Chennai: Viswanathan Anand has tasted victory at the Legends of Chess online tournament, beating Boris Gelfand of Israel 2.5-0.5 in the seventh round.
Anand, playing against long-time rival after six straight losses, won his first game of the tournament despite conceding early advantage on Monday night.
He won in 45 moves with black pieces and continued the good work by claiming the second game in 49 moves.
Anand then settled for a 46-move draw in the third game against his 2012 world championship challenger. “It’s not been as disastrous the last three days as the first three, but it’s nice to get a win,” Anand, said.
The victory moved the former world champion to eighth spot with six points ahead of Hungarian Peter Leko (5 points) and Chinese world number three Ding Liren (3). Anand, ranked 15th in the world, faces Liren in the eighth round later.