Viswanathan Anand

In this Indian name, the name Viswanathan is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Anand.
Viswanathan Anand
Full name V. Anand or Anand Vishwanathan[1]
Country India
Born (1969-12-11) 11 December 1969
Mayiladuthurai,[2] Tamil Nadu, India
Title Grandmaster (1988)
World Champion 2000–02 (FIDE)
2007–13
FIDE rating 2779 (October 2016)
Peak rating 2817 (March 2011)

Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and a former World Chess Champion.

Anand became India's first grandmaster in 1988.[3] He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. He then defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov and in the World Chess Championship 2012[4] against Boris Gelfand. In the World Chess Championship 2013 he lost to challenger Magnus Carlsen and he lost again to Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2014.[5]

In April 2006 Anand became the fourth player in history to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list, after Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov.[6] He occupied the number one position for 21 months, the 6th longest on record.[7]

Anand was also the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honour. In 2007, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award.

Early life

Viswanathan Anand was born on 11 December 1969 at Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu in a Tamil family.[8][9] Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Madras (now Chennai), where he grew up.[2][10] His father Krishnamurthy Viswanathan, a retired general manager of Southern Railways, had studied in Jamalpur, Bihar, and his mother Susheela was a housewife and chess/film/club aficionado and an influential socialite.

Anand is the youngest of 3 children. He is 11 years younger than his sister and 13 years younger than his brother. His elder brother, Shivakumar, is a manager at Crompton Greaves in India and his elder sister, Anuradha, is a professor in the United States at the University of Michigan.[11][12]

Anand learned chess from age six from his mother and a close family friend named Deepa Ramakrishnan.[13]

Anand was educated at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School,[14] Egmore, Chennai and holds a degree of Bachelor of Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.[15]

Personal life

Anand married Aruna Anand in 1996 and has a son, Akhil, born on 9 April 2011.[16]

In August 2010, Anand joined the board of directors of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation for promoting and supporting India's elite sportspersons and potential young talent.[17][18][19] On 24 December 2010 Anand was guest of honour on the grounds of Gujarat University, where 20,486 players created a new world record of simultaneous chess play at a single venue.[20]

His hobbies are reading, swimming, and listening to music.

Anand has been regarded as an unassuming person with a reputation for refraining from political and psychological ploys and instead focusing on his game.[21] This has made him a well-liked figure throughout the chess world for two decades, evidenced by the fact that Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, and Magnus Carlsen, of whom the former two were rivals for the World Championship throughout Anand's career, each aided him in preparing for the World Chess Championship 2010.[22][23] Anand is sometimes known as the "Tiger of Madras".[24]

Anand was the only sportsperson to have been invited for the dinner hosted by the Indian PM Manmohan Singh for US President Barack Obama on 7 November 2010.[25]

Anand was denied an honorary doctorate from University of Hyderabad because of confusion over his citizenship status; however, later Kapil Sibal, India's Minister of Human Resource Development apologised and said "There is no issue on the matter as Anand has agreed to accept the degree at a convenient time depending on his availability".[26] According to The Hindu, Anand finally declined to accept the doctorate.[27]

Early chess career

Anand's rise in the Indian chess world was meteoric. National level success came early for him when he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship with a score of 9/9 in 1983 at the age of fourteen. In 1984 Anand won the Asian Junior Chess Championship in Coimbatore earning an International Master norm. He became the youngest Indian to achieve the title of International Master at the age of fifteen, in 1985 by winning the Asian Junior Championship for the second year in a row, this time in Hong Kong.[28] At the age of sixteen he became the national chess champion and won that title two more times. He played games at blitz speed. In 1987, he became the first Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship. In 1988, at the age of 18, he became India's first Grandmaster by winning the Shakti Finance International chess tournament held in Coimbatore, India. He was awarded Padma Shri at the age of eighteen.

Anand at the Manila 1992 Olympiad, age 22

In the World Chess Championship 1993 cycle Anand qualified for his first Candidates Tournament, winning his first match but narrowly losing his quarter-final match to 1990 runner-up Anatoly Karpov.[29]

In 1994–95 Anand and Gata Kamsky dominated the qualifying cycles for the rival FIDE and PCA world championships. In the FIDE cycle (FIDE World Chess Championship 1996), Anand lost his quarter-final match to Kamsky after leading early.[30] Kamsky went on to lose the 1996 FIDE championship match against Karpov.

