JOIN USWorld Champion Viswanathan Anand played out his second draw on the trot, signing peace with Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second round of the 5th Final Masters here. With draws from two white games so far, it turns out to be a mediocre start for Anand, who is back to competitive chess after a four-month break.
The Indian ace will certainly feel the pressure as the tournament progresses with five black and just three white games remaining for him in the last eight rounds.
Meanwhile, youngest participant Fabiano Caruana of Italy continued with his impressive run by beating Russian Sergey Karjakin to maintain an all-win record after two rounds.
In the other game of the day, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen outwitted Francisco Vallejo Pons of Spain. Anand with two draws is fourth in the standings on two points and Vallejo on one point is on his toes. Karjakin is yet to open his account.
Results (Round II): Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 2) drew with Levon Aronian (Arm, 4); Francisco Vallejo Pons (Esp, 1) lt to Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 3); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 0) lt to Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 6).