He defeated fellow-GM and Frenchman Etinne Bacrot on Tuesday.
The Israeli GM drew first blood in the fight for 5-8 places, beating the Belgian GM in the first game of the two-game mini-match in the World Chess Cup.
P Harikrishna won, Surya Sekhar Ganguly drew and K Sasikiran lost in their second game of the second round match.
India's Grand Master Harika Dronavalli picked up half a point more, drawing her seventh round game as well in the elite FIDE Women's GP, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, on Saturday.
The much-anticipated World Championship rematch between Indian veteran Viswanathan Anand and title-holder Magnus Carlsen will be staged from November 7 to 28 in Sochi, Russia.
Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand remained in sole lead after a third straight draw, signing peace with Russian Sergey Karjakin in the sixth round of Candidates Chess tournament in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, on Wednesday.
Harika had carried the Indian hopes nicely till the tie-breaker of the third round. However, she got a jolt in the first game of the rapid tie-break where both players had 25 minutes on their clock.
With favourable results under his belt this year, five-time World champion Vishwanathan Anand is approaching the forthcoming World Chess Championship at Sochi with a quiet confidence and a positive frame of mind but termed his opponent Magnus Carlsen as "tenacious".
India's Viswanathan Anand regained the sole lead with a sparkling victory over former challenger Veselin Topalov from Bulgaria in the ninth round of Candidates Chess tournament in Khanty Mansiysk on Sunday.
After the first game against the same opponent ended in a draw, Harika was with black pieces in the second and she employed a French defence and Kosteniuk did not have many answers.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand on Saturday gave jitters to his fans before signing an early draw with top seed Levon Aronian of Armenia in the eighth round of Candidates chess tournament.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with Vladimir Kramnik in the fourth round but remained in sole lead to stay in contention in the Candidates chess tournament in Khanty Mansiysk.
Five-times world champion Viswanathan Anand proved all his critics wrong and won the Candidates Chess tournament after settling for a draw with Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the 13th and penultimate round in Khanty Mansiysk (Russia) on Saturday.
Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand played out a fourth consecutive draw after signing peace with Peter Svidler of Russia in the seventh round at the Candidates Chess tournament in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, on Friday. At the half-way stage of the tournament, Anand has 4.5 points out of a possible seven.
The Indian men and women missed out on the podium by a whisker as they finished fourth in both the categories at the World Team Chess Championships, in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.
Viswanathan Anand's hunt for the elusive victory continued as he was again held to a draw by Alexander Grischuk.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand sealed the Candidates tournament title with an effortless draw with Peter Svidler of Russia in the 14th and final round in Khanty Mansiysk.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand inched closer to clinching the Candidates Chess tournament title after settling for an easy draw as black against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the 11th round in Khanty Mansiysk.
Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw with black against former World champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the second round of the Candidates Chess tournament in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, on Friday.
Back in chess just before the Olympiad after a nearly two-year hiatus, Humpy, who has been among the top women players for a long time, will now have to wait for another two years to have a go at the next world championship cycle.
Vishy Anand face world champion Magnus Carlsen for the first time in India since his 2013 World Championship defeat in Chennai, during the Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz tournament to be held in Kolkata from November 22 to 26.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand continued to struggle with form and had to be content with a fifth-place finish after a poor show in the rapid section of the Zurich Chess Challenge that concluded in Zurich on Tuesday.
Indian chess great Viswanathan Anand sees signs of greatness in Nihal Sarin but says it's a long journey ahead for the impressive 14-year-old since there has been a trend of players struggling to replicate success as they age.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
P V Sindhu opens her campaign in the China Open women's singles against Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia, in Fuzhou, China, on Tuesday.
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