The Hunger to Win is Still There: Former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand in Kolkata

Kolkata, Dec 22 A month after losing the chess world chess championship crown to Norwegian talent Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand Sunday said he he still retained the hunger for a comeback, but conceded age was catching up with him.

"I want to come back into the reckoning. The hunger is still there. I will continue to try. Only time can say whether I can do that successfully," Anand told media persons here.

"Age is a factor, but there is not much one can do about it. The top ten players are all younger.. But I don't look at this that way," said the 44-year-old Anand.

He said he wanted to focus on getting results by changing his approach to the game.

"I still want to play challenging tournaments including rapid chess."

The five-time world champion said he did not intend to continue beyond 50.

"Every player has a shelf life. I don't think I will continue beyond 50. But I can't set a definite number of years for myself. I will continue as long as I enjoy the game."

Anand said he would concentrate on fixing some issues which have crept into his game after taking a break.

The top rated grand master did not rule out playing the Candidates Tournament slated to be played in the Russian city of Khanty Mansiysk in March, but said he would take the final decision later.

On the loss to Vladimir Kramnik in the quarter final of the London Classic, he said: " I adopted a different style, wanted to play freely. It worked in initials rounds but in knockout it didn't work out the way I wanted."

On Sachin Tendulkar being nominated for Bharat Ratna ahead of him, Anand said: "I don't feel hard done, as my achievements speak for themselves". -- IANS/Photo via www.chesspics.com.

* Anand was in Kolkata as part of an NIIT Mind Champions programme

Video by NNIS News Agency

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Chess TV Exclusive: World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen speaks to Anastasiya Karlovich

World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen speaks to Anastasiya Karlovich in an exclusive interview for Chess TV: (http://chesstv.ru/) - первый в мире шахматный телеканал с круглосуточным вещанием и большим количеством прямых трансляций с крупнейших турниров (premier channel of the world of chess relaying chess programmes and principal tournaments).

 

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Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013: Amul Girl says, 'Vish you were here!'

Amul gets the final say on the Chennai World Chess Championship 2013 Viswanathan Anand versus Magnus Carlsen. One look at the cartoon and you're not really that sad about it all!

 You didn't miss this earlier one, did you? (and our earlier post Pattaya Kelappu Thala)

Amul, with the tag line, 'The taste of India' is well known for funny and witty ads featuring the famous 'Amul girl'. Their advertisements are a tradition in themselves featuring the most-talked about event of the week in India. Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative, and is sometimes even referred to as Anand (!!!) Milk Union Limited because it is based in Anand, Gujarat.

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Magnus Carlsen-in-the-Swimming Pool at Chennai Hyatt Regency: VG TV Video Goes Viral

Chennai World Chess Championship Hyatt Regency Celebrations: You might have already seen this: Here is the VG TV Magnus Carlsen video that has gone viral on the Internet. The World No. 1 is thrown into the swimming pool at the Chennai Hyatt Regency after winning the World Chess Championship beating Viswanathan Anand on Friday night. Left is the photo, the new World Chess Champion put up on his Facebook page after winning the title with the message: So happy to finally become World Champion!! Thanks for all your support! 




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Magnus Carlsen Dethrones Viswanathan Anand to become World Chess Champion 2013

Five-time title-holder Viswanathan Anand's reign as the world chess champion came to an end today with Norway's Magnus Carlsen taking the crown after a hard-fought draw in the 10th game of the World Chess Championship Match. 

 

Carlsen, who will be 23 years on 30th November, closed the championship with two games to spare by taking his tally to required 6.5 points out of a possible ten, winning three and drawing seven games.

In what could be marked as the dawn of a new era in the chess world, Carlsen showed stellar effort yet again by not going for a tame draw when one was enough for him to take the title home.

Instead, the Norwegian made Anand suffer for a long and gruelling four hours and forty five minutes before the Indian could heave a sigh of relief in what was the most one-sided world championship match in modern history.

Anand had won the world championship title five times -- 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 -- but ironically was dethroned in his home town of Chennai.

In a dubious first, this was the only time that Anand failed to win a single game in a world chess championship match.

Starting with his journey in 1991, Anand had always scored at least one victory in each of the matches that he played in the last 22 years.

