London Chess Classic 2012: Viswanathan Anand signs off with draw with Carlsen

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand finished his campaign with a draw against Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the ninth and final round of London Chess Classic here on Tuesday. Anand ended the tournament on nine points and had to content with a fifth place finish among nine contenders as Carlsen emerged as the clear winner on 18 points under the soccer-like scoring system in place here.

Vladimir Kramnik of Russia finished second after an easy draw as black against Michael Adams, who ended joint third. Kramnik scored 16 points in all, while Adams ended on 13 points along side Hikaru Nakamura of the United States. Nakamura was involved in the lone decisive game of the day. The American accounted for Brit Luke McShane.

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Must-Watch Carlsen Chess Video: I have a Lot to Learn!

On Saturday, December 8th Magnus Carlsen broke Garry Kasparov's chess rating record of 2851.By drawing with Hikaru Nakamura at the London Chess Classic, the Norwegian player will be certain of an Elo of at least 2856 on the January 1 FIDE rating list. Here is a must-watch video produced by ChessVibes in which Carlsen talks about the game and about breaking the record.

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Magnus Carlsen Wins London Chess Classic 2012

World number 1 and highest rated chess player in history Magnus Carlsen, winner of the London Classic winner 2012: Detailed report to follow.

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2012 London Chess Classic 2012: Vishy Anand Escapes Hikaru Nakamura

LONDON: World champion Viswanathan Anand played out an exciting draw with Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the eighth and penultimate round of the London Chess Classic, on Monday. After a steady draw with Judit Polgar of Hungary in the previous round, it was a nerve-wracking game in which fortunes fluctuated many a times and the draw was probably a good result from a sporting point of view as both Anand and Nakamura missed many opportunities.

On a day when tournament leader Magnus Carlsen of Norway had a bye, Russian Vladimir Kramnik capitalised on his opportunities and crushed Gawain Jones of England. In other games, English Michael Adams of England could not use his extra pawn to full use and split the point with Levon Aronian of Armenia, while Polgar scored her first victory at the expense of Luke McShane of England.

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