Carlsen Wins Blitz; Anand Ties For Third

By Arvind Aaron

The new world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway won the Zurich Chess Challenge blitz tournament which had an average rating of 2801.

Carlsen, 23, lost to Fabiano Caruana of Italy, drew Levon Aronian of Armenia and Boris Gelfand of Israel and beat Anand and Nakamura.

Carlsen and Aronian tied for first with 3/5 each losing a game each. Anand lost the top finishers, drew with Nakamura and beat Caruana and Gelfand to finish half a point behind the winners. Any finishing is good for Anand as he is the lowest rated player in the competition.

The placings in the blitz tournament will be the start draw number for the classical chess tournament. In the rapid tournament they will have reverse colours.

Final placings: 1-2. M Carlsen (Nor), L Aronian (Arm) 3/5 each; 3-5. H Nakamura (USA), F Caruana (Ita), V Anand (Ind) 2.5 each; 6 B Gelfand (Isr) 1.5.