Magnus Carlsen managed to beat Vishy Anand deep down in a knight endgame to grab sole lead at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with three rounds to go. A spectacular 10th round, held in a church in Leiden, saw four more decisive games.
It was the second Tata Steel Chess on Tour day, and this time the location was the St. Peter’s Church in central Leiden, the Netherlands. With a university since 1575 that counts Albert Einstein among its former lecturers, Leiden is the birthplace of Rembrandt.
The players were definitely inspired and created a wonderful round that enthralled both the local fans and those of the world champion. First we saw a “triple double Dutch” with wins for both Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest for the third time in one round, and at the end of the day Carlsen managed to beat Anand in a knight endgame that many feel Anand wouldn’t have lost to any other opponent. The Norwegian player showed some of the magic that he used to show much more often.