In the 1995 PCA cycle, Anand won matches against Oleg Romanishin and Michael Adams without a loss, then avenged his FIDE loss by defeating Gata Kamsky in the Candidates final.[31] In 1995, he played the PCA World Chess Championship 1995 against Kasparov in New York City's World Trade Center. After an opening run of eight draws (a record for the opening of a world championship match), Anand won game nine with a powerful exchange sacrifice, but then lost four of the next five. He lost the match 10½–7½.

In the 1998 FIDE cycle, the reigning champion Karpov was granted direct seeding by FIDE into the final against the winner of the seven-round single elimination Candidates tournament. The psychological and physical advantage gained by Karpov from this decision caused significant controversy, leading to the withdrawal of future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik from the candidates tournament. Anand won the candidates tournament, defeating Michael Adams in the final, and immediately faced a well-rested Karpov for the championship. Despite this tremendous disadvantage for Anand, which he described as being "brought in a coffin" to play Karpov,[21] the regular match ended 3–3, which led to a rapid playoff, which Karpov won 2–0. Karpov thus remained the FIDE champion.

Other results

Anand won three consecutive Advanced Chess tournaments in Leon, Spain, after Garry Kasparov introduced this form of chess in 1998, and is widely recognised as the world's best Advanced Chess player, where humans may consult a computer to aid in their calculation of variations.

His game collection, My Best Games of Chess, was published in the year 1998 and was updated in 2001.

Anand's tournament successes include the Corus chess tournament in 2006 (tied with Veselin Topalov), Dortmund in 2004, and Linares in 2007 and 2008. He has won the annual event Monaco Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Championships in years 1994, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2006. He is the only player to have won five titles of the Corus chess tournament. He is also the only player to win the blind and rapid sections of the Amber tournament in the same year (twice: in 1997 and 2005). He is the first player to have achieved victories in each of the three big chess supertournaments: Corus (1989, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006), Linares (1998, 2007, 2008), and Dortmund (1996, 2000, 2004).

In 2007 he won the Grenkeleasing Rapid championship, which he won for the tenth time defeating Armenian GM Levon Aronian.[32] Incidentally, just a few days before Aronian had defeated Anand in the Chess960 final.[33]

In March 2007, Anand won the Linares chess tournament and it was widely believed that he would be ranked world No. 1 in the FIDE Elo rating list for April 2007. However, Anand was placed No. 2 in the initial list released because the Linares result was not included. FIDE subsequently announced that the Linares results would be included after all,[34] making Anand number one in the April 2007 list.[35]

Anand won the Mainz 2008 Supertournament Championship by defeating rising star Magnus Carlsen, earning his eleventh title in that event.[36]

World Chess Championships

FIDE World Champion 2000

After several near misses, Anand won the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000 for the first time after defeating Alexei Shirov 3½–0½ in the final match held at Tehran, thereby becoming the first Indian to win that title. Entering the tournament as the #1 overall seed, Anand defeated Alexander Khalifman, the defending FIDE world champion, 3½–2½ in the quarterfinals and followed the win up with a semifinals victory over Michael Adams of England, 2½–1½, before the final match against Shirov. In addition to the title of FIDE world champion, Anand received a $528,000 cash prize.[37] He finished the tournament with 8 wins and 12 draws.

He failed to defend the title in 2002, losing in the semifinals to Vassily Ivanchuk. The 2002 FIDE world championship was ultimately won by Ruslan Ponomariov. Anand tied for second with Peter Svidler in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 with 8½ points out of 14 games, 1½ points behind the winner, Veselin Topalov.

World Champion 2007

Anand in 2007

In September 2007, Anand entered the FIDE World Championship Tournament in Mexico City as the world's top-ranked player. Playing in a double round-robin tournament, Anand scored victories over Levon Aronian, Peter Leko, and Peter Svidler to take the lead after five rounds. In the 13th round, Anand played a precise endgame to stave off a tough challenge from Alexander Grischuk, and entered the final round needing only a draw against Leko to clinch the championship.[38] Following Anand's draw with Leko, he was named the undisputed World champion. He won the tournament with a final score of 9 out of 14 points, a full point ahead of joint second-place finishers Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand.

In 2000, when Anand won the FIDE World Championship, there was also the rival "Classical" World Championship, held by Kramnik. By 2007, the world championship had been reunified, so Anand's victory in Mexico City made him undisputed World Chess Champion. He became the first undisputed champion to win the title in a tournament, rather than in matchplay, since Mikhail Botvinnik in 1948.

