The sixth round of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament ended with a huge upset as Magnus Carlsen, the world number one, succumbed to a defeat at the hands of American grandmaster Wesley So.
Vishwanathan Anand, playing with white pieces, was held to a draw by Azerbaijani grandmaster and world number three Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. This was Anand’s fifth draw in a row, leading to him going up to 2.5 points from five games.
Wesley, playing with white, opted for an opening with a variation of the Slav defence. Carlsen blundered through middle game, losing a pawn to So. The Norwegian gained a pawn but with Wesley advancing his knights, his opponent was under the cosh for most of the game.
Carlsen lost another pawn on move 42, leading to Wesley further consolidating his position. Two moves later, on 44, Carlsen resigned. It was Wesley’s first victory over Carlsen in the classical format and it was the latter’s first loss of the tournament and year. Despite the loss, Carlsen remains top with 3.5 points, having defeated Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian earlier on in the tournament.
Anand, having drawn with Carlsen in the previous round, settled for a fast-paced draw against the Azerbaijani. A massive exchange of pieces led to a quick settlement, as both players signed a peace treaty in 32 moves.