Monaco: Defending champion Viswanathan Anand jumped to sole lead with an emphatic 1.5-0.5 victory over World Cup winner Levon Aronian of Armenia after the conclusion of the 10th and penultimate round of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess tournament.

The Indian ace was clinical in his approach in the rapid game after winning the blindfold with his excellent technique and drew with Aronian after just 21 moves.

The shock of the tournament happened on the other board when Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich, who had been leading the tables since round one, was made to bite the dust in the rapid game against Vassily Ivanchuk.

The draw in the rapid game also meant a triumph for Anand in this section as he moved to an unassailable 7.5 points here.

The nearest contender for Anand here is world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria who is on six points.

Being in joint or sole lead for almost the entire course of the tournament so far, it was a rude shock for Morozevich, who surrendered the sole lead to Anand in the combined standings after the debacle.