In October 2007, Anand said he liked the double round robin championship format (as used in the 2007 championship in Mexico City), and that the right of Kramnik to automatically challenge for the title was "ridiculous".[39]

World Champion 2008

Anand convincingly defended the title against Kramnik in the World Chess Championship 2008 held 14–29 October in Bonn, Germany. The winner was to be the first to score 6½ points in the twelve-game match.[40] Anand won by scoring 6½ points in 11 games, having won three of the first six games (two with the black pieces).[41] After the tenth game, Anand led 6–4 and needed only a draw in either of the last two games to win the match. In the eleventh game, Kramnik played the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. Once the players traded queens, Kramnik offered a draw after 24 moves since he had no winning chances in the endgame.

Anand–Kramnik, 2008 World Ch.
abcdefgh
8
c8 black rook
f8 black king
g8 black rook
b7 black pawn
e7 black knight
f7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a6 black pawn
f5 black pawn
e3 black bishop
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
f2 white rook
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
b1 white king
c1 white knight
f1 white bishop
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Final position of the match
Anand (2783) – Kramnik (2772), Wch Bonn GER (11);[42] 29 October 2008 (final game)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qc7 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.f5 Qc5 10.Qd3 Nc6 11.Nb3 Qe5 12.0-0-0 exf5 13.Qe3 Bg7 14.Rd5 Qe7 15.Qg3 Rg8 16.Qf4 fxe4 17.Nxe4 f5 18.Nxd6+ Kf8 19.Nxc8 Rxc8 20.Kb1 Qe1+ 21.Nc1 Ne7 22.Qd2 Qxd2 23.Rxd2 Bh6 24.Rf2 Be3 ½–½

Responding to Anand's win, Garry Kasparov said "A great result for Anand and for chess. Vishy deserved the win in every way and I'm very happy for him. It will not be easy for the younger generation to push him aside... Anand out-prepared Kramnik completely. In this way it reminded me of my match with Kramnik in London 2000. Like I was then, Kramnik may have been very well prepared for this match, but we never saw it."[43] In 2010 Anand donated his gold medal to the charitable organisation "The Foundation" to be auctioned off for the benefit of underprivileged children.[44]

World Chess Championship Match 2008
Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
 Viswanathan Anand (India) 2783 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 6½
 Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 2772 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 4½

World Champion 2010

Before the World Chess Championship 2010 match with Veselin Topalov, Anand, who had booked on the flight Frankfurt–Sofia on 16 April, was stranded due to the cancellation of all flights following the volcano ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull. Anand asked for a three-day postponement, which the Bulgarian organisers refused on 19 April. Anand eventually reached Sofia on 20 April, after a 40-hour road journey.[45] Consequently, the first game was delayed by one day.[46]

The match consisted of 12 games. In Game 1, Topalov quickly defeated Anand in 30 moves, utilizing a very sharp line of attack that broke through Anand's Grunfeld Defence. It was revealed afterwards that Topalov had found the line during his opening preparation, with the help of a powerful supercomputer loaned to him by Bulgaria's Defense Department.[47] Anand quickly responded with a win in Game 2, employing a novelty out of the Catalan Opening that was not easily recognized by computers at the time (15. Qa3!?, followed by 16. bxa3!). Anand would win again with the Catalan in Game 4, only to drop Game 8 and leave the score level once again.[48] After 11 games the score was tied at 5½–5½. Anand won game 12 on the Black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined to win the game and the match. Topalov chose to accept a pawn sacrifice by Anand, hoping to force a result and avoid a rapid chess tiebreak round. But after Topalov's dubious 31st and 32nd moves, Anand used the sacrifice to obtain a strong attack against Topalov's relatively exposed king. Topalov subsequently resigned, allowing Anand to retain the World Championship.

World Chess Championship Match 2010
Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total
 Viswanathan Anand (India) 2787 0 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 6½
 Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 2805 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 5½

World Champion 2012

As a result of Anand's victory in the World Chess Championship 2010, he defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2012; the location of the event was the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.[49] His opponent was Boris Gelfand, the winner of the 2011 Candidates Matches. After losing in the 7th game to Gelfand, Anand came back to win the 8th game in only 17 moves – the shortest game in World Chess Championship history. The match was tied 6–6 after regular games with one win each. Anand won the rapid tie break 2½–1½ to win the match and retain his title. After the match, Russian president Vladimir Putin greeted Anand and Gelfand by calling both to his official residence.[50]

World Chess Championship Match 2012
Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points 13 14 15 16 Total
 Viswanathan Anand (India) 2791 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 ½ 1 ½ ½ 8½
 Boris Gelfand (Israel) 2727 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 6 ½ 0 ½ ½ 7½

