Kramnik Wins Again In Bilbao

He may only have qualified for Bilbao by beating Lev Aronian in a sudden-death game, but Vladimir Kramnik (pictured) has had a fantastic start to the competition with two wins from two white games.

Kramnik's victim today's was Alexei Shirov, the latest installment of their many encounters through the years.

But the sensation of the day came in the other game, where Magnus Carlsen had white against world champion Vishy Anand.  It was an amazing game, with Anand claiming victory to condemn Carlsen to his second defeat in a row AND knock him off the #1 spot on the live rating list!

So the world champion is world #1 again - for today at least.  How will Carlsen react to this turn of events?  He hasn't become a bad player in the last few weeks, but his form has clearly deserted him.  Tomorrow he faces Shirov with black, while Anand has his first white against Kramnik in what could be a crucial game to decide the winner of the tournament.