 

Carlsen was in his elements right through the tenth game getting what he wanted out of the opening and then pursuing on his favourite mission on grinding out opponent. Anand, this time, did not collapse and came up with some fantastic defense he is known for to steer the game to a draw.

Anand, on expected lines, employed the Sicilian defense and faced the Moscow variation that Carlsen had employed before.

There were no surprises earlier as both players opted for routine theory and it was a Maroczy bind structure on board after Carlsen came up with a check on move three, parting with his light squared Bishop for a knight.

On move 14, Carlsen took back Anand’s light Bishop to even things up and it was again a slow grind thereafter that has been hallmark of Carlsen’s play in this match.

With two minor pieces off the board, the position had only a minuscule advantage for white but Carlsen did not go for the draw. It was on the 21st move that many pundits believed both players will be happy to repeat moves.

 

Carlsen for obvious reasons and Anand because there was not much hope. However, the Norwegian was the first to deviate from a possible repetition.

Anand found some solace after trading another set of minor pieces but the pressure remained on the Indian. Carlsen went for his final liquidation plan on the 28th move when he pushed his king pawn to fifth rank. Anand temporarily parted with a pawn and recovered it some moves later but this led the game to a pure knight and pawns endgame.

To make matters worse for Anand, Carlsen retained his small advantage as his king quickly walked over to the king side and penetrated the fifth rank. Anand’s knight and king were confined to the defense and to stop further damage.

 

The players reached the first time control in just three hours when 40 moves were completed but by then it was also clear that either Carlsen will win or it will be a draw. In either case Anand’s campaign was coming to an end and it was a pretty unpleasant task for the five times world champion.

As the game progressed both the players were engrossed in their own ways. Anand showed some signs of nervousness while Carlsen at one point leaned like ‘the Crocodile’ he wants to be if he was an animal. Relaxed but ready to eat the prey when they came its way.

The situation took another dramatic turn on the 46th move when Carlsen sank in to a long thought. The Norwegian looked at the possibilities of sacrificing his last remaining pieces and this is what he did a couple of moves later. In return, Anand lost all his pawns and the players promoted new queens on the board.

Anand had an extra Knight but Carlsen had Queen and a couple of dangerous looking pawns on the queen side.

Finding just the right moves, Anand forced an exchange pretty soon leading to a forced draw. The epic game lasted 65 moves.

Apart from the winning the title, Carlsen will also take home 60 per cent of around Rs. 14 crore as part of his winner’s purse.

The final score stood 6.5 - 3.5 in favour of Magnus Carlsen. -- PTI/Photos Anastasia Karlovich/official website

Game 10 Moves

Magnus Carlsen - Viswanathan Anand 1/2-1/2

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. c4 Nf6 8. Bg5 e6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. O-O Bc6 11. Qd3 O-O 12. Nd4 Rc8 13. b3 Qc7 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Rac1 h6 16. Be3 Nd7 17. Bd4 Rfd8 18. h3 Qc7 19. Rfd1 Qa5 20. Qd2 Kf8 21. Qb2 Kg8 22. a4 Qh5 23. Ne2 Bf6 24. Rc3 Bxd4 25. Rxd4 Qe5 26. Qd2 Nf6 27. Re3 Rd7 28. a5 Qg5 29. e5 Ne8 30. exd6 Rc6 31. f4 Qd8 32. Red3 Rcxd6 33. Rxd6 Rxd6 34. Rxd6 Qxd6 35. Qxd6 Nxd6 36. Kf2 Kf8 37. Ke3 Ke7 38. Kd4 Kd7 39. Kc5 Kc7 40. Nc3 Nf5 41. Ne4 Ne3 42. g3 f5 43. Nd6 g5 44. Ne8+ Kd7 45. Nf6+ Ke7 46. Ng8+ Kf8 47. Nxh6 gxf4 48. gxf4 Kg7 49. Nxf5+ exf5 50. Kb6 Ng2 51. Kxb7 Nxf4 52. Kxa6 Ne6 53. Kb6 f4 54. a6 f3 55. a7 f2 56. a8=Q f1=Q 57. Qd5 Qe1 58. Qd6 Qe3+ 59. Ka6 Nc5+ 60. Kb5 Nxb3 61. Qc7+ Kh6 62. Qb6+ Qxb6+ 63. Kxb6 Kh5 64. h4 Kxh4 65. c5 Nxc5 1/2-1/2

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The Knight's Betrayal: Moment of Excitement, Moment of Irresponsibility, says Anand for Game 9

Game 9 Press Conference at Chennai World Chess Championship Match 2013: His title defense in tatters after suffering another loss, world chess champion Viswanathan Anand today said he was left with little choice and decided to go for the kill in the ninth game as he had to drastically change the course of the World Chess Championship Match. 