World Championship 2013

Anand lost the defence of his title in the World Chess Championship 2013 at Chennai. The winner was Magnus Carlsen, the winner of the 2013 Candidates Tournament. The first four games were drawn, but Carlsen won the fifth and sixth games back to back. The seventh and eighth games were drawn, while the ninth game was won by Carlsen. On 22 November, the tenth game was drawn making Carlsen the new world champion.[51]

World Championship 2014

Anand won the double round-robin FIDE Candidates tournament at Khanty-Mansiysk March 13–30 and earned a world championship rematch with Magnus Carlsen. Anand went through the tournament undefeated, winning his first-round game against Levon Aronian, his third-round game against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and his ninth-round game against Veselin Topalov.[52] He drew all his other games, including his twelfth-round game against Dmitry Andreikin, where Anand agreed to a draw in a complex, but winning position.[53] He faced Carlsen in the world championship match in November, in Sochi, Russia.[54] Carlsen won the match 6.5 to 4.5 after eleven of twelve scheduled games.

FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion 2003

In October 2003, the governing body of chess, FIDE, organised a rapid time control tournament in Cap d'Agde[55][56] and billed it as the World Rapid Chess Championship. Each player had 25 minutes at the start of the game, with an additional ten seconds after each move. Anand won this event ahead of ten of the other top twelve players in the world, beating Kramnik in the final. His main recent titles in this category are at: Corsica (six years in a row from 1999 through 2005), Chess Classic (nine years in a row from 2000 through 2008), Leon 2005, Eurotel 2002, Fujitsu Giants 2002 and the Melody Amber (five times, and he won the rapid portion of Melody Amber seven times). In the Melody Amber 2007, Anand did not lose a single game in the rapid section, and scored 8½/11, two more than the runners-up, for a performance rating in the rapid section of 2939.[57] In most tournament time control games that Anand plays, he has more time left than his opponent at the end of the game. He lost on time in one game, to Gata Kamsky. Otherwise, he took advantage of the rule allowing players in time trouble to use dashes instead of the move notation during the last four minutes only once, in the game Anand versus Svidler at the MTel Masters 2006.[58]

Post-2010 chess career

2010

2011

2012

In 2012, Viswanathan Anand participated in several high level tournaments, including the London Chess Classic and the Bilbao Masters Grand Slam. Earlier in 2012, he also played a World Championship match against Boris Gelfand in Moscow, Russia.

2013

Anand participated in several high-level tournaments in 2013, including the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Grenke Chess Classic, Zurich Chess Challenge, Alekhine Memorial, Tal Memorial, the 1st Norway Chess Tournament, and the London Chess Classic. He also participated in the 2013 World Chess Championship match against Magnus Carlsen.

2014

Viswanathan Anand won the World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament, which earned him a rematch against Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship. He also participated in the Dubai World Rapid and Blitz Championships, Zurich Chess Challenge, Bilbao Masters, and London Chess Classic.

2015

In 2015, Viswanathan Anand was a participant in the inaugural 2015 Grand Chess Tour, a series of 3 supertournaments featuring the world's elite players. The three tournaments that Anand participated in were Norway Chess, Sinquefield Cup, and London Chess Classic. Among these tournaments, Anand also participated in the Berlin World Rapid and Blitz Championships, GRENKE Chess, Zurich Chess Challenge, Bilbao Chess Masters Final, and Shamkir Chess.

Overall, because of his performances in the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic, Anand finished 8th out of the main 9 Grand Chess Tour main participants - 14 Grand Chess tour points out of 39 maximum.[86]

2016

Viswanathan Anand is a current participant in the 2nd Grand Chess Tour, a series of 3 supertournaments featuring the world's elite players. The three tournaments include the Paris, France and Leuven, Belgium Rapid and Blitz tournaments (replacements for the Norway Chess tournament), 2016 Sinquefield Cup, and the 2016 London Chess Classic. Anand declined to participate in the Paris Rapid and Blitz tournament (meaning his Leuven result and the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic results will count towards the overall Tour standings). Additionally Anand qualified for the 2016 World Chess Championship Candidates tournament by virtue of losing the 2014 World Chess Championship match.

Rating

In the April 2007 FIDE Elo rating list, Anand was ranked first in the world for the first time,[89] and (as of July 2008) he held the number one spot in all ratings lists but one since then until July 2008, the exception being the January 2008 list, where he was rated No. 2 behind Vladimir Kramnik (equal rating, but Kramnik held the No. 1 spot due to more games played).[90] He dropped to No. 5 in the October 2008 list, the first time he had been outside the top 3 since July 1996.[91]

In 2010, Anand announced that he would expand his tournament schedule, beginning in late 2010, in an effort to regain the world number one ranking from Magnus Carlsen.[92][93] He achieved that goal on 1 November 2010 list with a rating of 2804, two points ahead of Magnus Carlsen,[94] but was once again overtaken by Carlsen in July 2011.

