London, Dec 10:
World champion Viswanathan Anand played out an exciting draw with Hikaru Nakamura of the United States in the eighth and penultimate round of the London Chess Classic, here today.
After a steady draw with Judit Polgar of Hungary in the previous round, it was a nerve-wracking game in which fortunes fluctuated many a times and the draw was probably a good result from a sporting point of view as both Anand and Nakamura missed many opportunities.
On a day when tournament leader Magnus Carlsen of Norway had a bye, Russian Vladimir Kramnik capitalised on his opportunities and crushed Gawain Jones of England. In other games, English Michael Adams of England could not use his extra pawn to full use and split the point with Levon Aronian of Armenia, while Polgar scored her first victory at the expense of Luke McShane of England.
As things stand, Carlsen remained on 17 points after his bye and Kramnik narrowed the gap to remain within striking distance on 15 points. Adams, on 12 points, remained in third spot, two points ahead of Nakamura who enjoys a two-point advantage over Anand on fifth spot.(PTI)
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