Going into the ninth game today with a two-game deficit, Anand said he had to give it a shot. 

“In general, the match situation did not leave me with much of a choice. I had to give it a shot, I saw a couple of moments where I could exit but I decided to give it a shot. It seemed very dangerous for black,” the defending champion said. 

The Indian Grandmaster mentioned it was a moment of excitement that led to the blunder. “In a sense it was irresponsible or silly but I spent about 40 minutes on this move and then I suddenly saw his response. And for a second I got excited with this knight move (which was the blunder) and simply missed. As soon as I played the knight move I saw what I had done,” the Indian conceded. *28.Nf1 played in position on the left instead of 28.Bf1

Explaining the match situation, Anand said he had no regrets about his choice of opening. “I needed to change the course of the match drastically that’s why I went for this. I had a rest day to get familiar with the lines. Basically this is what I had to do. This was the correct choice so I have no regrets for that,” he noted. 

When asked whether he still will go for the kill in the last three games, Anand said he will try. “Of course, I will try but the situation doesn’t look very good,” he said. 

As soon as the ninth game ended, giving Magnus Carlsen an unassailable three points lead, highly regarded British grandmaster Nigel Short came out with a tweet: End of an era. 

Carlsen showed to the world that his maturity is not confined to the 64 squares in the post-game conference when the question was posed to him. After a usual poise, came the answer. “Let’s be correct this time,” indicating that the match is not over yet. (Unfortunately, a journalist decided to ask that question to Anand even though the tweet was meant for the GM's own Twitter followers.)

The Norwegian agreed that he was even scared for the first time in the match. 

“Basically all the time I was scared, white’s position looks menacing. I had to calculate as best as could and go with that. It seems that there wasn’t any mate (checkmate),” Carlsen said. 

Speaking about his choices in the game, Carlsen said that it was quite complicated. “We got a very sharp position from the opening. Basically I missed something with e5, in general I would like to block the pawns but there too he has options,” he added. 

Looking for the counter play, the Norwegian hit back on the queen side. “I just had to go all out for counter play and there were amazing number of complicated lines, I was not sure what to do. As it happened I had to play the only moves for a long time and fortunately for me he (Anand) blundered.” 

After his third victory in just nine games, Carlsen is now just a draw away from dethroning Anand who has remained the undisputed world champion since 2007. -- PTI/Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich/official website

* Game 9 Heartbreaking loss for Anand

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Game 9: Heartbreaking Loss for Vishy Anand, Magnus Carlsen a Draw away from World Chess Champion Title

Challenger Magnus Carlsen closed in on the World Chess Champion crown after defeating defending champion Viswanathan Anand in the ninth game of the World Chess Championship match in Chennai today.

On what turned out be a dramatic affair, Anand missed out on his chances with White pieces and suffered a painful defeat that almost sealed the fate of the match.

Carlsen now leads 6-3 and needs just half a point from the remaining three games to become the new world chess champion.

It was a Nimzo Indian defense that Carlsen chose as Black and Anand, realising well that this was his last chance for a strike, went for the Saemisch variation.

Anand had used this system before, in the World Chess Championship match against Vladimir Kramnik, and later in a gem of a match against Wang Hao of China.

Carlsen showed some signs of nervousness in the early stages of the middlegame after he went for a line that is not favoured at top level chess. Anand got his chances by way of a Kingside attack while Carlsen had no option, but to push harder on the other flank. The position in the middlegame looked very dangerous for Carlsen, but with precise calculations, he kept himself in the game.



Even till the end of the game, Carlsen's Queen and one Bishop remained on the initial squares as mere spectators to the proceedings, while he defended his position with all other available resources.

On the 22nd move, Anand had about 25 minutes more than Carlsen and optically dominating position, but the Norwegian World No. 1 had calculated that his King was guarded against any checkmate threats.

On the 23rd move, Anand spent nearly 40 minutes and decided to continue the attack instead of equalising once again. This was more to do with match situation as Anand had things under control but another drawn result would not have improved the match situation.