Assessment

Lubomir Kavalek describes Anand as the most versatile world champion ever, pointing out that Anand is the only player to have won the world chess championship in tournament, match, and knockout format, as well as rapid time controls.[95]

In an interview in 2011, Kramnik said about Anand: "I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess"; and "I think that in terms of play Anand is in no way weaker than Kasparov but he's simply a little lazy, relaxed and only focuses on matches. In the last 5–6 years he's made a qualitative leap that's made it possible to consider him one of the great chess players."[96]

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov commented that Anand's victory in the 2014 Candidates Tournament "...proved that he is one of the strongest and greatest players of modern times."[97]

In an interview in 2014 Alexander Grischuk said about Anand: "I have to say that of all the players I’ve played against Anand has personally struck me as the strongest, of course after Kasparov."[98]

Head-to-head record in versus selected Grandmasters in Classical games

(Players in alphabetical order. Rapid, blitz and blindfold games not included; listed as +wins −losses =draws as of Nov 15, 2016.)[99]
Players who have been undisputed/FIDE World Champions in boldface

Notable tournament successes

Rapid/exhibition tournaments

  • 1989 2nd Asian Active Chess Championship, Hong Kong 1st
  • 1994 Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco 1st
  • 1994 PCA Grand Prix (Rapid), Moscow 1st
  • 1996 Credit Swiss Rapid Chess Grand Prix, Geneva 1st
  • 1996 Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
  • 1997 Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco 1st
  • 1997 Chess Classic Rapid Tournament, Frankfurt
  • 1998 Torneo Magitral Communidad De Madrid, Madrid 1st
  • 1998 Siemens Nixdorf Duell (Rapid), Frankfurt 1st
  • 1999 Wydra Memorial Chess (Rapid), Haifa 1st
  • 1999 Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon beat Karpov 5–1
  • 2000 Wydra International Tournament (Rapid), Haifa 1st
  • 2000 Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon beat Shirov 1½–½
  • 2000 Fujitsu Siemens Giants Chess (Rapid), Frankfurt 1st
  • 2000 Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica 1st
  • 2002 Eurotel (Combined Rapid plus Classical), Prague 1st
  • 2011 Botvinnik Memorial, Moscow, 1st[100]
  • 2011 Corsica Masters Knockout (Rapid), Corsica 1st[101]
  • 2014 World Rapid Chess Championship (Rapid), Dubai 3rd
  • 2016 St. Louis Champions Tournament, St. Louis 1st

Classical tournaments

  • 1986 Arab-Asian International Chess Championship, Doha 1st
  • 1987 Sakthi Finance Grandmasters Chess Tournament, Coimbatore 1st
  • 1989 51st Hoogovens Chess Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1st
  • 1990 Asian Zonal Tournament, Qatar
  • 1990 Manchester Chess Festival, Manchester 1st
  • 1990 Triveni Super Grandmasters Tournament, Delhi Joint 1st
  • 1992 Reggio Emilia Chess Tournament, Reggio Emilia 1st
  • 1992 Goodrich Open International Tournament, Calcutta 1st
  • 1992 Alekhine Memorial, Moscow 1st
  • 1993 PCA Interzonal, Groningen 1st
  • 1996 Dortmunder Schachtage, Dortmund (joint 1st with Kramnik)
  • 1997 Torneo de Ajedrez, Dos Hermanas 1st
  • 1997 Invesbanka Chess tournament, Belgrade 1st
  • 1997 Credit Suisse Classic Tournament, Biel 1st
  • 1998 60th Hoogoven's Schaak Tornoi, Wijk aan Zee 1st
  • 1998 Torneo International De Ajedrez, Linares 1st
  • 1998 Fontys-Tilburg International Chess Tournament 1st

Matches

Awards

Anand has received many national and international awards.

Indian national honours

Other honours

Sample game

Anand–Bologan, 2000 World Ch.
abcdefgh
8
c8 black bishop
e8 black rook
f8 black bishop
h8 black king
c7 black rook
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
a6 black knight
d6 black pawn
d5 white pawn
g5 white pawn
h5 white knight
d4 white knight
e4 white pawn
f4 white queen
c3 black pawn
g3 white rook
h3 white pawn
b2 black queen
f2 white pawn
g2 white king
b1 white bishop
d1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Position after 36...c3. Anand, in an apparently worse position, finds an intuitive sacrifice that leads to a winning attack.

