Norway Chess 2022: Viswanathan Anand undisputed after third straight win

Indian legend Viswanathan Anand continued his winning streak in the Classical section of the Norway Chess tournament, defeating China's Wang Hao in the third round to maintain his lead in the standings. After the regular classical match ended in a tie after 39 moves, the 52-year-old Anand won the Armageddon (sudden death game) early on Friday.

This was Anand’s third consecutive win in the classical section of the tournament, after having defeated Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Bulgarian Veselin Topalov in the first two rounds.

The former world champion defeated Hao in just 44 moves, bringing his total to 7.5 points. He is closely followed by Wesley So of the United States, who is in second place with 6 points, and former World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who is in third place with 5.5 points.

In the other matches of the day, Frenchman Vachier-Lagrave defeated Norwegian Aryan Tari, and Anish Giri shared points with So, drawing the classical and Armageddon games, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov defeated Topalov in the sudden death.

In the ongoing Norway Chess tournament, if the classical game ends in a draw, the participants face Armageddon (sudden death). The Blitz event, which came before the ongoing Classical one, was won by the American chess grandmaster Wesley So.