Anand beats Morozevich,climbs to fifth

Caruana,along with three others,shares the lead with two points with Anand and Carlsen are both in fifth place with 1.5 points each. Hikaru Nakamura won his second game in a row,this time outplaying Sergey Karjakin,to join Caruana at the top. Vladimir Kramnik finally got on board with a quick draw against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. The Russian is still in last place.

The Spanish opening has proved a mixed bag for the World Champion,but he persisted with it playing white against Morozevich. He did not come out of the opening phase with any kind of advantage,but the position remained closed well into the middle game. At around the 25th move,all pieces bar a pawn were on the board for each side. There was no straightforward opening for either side,but at around the 40th move mark,Morozevich made a series of lapses that would cost him dear.

It appeared as if Morozevich gave up a pawn to mount an attack on Anands king,but the Indians knights on the back ran provided adequate cover. The offense left Morozevichs dark bishop trapped,the e file open,and more critically,his king exposed. Anand moved in with a decisive queen check on the back rank that blew up blacks position. The Indian emerged with significant material advantage and Morozevich resigned on the 60th move.

Carlsen sacrificed a pawn and at best would have got an unsettled rook in return,but Caruana simply accepted the offered material and gave little in return. Still,the Norwegian looked to have the resources to mount a defense,but uncharacteristic mistakes in the rook,minor piece and pawn endgame to allow Caruana his second win of the tournament. Caruana,at 20,is the youngest player in the top-20 of the world and is poised to break into the 2800 bracket.

Nakamura played a near-perfect game,with his Grunfeld unsettling Karjakin early. From there it went downhill for the Russian in the 52 move loss. Boris Gelfand signed a quick draw with Dmitry Andreikin to stay in the lead.

The other overnight leader Mamedyarov was held to a flash draw against Kramnik,a relieved man after registering his first points of the tournament.Sunday is a rest day. On Monday,Anand will take on Gelfand with white pieces.

Results,round three:

Viswanathan Anand bt Alexander Morozevich,Boris Gelfand drew with Dmitry Andreikin,Magnus Carlsen lost to Fabiano Caruana,Hikaru Nakamura bt Sergey Karjakin,Shakhriyar Mamedyarov drew with Vladimir Kramnik.

Standings after round three:

1-4. Boris Gelfand,Fabiano Caruana,Shakhriyar Mamedyarov,Hikaru Nakamura 2 pts; 5-7. Dmitry Andreikin,Viswanathan Anand,Magnus Carlsen 1.5; 8-9. Alexander Morozevich,Sergey Karjakin 1,10. Vladimir Kramnik 0.5.