand 7, 10. Leko 6.
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M'luru: School physical education teacher’s body found under mysterious circumstances in well
Ullal: The body of a 51-year-old physical education teacher was found in a well at his residence in Kondana, under the limits of Kotekar town, on Friday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Prabhakar Jogi, who was serving as a physical education teacher at the Government School in Kallarakodi, Naringana village. Police suspect that he may have died by suicide, allegedly due to health-related issues.
According to police, Prabhakar had dropped his daughter at Uchila School earlier in the day for the school anniversary programme and returned home.
He was later preparing to attend the same event along with his wife and son, when he suddenly went missing. A search was launched by family members, following which his body was found in the well located at his house.
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Police said that Prabhakar Jogi was reportedly suffering from a neurological disorder. He had served in several schools across Ullal taluk and was actively involved in organisations of physical education teachers.
Ullal police visited the spot, conducted an inspection and sent the body for post-mortem examination.
In his complaint to the police, Prabhakar’s son, Sai Tejas, stated that his father had jumped into the well and that there was no suspicion surrounding the death.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered and further investigation is underway.