On his way to winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000, Anand, playing White, defeated Grandmaster Viktor Bologan (analysis by GM Ľubomír Ftáčnik):

Anand–Bologan, New Delhi, 2000 World Championship;[114] Ruy Lopez, Breyer (ECO C95)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 c5 15. d5 c4 16. Bg5 Qc7 17. Nf5 Kh8 18. g4 Ng8 19. Qd2 Nc5 20. Be3 Bc8 21. Ng3 Rb8 22. Kg2 a5 23. a3 Ne7 24. Rh1 Ng6 25. g5! b4!?

Anand has a strong kingside attack, so Bologan seeks counterplay with the sacrifice of a pawn.

26. axb4 axb4 27. cxb4 Na6 28. Ra4 Nf4+ 29. Bxf4 exf4 30. Nh5 Qb6 31. Qxf4 Nxb4 32. Bb1 Rb7 33. Ra3 Rc7 34. Rd1 Na6 35. Nd4 Qxb2 36. Rg3 c3 (see diagram) 37. Nf6!! Re5

If 37...gxf6, 38.gxf6 h6 39.Rg1! Qd2! 40.Qh4 leaves White with an irresistible initiative.

38. g6! fxg6 39. Nd7 Be7 40. Nxe5 dxe5 41. Qf7 h6 42. Qe8+ 1–0

White forces mate in 12 moves if the game were to continue, with 42...Bf8 43.Rf3 Qa3 44.Rxf8+ Qxf8 45.Qxf8+ Kh7 46.d6 exd4 47.Ba2 h5 48.dxc7 Nb4 49.Qg8+ Kh6 50.f4 g5 51.f5 g4 52.h4 Bxf5 53.exf5 Nxa2 54.Qh8#

