Anand And Carlsen Lose In Sao Paulo

Top seeds Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen found themselves propping up the standings in São Paulo after both lost their games in a remarkable third round at the Grand Slam Final Masters.

Vishy Anand was met with a bold opening challenge when Vassily Ivanchuk's played the Ruy Lopez Schliemann, and under pressure an oversight cost the world champion a pawn and the game.

Magnus Carlsen's loss was as dramatic as it was unexpected. Vallejo Pons looked to be heading for another loss as the world #1 gradually increased his advantage until victory seemed to be within his grasp.

But then, proof came that Carlsen is indeed mortal, as he floundered when attempting to finish off the game, eventually blundering a whole piece and losing! 

Lev Aronian had the white pieces against Hikaru Nakamura, but the American played confidently to earn a well deserved draw.

The standings after three rounds:

Anand had no answer to Ivanchuk's energetic play

Oops! Magnus Carlsen undid his good work with a terrible blunder

Nakamura had no problems drawing his game with Aronian

The games in the São Paulo leg of the tournament start at 15:00 local time (18:00 UTC).  Games in the second leg in Bilbao are expected to start at 17:00 local time in Bilbao (15:00 UTC), apart from the last round which starts an hour earlier.

The so-called "Sofia-Rules" are in operation, meaning that players can only reach a draw by mutual agreement if they have the permission of the arbiter. The 3-1-0 soccer-style scoring system is also being used.  The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by 60 minutes to a finish, with a 10 second increment after move 40.

If there is a tie for first place, there will be a pair of blitz games, followed by a sudden death game if needed, to produce a winner. Ties for lower places will be decided by mathematical tie-breaks, starting with scores under the traditional 1-½-0 system.

Pictures from the official website.