The 28-move game gave the World No. 1 a three-point lead in the Match. At the start, Viswanathan Anand played 1.d4 for the first time in the match. The challenger and world’s top rated player responded with his trusted Nimzo-Indian defence.

Anand repeated the line that he has already used in the match with Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn 2008. Black was obviously well prepared, as he made a rare recapture on move 7 (exd5 instead of more common Nxd5) and then immediately closed the Queenside with 8…c4.

Anand got the pawns rolling towards the Black King, while Carlsen created a passed pawn on b3, deep within opponent’s territory. Anand spent around 30 minutes to calculate complicated lines before going all in with 23.Qf4.

White went directly for the checkmate and Black promoted a new queen on b1. However, playing too quickly, Anand erred with 28.Nf1, which effectively concluded the game after Carlsen’s reply 28…Qe1.

Carlsen is now leading 6-3 and needs only one draw in the remaining three games to claim the title of FIDE World Chess Champion. -- PTI/Official website

Game 9 moves

[White "Anand, Viswanathan"] - [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 c4 9. Ne2 Nc6 10. g4 O-O 11. Bg2 Na5 12. O-O Nb3 13. Ra2 b5 14. Ng3 a5 15. g5 Ne8 16. e4 Nxc1 17. Qxc1 Ra6 18. e5 Nc7 19. f4 b4 20. axb4 axb4 21. Rxa6 Nxa6 22. f5 b3 23. Qf4 Nc7 24. f6 g6 25. Qh4 Ne8 26. Qh6 b2 27. Rf4 b1=Q+ 28. Nf1 Qe1 0-1

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World Chess Match Parallel Events: Mikhail Mozharov leads Chennai International Chess Open after 7 Rounds

Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013 Parallel Events: Chennai Chess Open - International Master Mikhail Mozharov of Russia is in sole lead with seven points after eight rounds at the Chennai Grandmaster International Open Chess Tournament being held at Nehru Stadium in celebration of the World Chess Championship Match. 

Indian talent, 14-year-old FM VR Aravindh Chithambaram shares the second spot with Indian GM Vishnu Prasanna at 6.5 points. In upsets of the day (on Wednesday), top seed GM Popov Ivan of Russia lost to GM Vishnu Prasanna (India), while IM Swayams Mishra (India) stunned GM Babujian Levon (Armenia).

Important Results (Round 8) : (Indians unless specified): Aravindh Chithambaram (6.5) drew with Mozharov Mikhail (Rus) 7, V Vishnu Prasanna (6.5) bt Popov Ivan (Rus) 5.5, Rishi Sardana (Aus) 5 lost to M R Lalith Babu (6), Swayams Mishra (6) bt Babujian Levon (Arm) 5, Papin Vasily (Rus) 5.5 drew with Neverov Valeriy (Ukr) 5.5, Ter-Sahakyan Samvel (Arm) 5.5 bt S Ravi Teja (5), Gagare Shardul (4.5) lost to Borovikov Vladislav (Ukr) 5.5, Sethuraman S P (5.5) bt Narayanan Srinath (4.5), Aditya Udeshi (4.5) lost to M Shyam Sundar (5.5). The playing format of the tournament is 11-round Swiss and the total prize fund is 16,000 USD. -- AICF/PTI

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BBC on How Aftenposten's Norway versus Rest of the World Online Chess Match got Hacked!

Chess currently has its highest profile for years - with millions gripped by the world championship. But one attempt to capitalise on this interest - a Norway versus the Rest of the World match - has been abandoned due to online sabotage.

Kjetil Kolsrud, the Managing Editor of Norway's Aftenposten newspaper, thought a Norway versus the Rest of the World online crowdsourced match would boost audience engagement and be a bit of fun. That's not how it turned out. "It didn't take long for chat rooms to fill up with pranksters," says Kolsrud. People in Norway - and the rest of the world respectively - had one hour to decide each move. Each hour, the most popular move would be played. Anyone with an IP address in Norway would play for team Norway; anyone outside, for the Rest of the World.

The online match was timed to run alongside the tournament between India's Viswanathan Anand and Norway's Magnus Carlsen in Chennai, India. It kicked off at 10:00 Norwegian time on Monday, and was expected to last four days. Norwegians were encouraged to tweet using the hashtag #apsjakk and the Rest of the World, #apchess.