See also

References

  1. ↑ I'm Anand. My father is Vishwanathan. At some point people assumed that this must be my first name and Anand must be my last name. It's common in the West. Vishwanathan was unpronounceable for them. Became Vishy. But my father is Vishwanathan Krishnamurthy. I am Anand Vishwanathan. Of course, my wife is Aruna Anand. So among the mysteries we have to explain to many people is, though we are married, why we don’t share the same family name.
  2. 1 2 "Sport : Anand inspires mind champions". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 22 December 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  3. ↑ More questions than answers, research.ibm.com
  4. ↑ As of May, 2012 – Official FIDE World Championship 2012 site. Moscow2012.fide.com. Retrieved on 31 May 2012.
  5. ↑ http://www.chessvibes.com/candidates’-r13-anand-draws-clinches-rematch-with-carlsen
  6. ↑ "All time Top 100 Ranklist by Highest ELO Rating". chess-db.com. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  7. ↑ List of FIDE chess world number ones
  8. ↑ "Vishy Anand: 'Chess is like acting' | Chess News". ChessBase. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  9. ↑ "Viswanathan Anand: Who is he? : Sports, News — India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  10. ↑ "Pride of Chennai". ITZChennai. 2015.
  11. ↑ "A Tamil entertainment ezine presenting interesting contents and useful services". Nilacharal. 11 December 1969. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  12. ↑ Archived 22 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ↑ Question of the week, Susan Polgar, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Sunday, 26 October 2008
  14. ↑ Muthalaly, Susan (25 May 2007). "Don Bosco 'boys' reminisce about their good old days". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  15. ↑ "Vishwanathan Anand: The King of 64 Squares". MSN. 12 August 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Aruna and Anand have a baby boy". 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  17. ↑ "Chess News – NYT: India swoons over its chess champ". ChessBase.com. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  18. ↑ "Vishwanathan Anand joins Olympic Gold Quest". Hindustan Times. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  19. ↑ "Anand joins board of Olympic Gold Quest – Rediff.com Sports". Sports.rediff.com. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  20. ↑ "Anand at Ahmedabad for Chess world record". IndiaVoice. 25 December 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  21. 1 2 Hari Hara Nandanan (15 May 2010). "Why this nice guy always wins". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  22. ↑ "Chess News – Anand in Playchess – the helpers in Sofia". ChessBase. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2010.
  23. ↑ "Kasparov, Kramnik came to Viswanathan Anand's aid". The Times of India. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  24. ↑ Moore, Matthew (30 October 2008). "Chess world title: Viswanathan Anand beats Vladimir Kramnik". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  25. ↑ "Obamas meet India's high and mighty". Rediff.com. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  26. ↑ "Citizenship row: Sibal apologises to Anand – Sports – Other Sports – ibnlive". Ibnlive.in.com. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  27. ↑ Report in The Hindu
  28. ↑ Priyadarshan Banjan (2014-12-27). "Vishy Anand: a passionate portrait (2)". ChessBase. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  29. ↑ World Chess Championship 1991–93 Candidates Matches. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  30. ↑ 1994–96 FIDE Candidates Matches, Mark Weeks' Chess Pages
  31. ↑ World Chess Championship 1994–95 PCA Candidates Matches. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  32. ↑ Fischer, Johannes (20 August 2007). "Mainz 2007 – Anand wins Rapid Final". ChessBase.com. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  33. ↑ "Mainz 2007 – Aronian wins Chess960 world championship". ChessBase.com. 17 August 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  34. ↑ ChessBase.com. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  35. ↑ Top 100 Players April 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  36. ↑ Chessvine Article, "Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen"
  37. ↑ "International Chess News - Los Angeles Times (Dec. 17, 2000)". Los Angeles Times. 17 December 2000. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  38. ↑ "New Chess Champion Dominates in Mexico". New York Times. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  39. ↑ "Chess News – Anand in the news: Time, Sportstar and other stories". ChessBase.com. 25 October 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  40. ↑ "World Championship 2008". Universal Event Promotion. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2009.
  41. ↑ "Anand crowned World champion". Rediff. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  42. ↑ Anand–Kramnik, 2008 World Ch.
  43. ↑ "Garri: He deserved the win". The Telegraph. Kolkata, India. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  44. ↑ "Top sportspersons to donate memorablia". Hindustan Times. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  45. ↑ "Chess News – A volcanic trip – with the Lord of the Rings". ChessBase.com. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  46. ↑ "Anand v Topalov 1 Day Postponement". Chess.com. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  47. ↑ "The Greatest World Championships: Anand vs. Topalov, 2010". worldchess.com. 10 Nov 2016. Retrieved 11 Nov 2016.
  48. ↑ "History of the World Ch., Part XII: Anand Reigns Supreme". worldchess.com. 10 Nov 2016. Retrieved 11 Nov 2016.
  49. ↑ Keene, Raymond. Chess, Sunday Times, 6 May 2012
  50. ↑ "Putin Meets Chess Champ For Tea". Huffington Post. 31 May 2012.
