For the first time in close to three decades, Viswanathan Anand has lost his India number one ranking Pentala Harikrishna. With a current elo rating of 2763, Anand is narrowly behind Harikrishna’s 2763.3, after suffering a fourth round loss at the 2016 Candidates Championship in Moscow.
The 25-year old Russian has taken a narrow lead in the tournament, with a score of 3.0/4 as compared to Anand’s 2.0/4. Karajkin is the youngest ever Grandmaster from Russia, turning pro at the age of just 12. He also won the World Cup in 2015.
That being said, this is the first time Karajkin has beaten Anand.
Anand has seen a major slump in form recently, losing eight of his last 26 matches. The 46-year old’s fall in ranking can be redeemed as there are 10 more matches left in the tournament.
The loss also saw Anand slip to the third spot in the tournament, behind Armenia’s Levon Aronian.
This is the first time in 25 years he has lost his India No.1 ranking.
More to follow..