World number one Magnus Carlsen toppled local favourite Viswanathan Anand in Chennai to add the world chess championship title to his already impressive resume on Friday, Reuters reports.
A draw in the crucial 10th game gave the young Norwegian an unassailable lead in the 12-match contest and put an end to Anand’s hopes of retaining the FIDE title he’s held since 2007.
Carlsen, about a week shy of his 23rd birthday, led 6-3 before Friday’s game and needed just a draw to become the first champion from the West since American Bobby Fischer’s reign ended in 1975.
Anand, who has slumped to eighth in the rankings, did not win a game in a series billed as the “War of the Wizards”. In this battle of youth and experience that kicked off on Nov. 9, both players started out with draws before the Norwegian won the fifth and sixth games to pull ahead. Anand drew the next two games before Carlsen prevailed in the ninth.
On Friday, Anand was playing with black pieces — a disadvantage as white moves first — and could not make much headway in a game that lasted for nearly four hours.
