Young GM R Praggnanandhaa on Friday won both rapid games to eliminate second-seeded Hikaru Nakamura to enter the last 16 of the FIDE World Cup chess tournament in Baku.
Arjun also remained unbeaten through all the nine rounds and finished half a point ahead of Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov.
The experienced Pentala Harikrishna accepted a draw against lower-rated Constantin Lupulescu of Romania to advance to round four at the FIDE Chess World Cup.
Anand played the Italian game with white pieces but could get little out of opening against Vituigov.
Anand moved to joint sixth spot with 2.5 points on a day that saw Firouzja Alireza scoring a sensational victory over super-solid Anish Giri of Holland.