PRESS RELEASE:

Carlsen sinks Anand while playing from a boat in the Med

Chess great Vishy Anand went toe-to-toe with World Champion Magnus Carlsen today before finally collapsing in round 2 of the chess24 Legends of Chess online super-tournament.

The veteran former world title-holder, playing the man who took the crown off him seven years ago, battled hard but ultimately came up short in today’s marquee tie.

Anand and Carlsen famously played World Championship matches in 2013 and 2014 in which the Norwegian came out on top. Carlsen has dominated world chess since.

But any thoughts that an in-form Carlsen would brush aside the 50-year-old legend were quickly dispelled as Anand played solidly to hold for three consecutive draws.

Carlsen, who is playing from a boat in the Mediterranean Sea, eventually broke through in the final game to pick up the maximum 3 tournament points.

The World Champion is looking in ominous form having won both his opening matches in the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour event which he entered on the back of winning the Chessable Masters earlier this month.

World number 3 Ding Liren’s woes continued as he looked badly out-of-form against Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Ding, who plays behind the Chinese firewall and has been dogged by connection problems in previous tournaments, went down 2.5-0.5.

He has now lost 2/2 rounds while the Russian Nepomniachtchi has won both his matches.

Boris Gelfand, the oldest in the field who downed Ding yesterday, claimed another scalp when he overpowered Vasyl Ivanchuk in the final game to take the match 2.5-1.5.

Vladimir Kramnik, the man who conquered Garry Kasparov to become the 14th World Chess Champion, blew a chance to take his match against Anish Giri to an Armageddon tiebreak.

Giri, the Netherlands number 1, then secured the draw he needed in their last game to take the match 2.5-1.5.

The “Peter derby” match-up between 2004 world title challenger Peter Leko and eight-time Russian champ Peter Svidler also ended in a 2.5-1.5 win for Svidler.

Today was the second day of the round-robin battle for a semi-final place.

The event, the fourth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund.

The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August.

Carlsen, Anand and Kramnik are the last three undisputed world champions together in one tournament.

Anand is the man Carlsen wrestled his world title from seven years ago, while Kramnik ushered in a new era in chess in 2000.

Commentary is provided by Jan Gustafsson, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, and Tania Sachdev and special guests – including more legends to be announced later. The event is also be broadcast in 10 languages by chess24.com.

The official tournament social media hashtag is #ChessLegends.

Line-up:

• The 16th, and current, World Champion Magnus Carlsen;
• The 15th World Champion Vishy Anand;
• The 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik;
• Blitz and Rapid Champion Vasyl Ivanchuk;
• Eight-time Russian champion Peter Svidler;
• World title challenger in 2004: Peter Leko;
• World Cup winner and 2012 world title challenger Boris Gelfand;
• Netherlands No.1 and 2020 Candidate Anish Giri;
• Russian No.1 and 2020 Candidate Ian Nepomniachtchi;
• China’s No.1 and 2020 Candidate Ding Liren.

Tournament rules and schedule

The time control will be a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed.

The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST.