Viswanathan closed on in tournament leader Garry Kasparov of Russia with a brilliantly crafted victory over FIDE World champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan in the 11th round of the 22nd edition of Linares Super Grandmasters chess tournament.
Anand took his tally to 5.5 points out of his nine games so far but still remained a full point adrift of Kasparov, who has an enviable score of 6.5/9.
However the Indian ace, who is currently ranked number two in the world, moved to sole second spot following his victory as Bulgarian Veselin Topalov was pushed back to the third spot after he could do little against Corus champion Peter Leko of Hungary and had to concede a draw.
The other game of the day between local lad Francisco Vallejo Pons and English Michael Adams also ended in a draw.
With just three rounds to come Kasparov still remains the hot favourite for his ninth Linares title but Anand remains in pursuit as he is slated to play two of his last three games with white pieces.
Topalov, on five points out of nine games, stands third solely while Leko is next in line with a 50 per cent score, having drawn all his games.
Englishman Michael Adams occupies the fifth spot in this seven-player double round-robin event with four points out of nine games in his kitty at this juncture while Kasimdzhanov has 3.5 points from as many encounters in the tournament that carries a Euro 100,000 prize for the winner.
After his first win in his very first outing in the event against Topalov, Anand was caught what chess pundits often refer to as "drawcula", with seven draws on the trot.
However, this much-needed victory against Kasimdzhanov has certainly put the Indian ace back on track to give Kasparov a run for his money.
Playing white, Kasimdzhanov went for a closed set up against the Sicilian but could not really make an impression as Anand's emphatic manoeuvres in the opening guaranteed enough counter play for him.
In the middle game, Kasimdzhanov had his chances to maintain a level position but following an erroneous plan the Uzbek was caught in a tactical melee that resulted in a won position for Anand. Kasimdzhanov resigned after 38 moves when his dancing king was left with no shelter.
While Anand tried and succeeded quite impressively, Leko made no such attempts despite playing with white pieces against Topalov. The Hungarian has made no secrets about his tiredness here and was content yet again to get a half point in just 19 moves from a Sicilian Nazdorf game.
Vallejo also did not tried much as white against Adams, who employed the Hedgehog set up. After routine manoeuvring both players decided taking any undue risk and the draw was an approved alternative for both in what many described as shadow boxing.
Results Round 11: Peter Leko (Hun, 5/10) drew with Veselin Topalov (Bul, 5/9); Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzb, 3.5/10) lost to Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 5.5/9); Francisco Pons Vallejo (Esp, 3/9) drew with Michael Adams (Eng, 4.5/10); Garry Kasparov (Rus, 6.5/9) had a bye.
