Online chess saw a historic moment today as two of the world's greatest ever players created a game full of finesse that was immediately branded a new "immortal".
India's veteran former world champ Vishy Anand, 50, and fellow former title-holder Vladimir Kramnik, 45, astonished fans watching the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess with arguably the best game ever played in an online super-tournament.
Former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov said the thrilling see-saw encounter was "history in the making" and "a legend in itself" as the action unfolded.
On social media, fans tuning into the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour event, broadcast online in 10 languages, said the epic was "truly the game of the year" and a "masterpiece".
However, the game - the first of today's Round 3 - ended in heartbreak for the evergreen Anand as he missed his winning chance under time pressure and cracked.
After being on the receiving end of Anand's brilliance, Kramnik's equally-inspired defensive play held out and he took the point. It didn't stop fans and commentators alike proclaiming it one of Anand's greatest games.
International Master Tania Sachdev, speaking on chess24's live show, said: "I don't think this immoral was ruined by Vlad, I actually think Vlad contributed to making this because it takes two. Vishy showed excellent tactical ideas and big Vlag came up with immense resources."
The first-game loss was devastating for Anand who crumbled in game 2 and then couldn't stop Kramnik getting the draw he needed to win the match 2.5-0.5.
Kramnik said afterward: "It was fun and games in the first game, yeah." Before he admitted: "I'm sure it was lost at some point."
He added: "I think it was difficult for Vishy to get back to his senses after the first game."
In the other matches, Russia's number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi wrapped it up in three games against Anish Giri with a 2.5-0.5 score.
Peter Leko, another one of the veterans taking part in the battle of the generations event, put up a strong fight against Magnus Carlsen.
But in game 4 the reigning World Champion turned the screw against Leko and broke through to secure the tie 2.5-1.5 and stand equal top of the leaderboard.
Carlsen admitted afterward that Leko, who came out of retirement to play in the tournament, had caused him serious problems.
"For sure," Carlsen said. "Especially of course in the third game because I was quite lost so overall winning this in regulation [time] was a big, big ask."
The Norwegian was joined on 9 points by eight-time Russian champion Peter Svidler who continued his excellent form with a 2.5-1.5 win over Boris Gelfand.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Ding Liren's miserable streak continued as he was beaten 2.5-1.5 by Vasyl Ivanchuk.
It was Ding's third reverse in a row and puts him in serious danger of being knocked out.
Today was the third day of the round-robin battle for four places in the Legends of Chess semi-finals.
The event, the fourth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund.
The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August.
Tournament rules and schedule
The time control will be a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed.
The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST.
Highlights in English:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharing
New files at around 23.00 CEST
Rough edit highlights:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharing
New files ready around 02.00 CEST
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Leon Watson
leon@chessable.com
+447786 078770