But within hours the Aftenposten team noticed some suspiciously bad moves by the Rest of the World. After 12 hours, they closed the game entirely, citing abuse. Kolsrud says this appears to have been stoked by one specific online forum - which has now been removed.

A number of the tweets allege Norwegians were using fake proxy servers to deliberately make bad moves on behalf of the opposition. But many of those accusations come from accounts with very little activity prior to this, suggesting they may not be genuine. Another theory is that disgruntled Indian fans may be to blame - keen to shut down the game in revenge for Anand being behind in the real tournament.

Crowdsourced chess games are common - Gary Kasparov famously took on the Rest of the World, and won - but their sabotage is new. "These type of matches are a great way to popularise the game and are usually very successful," says Susan Polgar, the first woman grandmaster, and one of the four official commentators of the World Championships. "It's just sad and disappointing that people would try to sabotage like this." -- Cordelia Hebblethwaite/BBC

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Aggression, Attack, Positive Play Options Left for World Chess Champion Vishy Anand versus Magnus Carlsen?

All India Chess Federation Press Release November 20, 2013: Game nine is set to define the Viswanathan Anand - Magnus Carlsen World Chess Championship Match 2013 in Chennai. The score reads 5-3 in favour of the Norwegian World No. 1. 

Eight games have been played so far. Four games are left to be played. Viswanathan Anand needs to draw level to force a tiebreak, unless of course, either of the two reach the magical score of 6.5 and take the title in the classical time-control games.

Aggression, attack, positive play are the options left for the World Chess Champion according to the experts. Anand will be expected to play sharp and also hopefully for the Indians, reduce the deficit. Anand has scored 3.5/4 in a world championship match at Tehran 2000. He will need to repeat that to keep the title.

Carlsen who is enjoying a double point lead is sitting pretty. People in Norway are expecting a new world chess champion soon enough. 

Indian fans, scribes and even people from the chess fraternity are nervous about what Anand is doing in the match. Two games down, he quietly takes two easy games.

Great champions keep a cool at difficult moments. Anand belongs to that genius category. While watching a cricket match, with the required run rate huge, a champion called M.S. Dhoni walks in and blocks the first ball. Then he goes for the calculated assault. That is what Anand will be doing. Risking himself in game seven and eight would have spoilt his chance as he is still thinking about game five and six in the back of his mind. Now, he will be “trying” from game nine.

Prize fund: The winner will receive Rs.8.40 crores and the loser will get Rs.5.60 crores. The entire prize fund is sponsored by the Tamil Nadu Government who have offered a budget of Rs.29 crores.

The winner will keep the title until next year. The loser will play in the Candidates Tournament at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia along with seven others from Feb-Mar 2014. The winner of this Candidates tournament will play the winner of the Anand versus Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013.

If Magnus Carlsen wins the World Chess Championship 2013, he will become the 20th player in chess history of world chess championships since 1886 to do so. Anand, who should be hoping to make a big turnaround in the match, will win it for the sixth time if he does so. 

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Mumbai Kids Crazy about Magnus Carlsen

Chess fans are having a great time watching two quite friendly chess superstars fight it out for the World Chess Championship in Chennai this November. Here's a fun video by IBN Live speaking to young chess fans from Mumbai. Yes, Magnus Carlsen's got chess fans in India as well. 






* Pyjama Girls

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Game 7 at Chennai World Chess Championship: Anand Happy to Draw, Carlsen Keeps Lead 4.5 - 2.5

Victory eluded him yet again but defending champion Viswanathan Anand said he was relieved to eke out a draw after two losses on the trot against Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship, in Chennai, on Monday.

"Obviously after the last two games it's nice to break this result but I was hoping to be able to press him a little, but I could not manage," Anand said in a press conference after the seventh round game.

Carlsen, meanwhile, continued to enjoy his two-point lead after the deadlock. The Norwegian now needs just two points in the next five games to become the next world chess champion. Anand elaborated the game in perfect fashion to a packed audience, a sign that the Indian has recovered and is raring to have a go again.

"I chose a line that both of us have played quite a bit in the past. He went for this Bishop move and then we have this slow manoeuvring game. White has two plans, a break on king side or play on the flank. 'f4' was not so good as black is basically preparing to play this knight manoeuvre.

