World Chess Championship 2013 Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen at Chennai Hyatt Regency
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

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

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Tuesday, November 26, 2013
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.

Viswanathan Anand Remains NIIT Brand Ambassador

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog
His failure to defend the World Chess Championship title notwithstanding, Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand will continue to be the brand ambassador of premier IT education institute NIIT.

Anand, a five-time world chess champion, lost the crown to Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen last week in the match conducted in his home city of Chennai.

The setback triggered speculation that Anand would be dropped as brand ambassador of NIIT, a brand he has promoted for quite a few years.

But NIIT Chairman Rajendra S Pawar said the iconic Grandmaster would remain on board.

"We salute Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, for placing India prominently on the world chess map. A true sporting legend and a national hero, Anand continues to inspire young Indians to embrace the game of chess," he said in a statement.

"Anand has made chess a national movement by initiating 1.65 million students into the game of Chess through our joint initiative – the NIIT MindChampions' Academy. Together, NIIT and Anand will continue to work towards taking Indian chess to greater heights," he added.


* Brand ambassadors: Anand and Carlsen

Monday, November 25, 2013

It's Official: Magnus Carlsen is World Chess Champion 2013 (... And, yes, there's an FB Status Update!)

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Monday, November 25, 2013
Newly-crowned World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen on Monday took home a prize money of Rs 9.90 crore after he beat Viswanathan Anand in a keenly-watched contest that spanned over 10 days.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha gave away the prize money and trophies to the Norwegian sensation and the Indian veteran at a short ceremony that lasted about ten minutes.

Carlsen, the second youngest player after Garry Kasparov to win the coveted chess title of World Chess Champion, was awarded a gold-plated trophy, whose design was handpicked by Jayalalithaa, gold medal and an olive garland (wreath) at the private hotel where the two players had vied for the championship last week. 

Of course, the World Champion has to 
make it official on Facebook!

Anand, a five-time world champion whose title was wrested by the young challenger with a stupendous 6.5-3.5 score, had to settle for the runner-up prize money of Rs 6.03 crore, a silver plaque and silver medal.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov presented the respective medals to Carlsen and Anand.

The olive wreath, presented to Carlsen, was made of olive leaves from Nilgiris in the state.

The closing ceremony had no speeches, only background announcements in Tamil and English. National anthems of both Norway and India were also played.

Jayalalithaa gave away the winner's gold trophy to Carlsen, amid loud cheers from supporters. She also honoured the 22-year-old Norwegian with an olive garland from the Nilgiri hills, while World Chess Federation president Kirsan Illyumzhinov presented him a gold medal. Magnus Carlsen earned US $1,582,732/€ 1,169,883 for his efforts. Anand, who lost the crown in his home city, was rewarded with prize money of US $964,028/€ 711,021 and a silver medal.

Carlsen became the new world chess champion after defeating Anand by 6.5-3.5 in 12 game match held between November 7 and 22. The crucial tenth game went in a draw and favoured Carlsen to claim the title.

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand, who had checked out of the Presidential Suite on Saturday morning, came directly from his home and left after the ceremony. 


Anand was dressed formally in tie and jacket and Carlsen had his jacket on. The venue was the same hall in which the ten games were played. Over 500 people attended the crowded ceremony which also witnessed huge security personnel both inside and outside the hotel. -- PTI/Official website

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Magnus Carlsen beats Viswanathan Anand: Faking News' Most-Believable Satirical Tweet Feed

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Sunday, November 24, 2013
Magnus Carlsen beats Viswanathan Anand: Faking News' Most-Believable Satirical Tweet Feed at the World Chess Championship in Chennai. If you are in India, you will truly connect with this and have a great laugh ;)



The Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013 has given India a great chance to build on the hype that has been created and the All India Chess Federation must capitalise on the wave to help chess grow in India. 

In a most sensible reaction - the first we're reading in India by an Indian Grandmaster on the subject of Anand's loss - the young talent from New Delhi told NNIS Sports that it would be great if we had more strong chess tournaments in India as most youngsters have to go to Europe to play which is expensive and not very easy. 

GM Parimarjan Negi said Anand's loss is not a big blow to Indian chess at all and the best needs to be made out of the momentum that has been created for chess in India. Now isn't that the most sensible reaction AND accurate statement we've heard in India so far on the World Chess Championship 2013? Here is the video interview with GM Parimarjan Negi. 



* GM Negi's almost believable fun take

Saturday, November 23, 2013

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

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Saturday, November 23, 2013
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! 




Chennai: Soon after completing the formalities of a draw to lift the World Chess Championship title, Carlsen said it was the pressure that did the trick on Anand.

Newly-crowned world champion Magnus Carlen on Friday said that five-time title holder Vishwanathan Anand crumbled under pressure in the World Chess Championship match here.




Soon after completing the formalities of a draw to lift the World Chess Championship title, Carlsen said it was the pressure that did the trick on Anand.

