Viswanathan Anand yet again suffered a defeat against Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the 12th round and needs a Herculean effort to stage a comeback in the Candidates Chess tournament now underwa
Viswanathan Anand yet again suffered a defeat against Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the 12th round and needs a Herculean effort to stage a comeback in the Candidates Chess tournament now underway here.
Nakamura has been Anand’s nemesis for some time and another meeting between the two again brought out the best in the American who has otherwise had a forgettable Candidates.
For the first 11 games, Nakamura had just scored a single victory, seven draws and three losses. The victory against Anand made his record slightly better but the American has no chance whatsoever of winning the Candidates.
With just two rounds remaining in his biggest challenge of the year, Anand has a tall task on hand. In all probability, the Indian will have to win both his last two games to be in with a chance to challenge Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the next world championship match later this year.
In the post-match conference, Nakamura revealed that black’s 11th move was a mistake when Anand saved his Bishop from a pawn onslaught.