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Magnus Carlsen sealed a victory over two-time World Chess Championship rival Vishwanathan Anand and took Ian Nepomniachtchi, the man he beat to the world title in 2021 in the same city, in a packed Friday draw in the World Chess League, which saw four matches.
After a hectic day of action came to an end, Anand’s Ganges Grandmasters lead the standings with 21 match points and six match points. The Balan Alaskan Knights, under the NEBO title, are in second place in the league.
The highlight game of the evening arrived early, when Carlsen beat Anand.
🐐 BOATS 🐐@employee @employee #GGvSG #GCL #GlobalChessLeague # Hahaha #GCLonJioCinema #fishefmagnus pic.twitter.com/FkrdfsyPV3
– Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (GCLlive) June 23, 2023
“I was so careless. I wasn’t fully together… There is a special touch (when I play against Carlsen), but when you play so much as we face each other, it’s hard to make everyone special,” Anand laughed after the match as he stood next to the scientist Norwegian No. 1.
“It was good to play Vichy. But, to be honest, I’m more worried about what happens in the match,” Carlsen said, as both eyes — his and his Indian opponent’s — kept darting towards the giant TV screen on the side to look at the other results of the game. .
Despite Anand’s defeat, his team, the Ganges Grandmasters, managed an 11-6 aggregate victory over SG Alpine Warriors.
In a previous match, Carlsen found himself facing Nepomniachtchi. It was a comeback of sorts for the Russian, who had lost the purple world championship fight to him. Ding Liren earlier this year.
“I have to say something like it was very good to be back on the board. But, really, I’m not sure. I haven’t played any chess for about a month. For me it was a bit of a new feeling to play,” Nebo said, talking about the match against Carlsen. Chess is on the board again.”
“But the game was very boring: drawing lines, drawing patterns. It’s good for the team that I didn’t lose,” he added.
Sunday will see four games in another action-packed day in the GCL with the Triveni Continental Kings and Balan Alaskan Knights playing two games each.
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