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Anand endured a difficult time, winning only two of the nine games including one against his protege Gukesh to take his tally to 13 points after nine rounds of Blitz with another nine to follow.
The five-time world champion’s only other victory came against Fabiano Caruana.
Gukesh, on the other hand, began with a win over Richard Rapport (Romania) before suffering four straight defeats. He bounced back to post wins over Constantin Lupulescu (Romania) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland).
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Anand and Gukesh are in tied sixth place with 13 points. World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen was in stunning form, winning all nine of his games to take a significant lead. He has 20 points out of a possible 27 going into the second half of the blitz on Sunday. Finishing the day tied for second place were the previous day’s leaders Nepomniachtchi and Caruana. The 18-round blitz segment follows the rapid event in the tournament which features top players including Carlsen, Anand and Nepomniachtchi among others.
The time control for the rapid portion is 25+10, with 2 points awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss. The blitz portion will have a time control of 5+2, using the typical 1, 1/2, 0 scoring system.
The Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events, featuring the world’s best players.