Anand draws with Carlsen in sixth round; drops to second

MOSCOW - Viswanathan Anand was held to a draw by Magnus Carlsen, even as Vladimir Kramnik beat Ruslan Ponomariov to take outright lead at the end of the sixth round of the Tal Memorial Chess tournament.

Kramnik, who was in shared lead with Anand, moved to 4.5 points and pushed the Indian to second place with four points Wednesday.

The encounter between the current world champion and Carlsen saw the Ragozin Defence in the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Carlsen chose a daring 12.g4, with the idea of a kingside pawn storm. But Carlsen was ultimately forced to enter into a perpetual to avoid Anand’s connected passers on the queenside. After 36 moves, the players agreed to a draw.

Kramnik once again adopted the strategy of getting a lone pawn to the sixth or seventh rank and then go for the win, which he again managed against Pono.

Round 6 results:

Carlsen drew with Anand; Gelfand beat Aronian; Kramnik beat Ponomariov; Leko drew with Svidler; Morozevich lost to Ivanchuk

Standings after 6 rounds:

1.Kramnik - 4

2. Anand - 4

3-4. Gelfand and Ivanchuk - 3

5-6. Carlsen and Aronian - 3

7. Ponomariov - 2

8-10. Morozevich, Leko and Svidler - 2 points

Round 7 pairings:

Aronian - Kramnik

Ivanchuk - Gelfand

Anand - Morozevich

Svidler - Carlsen

Ponomariov - Leko