"I would like to take some responsibility for his mistakes that's for sure. People crack under pressure even in the World Championship. That's what the history shows. The blunders that he made are not the mistakes he usually makes. This is what I really wanted to do, make him sit at the board and play for a long time," Carlsen revealed his strategy that gave him a stupendous 6.5-3.5 victory over the defending champion.

Carlsen, the current world number one, said he was delighted to win the title and become the first Western champion since 1975.

"It feels good. It's been tough both here and in London (where Carlsen won the candidates to qualify here). I have been treated very well here in India. In general at some point I settled in and got the match to where I could play to my strength," he said.

Speaking about the last game when he tormented Anand for a long time before a draw was reached, Carlsen said it was a worthy end to the championship.

"I was just trying to play solidly in the opening. I am pretty happy with what I got, very solid position no weaknesses. As the game went on he started to drift a bit and then I thought as long as there is no risk I should try and win it. At some point after the time control, the variations were getting too complicated so I decided to shut it down to force a draw," said the Norwegian prodigy. -- PTI


Chennai: Indian media on Saturday said a new world order had dawned after local favourite Viswanathan Anand was outplayed by Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the battle for the world chess title.

Carlsen, the 22-year-old reigning world number one, won three games and forced a seventh draw on Friday to achieve the victory mark of 6.5 points in Anand`s home city of Chennai, the capital of southern Tamil Nadu state.
 

Under the headline `New world order`, the Mail Today newspaper said Anand`s defeat "signalled the change of guard at the top of the chess world".

"His (Carlsen) brand of fighting, aggressive chess may also mark a new era," the English-language daily said, wondering if Anand would "try and earn a right to challenge Carlsen late next year".

Anand, who at 43 is 21 years older than his rival, lost the title he has held since 2007 despite a last-gasp fight in an attritional 130-move game on Friday that lasted four hours and 45 minutes.

Carlsen played four draws early in the tournament to counter Anand who could never recover from blunders he made in the crucial fifth game.
 
The Times of India said that with Anand`s comprehensive defeat, an era had ended in chess.

The paper said it was "poetic justice" that Carlsen heralded the new era in a country where the game of 64 squares has its origins.

"It took Anand 20 years to travel between GM (grandmaster) title (1988) and undisputed world title (2008). Carlsen has done it in less than 11 years," the daily said.
 

The Indian Express said with Carlsen`s triumph, "the world of chess is on the threshold of a generational change".

"It was not just Carlsen`s dominance... but what he represents that has fans excited," it wrote.

Carlsen missed by a few weeks becoming the youngest world champion, a record set by his one-time coach Kasparov in 1985.

The last Westerner to hold the world champion title was US legend Bobby Fischer who relinquished it in 1975.

The tournament was widely reported across Indian media which aired the matches live on television, building an unprecedented hype in a country where cricket is the number one sport.

The vernacular press also gave wide coverage to the championship with daily and detailed reports of their battle featuring on the top of the sports pages.

The Express attributed some of the excitement to the youthful personality of Carlsen, which it said, set him apart from past champions.

"Young and marketable, Carlsen is the antithesis of the traditional image of the reclusive and recondite chess genius," the newspaper said in a front-page report.

Quoting Russian legend Garry Kasparov, it said: "A win for Carlsen is also a win for the chess world." -- AFP
FIDE Master V R Aravindh Chithambaram has won the Chennai Grandmaster International Open Chess tournament held alongside the Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship Match. Aravindh won the event with nine points in 11 rounds and earned the winner's trophy along with a cash award of Rs two lakh.

Grandmasters Neverov Valeriy (Ukraine) and S P Sethuraman (India) shared the second spot with 8.5 points.

Half a point away were GMs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, V Vishnu Prasanna (both India) and Borovikov Vladislav (Ukraine). Borovikov beat Indian GM Lalith Babu with an exciting Queen sacrifice.

Fourteen-year-old Aravindh, who already has won National titles in Under 11, 13 and 19 sections, is also an Under-14 silver medal winner at the World Youth Chess Championship. His elo 2728 performance rating here got him 80 elo points taking him past the 2400 mark.

Earlier, 15-year-old Chennai boy B Kumaran made an International Master Norm, bringing the Norms tally (2 GM Norms, 6 IM Norms, 1 WIM Norm) here to nine.

This GM event, sponsored by the Government of Tamil Nadu, carries a total prize fund of Rs 10 lakh, including cash awards for top 35 players and cash prizes for various categories.

Final Standings: 1 V R Aravindh Chithambaram (India) 9, 2-3 Neverov Valeriy (Ukr), S P Sethuraman (Ind) 8.5, 4-6 Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, V Vishnu Prasanna (both India), Borovikov Vladislav (Ukr) 8, 7-8 Mozharov Mikhail (Rus), Babujian Levon (Arm) 7.5, 9-10 M R Lalith Babu (Ind), Mirzoev Azer (Aze) 7.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Magnus Carlsen Dethrones Viswanathan Anand to become World Chess Champion 2013

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Friday, November 22, 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

Thursday, November 21, 2013

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

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Thursday, November 21, 2013
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


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



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