<p>In a now-or-never situation, World Champion Viswanathan Anand will take on Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the eighth round of fifth Final Masters here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The event that started a little over a fortnight back in Sao Paulo, Brazil, reaches its business end and with three rounds remaining, its high time that Anand finds his winning ways.<br /><br />Anand has drawn all the seven games so far and has two white games left in the rest of the three rounds.<br /><br />For Anand, it's a typical situation and if doesn't use his white pieces against Caruana to good effect, his chances of catching up will evaporate completely.<br /><br />Two wins out of three would be ideal and if the Indian ace manage to do it, it will be a remarkable comeback after a sedate start.<br /><br />Italy's Fabiano Caruana and world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway are firmly ahead on 12 points apiece and even though the comet-like run of the Italian is halted in the second half, he still remains in with a chance to win the biggest event of his career.<br /><br />More often than not, Carlsen has benefitted from the soccer-like scoring system that is used here and with two back-to-back wins he has emerged as the firm favourite for the crown. <br /><br />The third spot is held by Levon Aronian of Armenia and he too would be fancying his chances with a game against lowest ranked Francisco Vallejo Pons in hand in the next round.<br /><br />Aronian on nine points, is two points ahead of Anand who is clear fourth and these two are the only unbeaten players so far in the tournament.<br /><br />Much was expected from Russian Sergey Karjakin but he has clearly not been in his best form. With just five draws apart from a couple of losses, Karjakin will have to do well against Carlsen in the next round to restore some balance.<br /><br />Francisco Vallejo Pons is the local favourite and the highest ranked native Spanish. His four draws are not a disappointment but unlike last year, when he even beat Carlsen in one game, he is not able to generate very complicated positions for the higher ranked players to go wrong.<br /><br />Currently, Vallejo is losing some rating also.<br />Pairings round 8: V Anand (Ind, 7) v/s Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 12); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 5) v/s Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 12); Francisco Vallejo Pons (Esp, 4) v/s Levon Aronian (Arm, 9).</p>
<p>In a now-or-never situation, World Champion Viswanathan Anand will take on Fabiano Caruana of Italy in the eighth round of fifth Final Masters here.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The event that started a little over a fortnight back in Sao Paulo, Brazil, reaches its business end and with three rounds remaining, its high time that Anand finds his winning ways.<br /><br />Anand has drawn all the seven games so far and has two white games left in the rest of the three rounds.<br /><br />For Anand, it's a typical situation and if doesn't use his white pieces against Caruana to good effect, his chances of catching up will evaporate completely.<br /><br />Two wins out of three would be ideal and if the Indian ace manage to do it, it will be a remarkable comeback after a sedate start.<br /><br />Italy's Fabiano Caruana and world number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway are firmly ahead on 12 points apiece and even though the comet-like run of the Italian is halted in the second half, he still remains in with a chance to win the biggest event of his career.<br /><br />More often than not, Carlsen has benefitted from the soccer-like scoring system that is used here and with two back-to-back wins he has emerged as the firm favourite for the crown. <br /><br />The third spot is held by Levon Aronian of Armenia and he too would be fancying his chances with a game against lowest ranked Francisco Vallejo Pons in hand in the next round.<br /><br />Aronian on nine points, is two points ahead of Anand who is clear fourth and these two are the only unbeaten players so far in the tournament.<br /><br />Much was expected from Russian Sergey Karjakin but he has clearly not been in his best form. With just five draws apart from a couple of losses, Karjakin will have to do well against Carlsen in the next round to restore some balance.<br /><br />Francisco Vallejo Pons is the local favourite and the highest ranked native Spanish. His four draws are not a disappointment but unlike last year, when he even beat Carlsen in one game, he is not able to generate very complicated positions for the higher ranked players to go wrong.<br /><br />Currently, Vallejo is losing some rating also.<br />Pairings round 8: V Anand (Ind, 7) v/s Fabiano Caruana (Ita, 12); Sergey Karjakin (Rus, 5) v/s Magnus Carlsen (Nor, 12); Francisco Vallejo Pons (Esp, 4) v/s Levon Aronian (Arm, 9).</p>