Magnus Carlsen draws first blood, takes early lead against Viswanathan Anand

Defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway drew the first blood by defeating challenger Viswanathan Anand in the second game of the World Chess Championship in Sochi on Sunday. 

It turned out to be a shocking defeat for Anand, who played the black side of a Ruy Lopez after what appeared like a seemingly innocuous position for the Indian ace. The spectators online from across the world were cheering for Anand on various social media networks after he got a tangible posiiton from what seemed like a complete lost position and this was when the Indian missed the thread and played an inexplicable blunder to let the game end on an abrupt note.

With his first victory as early as in the second tie of the 12-game match, Carlsen now leads the series by 1.5-0.5 and Team Anand will now have to think of something out-of-the-box to contain the Carlsen juggernaut. The opening took shape in familiar territory only for a brief while as Carlsen came up with a new idea as early as on move nine in a closed Ruy Lopez set up to make Anand think something of his own.

The middle game featured routine manoeuvres after Carlsen settled for a relatively simple position in the middle game with Bishops of opposite colours. Even though the computer suggested a miniscule advantage for Carlsen, the world elite opined that Anand was well within equalising stage.