"I thought I will be able to press a little bit, it's not huge but somehow I was not able to make it happen," Anand said matter-of-factly.



Carlsen almost echoed the opinion. "Not so much more to say, we both have played this line, there are many different plans of course. But whatever you play it's usually quite slow and the game goes on. I thought I was doing more or less fine, just a little bit worse but not much. It's just going to be a bit more pleasant, but my pieces are well developed," he said.
 

Anand said he will definitely keep trying and push for a win.

"I will definitely keep trying. The last two games were unpleasant, there is no getting around that, we played a game today and we will continue to do so," noted the local hero.

Speaking about the psychological aspects related to the game, Carlsen was quite forthcoming.

"I think there are some psychological aspects. The outcome of game five influenced the next game, I think that's unavoidable, you just try to move on as quickly as possible, but it's not so easy in a match," Carlsen said.

On whether the two were following the messages for both on social media, Anand said his team would let him know if they felt he should know something.

"I follow it just a little bit, I am very thankful to those who wish for me and for those who are not, I don't read it anyway," quipped Carlsen.

Carlsen said he was quite happy with the way things turned out in game seven.

"I have the lead, I won my last game with black, so this suited me just fine," he said.

The eighth game will be played on Tuesday followed by a day's break. -- PTI/Photos: Official website



[Event "FWCM 2013"]
[Site "Chennai"]
[Date "2013.11.18"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2870"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. Nf1 Nd7 9. Ng3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 g6 11. Be3 Qe7 12. O-O-O O-O-O 13. Ne2 Rhe8 14. Kb1 b6 15. h4 Kb7 16. h5 Bxe3 17. Qxe3 Nc5 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. g3 a5 20. Rh7 Rh8 21. Rdh1 Rxh7 22. Rxh7 Qf6 23. f4 Rh8 24. Rxh8 Qxh8 25. fxe5 Qxe5 26. Qf3 f5 27. exf5 gxf5 28. c3 Ne6 29. Kc2 Ng5 30. Qf2 Ne6 31. Qf3 Ng5 32. Qf2 Ne6 1/2-1/2

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Chennai World Chess Championship Game 2 Anand - Carlsen 1/2- 1/2; Carlsen: We are both settling in

Chennai World Chess Championship Game 2: Both Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen admitted today at the press conference that they were meeting their toughest opponent yet. In an atmosphere of friendly humour with two games of the World Chess Championship behind them, both the defending champion and challenger hoped to spend the first rest day of the match watching football and relaxing!

In reply to a question put both to Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand as to whether they found the other as the toughest opponent yet, both replied 'yes'. 

Carlsen said, "He has been world champion for many years now and obviously he has beaten my other opponents, surely he is the toughest opponent." 

Anand was equal in his praise for Carlsen while replying to a similar question. "Magnus' results in the last few years speak for themselves. Definitely he is the toughest," Anand said.

Photo and Press conference video via official website. 

At the start of the press conference, defending champion Viswanathan Anand offered an apology of sorts after he played out a draw with white pieces in the second game of World Chess Championship clash against Magnus Carlsen of Norway.

"Today it's my turn to tender a slight apology," said Anand.

"The position we got after move 12 is a very sharp one. I have studied it in the past, it's very very complicated and I had not really expected it. That's clear," he said at the post-game conference at the Hyatt Regencey hotel.

The opening move of the second game today was a big success for Carlsen and it was a great pull back by the Norwegian after Anand had got an easy draw as black in the first game yesterday.

"I will not talk too much about the opening move. I think the critical point was on move 18 when Vishy could have tried but black seemed to be doing fine," world number one Carlsen said. 

Anand said things might have become risky for him after Carlsen's opening came as a slight surprise coming in the form of a Caro Kann defense.

"I had to decide whether to fly blind because it's clear that he would have been into more details. I decided to go for a slightly solid line, a slightly prudent decision today, essentially after the queen exchange there is nothing much happening," said the five-time champion Anand.

Anand, however, said the battle royale that has thus far produced just 41 moves in the two games would only get better.

"We both have a little information now as to what the other person is trying, I am sure it will get interesting," the local hero said.

Asked about the preparation for this game's opening move, Anand said, "I was trying to recollect all sharp variations around move 13-15, trying to figure out what he might be aiming for before he took the path to equality.

