Anand went down to Aronian in the Chess960 World Rapid final

Mainz, Aug 17 (UNI) Viswanathan Anand went down to defending champion Levon Aronian in a tie breaker after both players were stuck at two all at the final of the Chess960 World Rapid tournament here.

Anand lost the first game and drew the next two but came back strongly in the final game to equalise the score and take the game to the tie breaker.

However, Anand could not bear the onslaught of Aronian attack and surrendered the first game of the tie break.

In the second game, despite having the advantage of white pieces, Anand could not force his way through and agreed for a draw, which gave the Armenian Grandmaster his consecutive title.

A dejected Anand left the venue immediately after prize distribution and even did not attend the press briefing.

''I am happy to retain my title for the second time. It was a tough match and Anand played well but he committed many mistakes in the first game and lost. I lost the 4th game which I could have drawn but I love playing Fischer Random and therefore fought till the last despite knowing that the win is not there,'' Aronian told UNI after the match.

Anand, Aronian, Kasimdzhanov and Bacrot will now play in the main Grenke Leasing World Rapid Championship for next three days. Anand is the defending Champion and has won the title for a record nine times.

Final Score 1. Levon Aronian (3.5) Champion 2 Vishy Anand (2.5) runners up UNI