Just when it seemed Veselin Topalov could win the Norway Chess 2015 with a round to spare, Anish Giri’s conquest of the Bulgarian in the eighth round has given a victorious Viswanathan Anand an outside chance of claiming the title.
With just half a point separating Topalov and Anand, their final-round clash will decide the title. Topalov (6 points) needs a draw while second-placed Anand (5.5) requires a victory from black pieces to top the field.
The day also saw Magnus Carlsen overpower Levon Aronian in an error-filled game where the Armenian had the better of the exchanges until he messed it up. Should Carlsen win with black piecesin the final round, the world champion could finish with a 50 per cent score from the competition.
The results:Eighth round: Viswanathan Anand (5.5) bt Jon Ludvig Hammer (Nor, 2); Anish Giri (Ned, 5) bt Veselin Topalov (Bul, 6); Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 5) drew with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Fra, 3.5); Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 3.5) bt Levon Aronian (Arm, 3); Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 3) drew with Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 3.5).