In reply to another question, Carlsen said his start at the Chennai World Chess Championship was similar to his start at the London Chess Candidates where he started with draws. 

Carlsen said, "I did not know what to expect really. I feel it is a little bit similar to my start in the Candidates Tournament where I got an easy draw as black in the first and conceded an easy draw with white in the second game. Then things really took off," he said adding, "like Vishy said, we are both settling in." -- Agencies 

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Garry Kasparov Comments on Carlsen - Anand World Chess Championship Game 1

Here are the comments by chess legend Garry Kasparov on Game one at the Carlsen - Anand World Chess Championship 2013 in Chennai. These comments are via Kasparov's twitter account @Kasparov63. 

 Garry Kasparov ‏@Kasparov6311h

- Hello from Goa! Great event today at #THiNK2013. Looks like half of those in attendance were tweeting about. I will share some in a moment.

- First, a few brief comments on today's Carlsen-Anand game. Brief comments are fitting for such a brief game.

- I imagine Anand's 2..g6 was a surprise for Magnus, and 4..c6 as well. Then White has a big choice: to play c4 & sacrifice a pawn, or not.

- Sacrificing the pawn with c4 would not be a typical position for Magnus but Anand (& his second Leko) know those positions well.

- But without c4 by White Black gets a very solid position, even if he plays the Nbd2 I'd prefer to Carlsen's Nc3. Little danger for Black.

- I remember Anand played this in his 1994 NYC candidates match against Romanishin, who played c4 & drew one & lost one. Can be quite sharp.

- First games of big matches are often tentative. Both get a half point but it's great to start any event with an easy draw with black!

- Anand & I drew first 8 games of our 1995 world championship match. But then, boom! Next 4/5 were decisive & the match was basically over.

- So do not get too depressed with a slow start. Of my 7 world championship matches, 5 started with draw in first game.

The links to comments by Garry Kasparov are also in interviews with

BELIEVE MAGNUS: Chess legend Garry Kasparov (left) keeps Magnus Carlsen as the favorite in the World Chess Match
PHOTO: Junge, Heiko / NTB Scanpix

- Aftenposte.no

- VG.no
- The Times of India

* Kasparov goes Harry Potter-ish
* Kasparov India schedule

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VG TV Promotional Video for World Chess Match Challenger Magnus Carlsen

Here is a nice video by VG TV for Magnus Carlsen ahead of the first game of the World Chess Championship versus Viswanathan Anand in Chennai on Saturday, November 9, 2013. Live schedule and championship timings listed here.




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World Chess Championship Patron Jayalalitha to Inaugurate Anand vs Carlsen Match at Gala Event

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will inaugurate the FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2013 on Thursday at a grand function at Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. The actual match (of 12 games and tiebreaker if required) between five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand (43) and challenger Magnus Carlsen (22) of Norway will begin on Saturday.

The Chief Minister, who is the patron for the event, allocated Rs 29 crore for bringing the chess championship to Chennai. 

Jayalalithaa Jayaram (born 24 February 1948), commonly referred to as Jayalalithaa, is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She was a popular film star in Indian cinema before her entry into politics, having appeared as main female lead heroine in over 140 films which includes films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and worked in one Hindi film. She is the incumbent general secretary of the political party All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). She is called Amma ('Mother') and sometimes Puratchi Thalaivi ('Revolutionary Leader') by her supporters.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president, Federation of Internationale Des Echecs (FIDE) will preside over the function. Tamil Nadu School Education Minister and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association president P R Venkatrama Raja will participate in the inaugural function, which will be followed by cultural programmes.

The match will take place at Hotel Hyatt Regency in Teynampet. About 400 people can witness the games by being seated in the hall separated from the players by a glass wall.

Last year, Anand successfully defended his title after defeating challenger Boris Gelfand in Moscow. After winning the title in Mexico in 2007, he defended it in Bonn (2008) and Sofia (2010). Anand first became world champion in 2000 after beating Alexei Shirov of Latvia in Tehran. Besides, he won the FIDE World Rapid Championship in 2003.

Magnus Carlsen (World No 1 in the FIDE rankings) won the Candidates Tournament 2013 played in London to become Anand’s official challenger. Carlsen has the highest FIDE elo rating of 2862 points. -- Agencies

* The Anand timeline

* How Carlsen came to be the one

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