  51. ↑ "Chennai G9: Magnus .44 beats battling Anand". ChessBase News. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  52. ↑ "Candidates' R14: Karjakin Second and After Beating Aronian, Anand Undefeated". Chessvibes. 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  53. ↑ "Candidates Rd12: Time is running out". ChessBase. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  54. ↑ "FIDE Calendar 2014". FIDE. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  55. ↑ "Anand is World Rapid Chess Champion". Fide.com. 31 October 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  56. ↑ "Chess News – World Champion Vishy Anand!". ChessBase.com. 30 October 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  57. ↑ "Chess News – Blindfold king Kramnik wins 16th Amber Tournament". ChessBase.com. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  58. ↑ "Chess News – MTel R9: Topalov on top after victory over Kamsky". ChessBase.com. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  59. ↑ "Sofia R12: Vishy wins, retains World Championship title". chessbase. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  60. ↑ "Nakamura wins Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee (13)". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  61. ↑ "Aronian wins final Amber Tournament (11)". The Week in Chess. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  62. ↑ "Anand beats Kasimdzhanov in Rapid Match". The Week in Chess. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  63. ↑ "24th Leon Masters 2011". The Week in Chess. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  64. ↑ "Carlsen edges out Aronian on tie-break at the Tal Memorial (9)". The Week in Chess. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  65. ↑ "Carlsen beats Ivanchuk in blitz playoff to take Bilbao title (10 and Playoff)". The Week in Chess. 11 October 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  66. ↑ "Anand wins Corsican Masters Knockout". chessbase. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  67. ↑ "Round eight – Anand strikes back, wins in 17 moves!". chessbase. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  68. ↑ "Viswanathan Anand wins 2012 World Chess Championship". Chessdom. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  69. ↑ "Magnus Carlsen wins 5th Final Masters after blitz playoff against Caruana (10)". The Week in Chess. 25 September 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  70. ↑ "LCC R9: Carlsen first, Kramnik second, both with big wins". chessbase. 10 December 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  71. ↑ "Carlsen matches Kasparov record in winning Tata Steel 2013 (13)". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  72. ↑ "Anand takes clear first place in Baden-Baden tournament (10)". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  73. ↑ "Caruana wins the Zuerich Chess Classic (6)". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  74. ↑ "Aronian and Gelfand win Alekhine Memorial 2013". ChessBase News. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  75. ↑ "Karjakin deserved winner of first Norway Chess Tournament (9)". The Week in Chess. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  76. ↑ "Boris Gelfand wins the 8th Tal Memorial 2013 (9)". The Week in Chess. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  77. ↑ "Tal Memorial: Nakamura wins the blitz, full pairings now known". chessvibes. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  78. ↑ "Magnus Carlsen is World Chess Champion 2013!". Chessdom. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  79. ↑ "Nakamura triumphs in the Super Sixteen Rapid". London Chess Classic. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  80. ↑
  81. ↑
  82. ↑ "Bilbao Final: Anand first, Aronian second". chessbase. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  83. ↑
  84. ↑ "The Berlin Wall has Fallen — but the Tower of London still remains". London Chess Classic. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  85. ↑ "Magnus Carlsen wins the London Chess Classic and Grand Chess Tour". London Chess Classic. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  86. ↑
  87. ↑ "Nakamura wins the 2016 Zurich Chess Challenge!". Zurich Chess Challenge. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  88. ↑ "Carlsen wins Grand Chess Tour Leuven". Chessbase. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  89. ↑ Top 100 Players. Retrieved 15 April 2007.
  90. ↑ "FIDE Top 100, January 2008". Ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  91. ↑ All Time Rankings – lists the top 10 from 1970 to 1997
  92. ↑ "My target is to regain world number one status: Anand". The Times of India. 24 July 2010.
  93. ↑ "Final Chess Masters 2010 in Shanghai and Bilbao". Chessbase.com. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  94. ↑ Top 100 Players Retrieved on 1 November 2010
  95. ↑ "Chess Champion's Class Act". Huffington Post. Lubomir Kavalek. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  96. ↑ "Vladimir Kramnik on Chess, Anand, Topalov, and his future". 31 March 2012.
  97. ↑ "Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: Anand proved to be one of the greatest chess players of modern times". 31 March 2014.
  98. ↑ "Candidates, Rd 9: Dream day for Anand". 23 May 2014.
  99. ↑ "chess games". chessgames.com.
  100. ↑ Anand & Cmilyte winners Botvinnik Memorial rapid. ChessVibes. Retrieved on 31 May 2012.
  101. ↑ Anand wins Corsica Masters Knockout. ChessVibes. Retrieved on 31 May 2012.
  102. 1 2 3 "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  103. ↑ Chess Articles. Chess.com. Retrieved on 31 May 2012.
  104. ↑ "Carlsen beats Anand to 2010 Chess Oscar". WhyChess.org. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  105. ↑ "Vishwanathan Anand among winners of Global Leadership Awards, IBN Live News". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
  106. ↑ "Jayalalithaa hands over Rs. 2 crore to Anand". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 June 2012.
  107. ↑ "Chess News – Anand in the news: comeback in 2013?". ChessBase.com. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  108. ↑ "Russian Federation Friendship Order Awards to GMs Anand and Gelfand". Fide.com. 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
  109. ↑ https://twitter.com/prateekchat/status/553135584172986368
  110. ↑ https://twitter.com/vishy64theking/status/552709984979394561
  111. ↑ https://wikipedia.com/en/(4538)_Vishyanand
  112. ↑ "4538 Vishyanand: Top 5 things you must know about the minor planet named after Viswanathan Anand". India Today. 3 April 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  113. ↑ "Planet Vishyanand named after Indian Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand". news.biharprabha.com. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  114. ↑ Chessgames.com. Retrieved 15 April 2007.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Viswanathan Anand.
Awards
Preceded by
Alexander Khalifman		 FIDE World Chess Champion
2000–2002 		Succeeded by
Ruslan Ponomariov
Preceded by
Vladimir Kramnik		 World Chess Champion
2007–13 		Succeeded by
Magnus Carlsen
Preceded by
Garry Kasparov		 World Rapid Chess Champion
2003–2009 		Succeeded by
Levon Aronian
Preceded by
Mikhail Tal		 World Blitz Chess Champion
2000–2006 		Succeeded by
Alexander Grischuk
Achievements
Preceded by
Veselin Topalov
Vladimir Kramnik
Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen		 World No. 1
1 April – 31 December 2007
1 April – 30 September 2008
1 November – 31 December 2010
1 March – 30 June 2011 		Succeeded by
Vladimir Kramnik
Veselin Topalov
Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.