Photo: AICF
Did World Champion Viswanathan Anand already predict Magnus Carlsen winning the World Chess Championship 2013 title in Chennai? Here are some interesting quotes by Viswanathan Anand on Carlsen. Particular to note is what Anand said about Carlsen in 2008.
April 3, 2013 to DNA
Anand: In my opinion, Carlsen is the greatest talent I have seen. He is really unique in that sense. And that I think is absolutely huge. It will be a very, very big challenge. I understand the magnitude of my task.
...
The broad outlook of our game is similar. The prospect of facing Carlsen is a new one for me in many, many ways. I will have to figure out my strategy.
April 3, 2013 to The Indian Express
Is there a favourite going into the match?
Anand: I have to say that most people who look at the two of us will conclude that Magnus is the outright favourite. I'm cool with that. It doesn't really worry me. I'm fully aware of the magnitude of the task facing me, and Magnus' rank and rating speak for themselves. Having said that I don't feel any obligation to follow the predictions. That's what we are playing the match for. To have a chance to write our own script.
How different will this be from your previous WCC matches?
Anand: Firstly, he is not from my generation. There is a difference in age and outlook. When I played Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand, I read them in a certain way. And even then, I thought that if I end up playing Vlady this time, it would be a different Vlady from the one I played before. Carlsen is from a different generation and he is also one of the most talented players from any generation. He will be ridiculously difficult to play against, yeah.
July 4, 2013 to The Indian Express
Anand: Carlsen has shown himself to be a resourceful and dangerous opponent, so I'll have to work really hard. I felt that the tournaments indicated a lot of problem areas, even ones I haven't mentioned or revealed. You feel some concerns at the board and it is difficult to replicate them at home. You play these tournaments and have lots of thoughts and ideas about what you want to do afterwards. That's the most I can take away from them.
The loss against Carlsen (Tal Memorial), how difficult was that to take?
Anand: That was one of the worst. Not only did I lose, I lost embarrassingly. The game was over in just a couple of hours. It was a really, really off day. It's a pity. Something clearly just went wrong and I have some idea what it is. I will work at fixing that problem, but it is one among many problems that have cropped up.
The significance of the loss?
Anand: What can I tell you... It has some significance. In the end I would say the match (world championship) begins at 0-0. I'm happy I got it over with in June rather than it happening in November. Ideally, I would have played a better game, a better tournament. A good tournament result would definitely have been better than what I had but that is life. I don't want to fret about it.
Surprisingly, Carlsen was caught out in a couple of end games (against Wang Hao and Fabiano Caruana) this year, his supposed strength. What did you make of it?
Not only were these tournaments an experience for me, but for him as well. I have a lot of material to work on, a lot of material from my games and a lot from his. I noticed some of the things you've mentioned but I'll have to take a much more complete look and spend a lot of time on that.
January 10, 2008 to Spiegel
In recent times the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen has been in the headlines. He is seventeen and at the beginning of the month he was, for five days, the number one in the unofficial world rankings. How good is he?
Anand: He will sooner or later become World Champion. I like him, he is a Monty Python fan, just like me.
We don't know what notes about Monty Python the two have been exchanging lately, but this is for sure. Chennai is Carlsen's best shot yet. Carlsen will have to win the 2014 World Championship candidates if he loses in Chennai and wants to try a crack at the top title once again. Winning the 2014 World Championship Candidates might not be easy second time in a row for Carlsen considering the line-up!
Anand and Carlsen are sure to showcase their best in Chennai. If Carlsen were to win, Anand would be happy enough to pass on his mantle to a worthy candidate whose success he himself has predicted. If Anand were to retain his title, chess fans would know the next chess generation has not arrived!
Post this article we received following tweet. Thereafter is our answer. Don't forget to vote (in the sidebar on right) on who do you think will win
EastMidlandsChess @EMidlandsChess 2h
@bandwindia Happy to build up expectations on Carlsen? Is Anand underdog, despite his wealth of WCC Match experience?
Post this article we received following tweet. Thereafter is our answer. Don't forget to vote (in the sidebar on right) on who do you think will win
EastMidlandsChess @EMidlandsChess 2h
@bandwindia Happy to build up expectations on Carlsen? Is Anand underdog, despite his wealth of WCC Match experience?
Chess Magazine B&W @bandwindia 1h
@EMidlandsChess nt buildin hype. Anand has achieved all. One day he will pass on the title. Q: Is it now? :)
