Anand, Carlsen meet Again after World Chess Championship: Zurich Chess Challenge begins Jan 29

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 — The strongest tournament in chess history to date begins Wednesday, January 29 at the Hotel Savoy. This is going to be the first chess tournament in the history of the game to claim a level of Category 23 with an amazing average rating of 2801!

Destiny is cruel and chess destiny can be crueler still: The newly-crowned World Chess Champion and his 'victim' Viswanathan Anand will meet again for the first time after the November 2013 World Chess Championship. This will be Magnus Carlsen's first tournament appearance after winning the world title. Anand has already played the London Chess Classic in December 2013 which Carlsen did not attend.

The chess greats - Anand and Carlsen - are to meet twice over the board in Zurich not counting the blitz event for deciding the pairings.

A blitz tournament will determine the color distribution on the first day (29 January). Five rounds of classical chess will then be played from Thursday to Monday (30 January to 3 February), followed by a rapid tournament with reversed colors on the last day (4 February). 

We expect a 'respectful' draw between Anand and Carlsen in the classical game without any fodder for the hungry fans or salivating journalists. But, if Anand were to win he would make a point: That he did have the requisite weapons ready in November 2013 itself, but "read Carlsen wrong" as he has commented before. If Carlsen were to win... it's going to be driving the nail back in with greater pain. Anand chess fans, keep fingers crossed. 

The other players are the Armenian Levon Aronian (2), the American Hikaru Nakamura (3), the US-Italian Fabiano Caruana (6), as well as the Israeli Boris Gelfand (8).

This brilliant event, which will take place in the extraordinary familial environment of the ballroom of the Hotel Savoy, has already caught the attention throughout the world and led to the registration of many journalists and top-players, including Peter Leko, Jan Timman and Gennadi Sosonko. 

Further, the Chinese women's world-champion Hou Yifan will attend this unique occasion and will be playing a simultaneous exhibition with clocks against 6 top Swiss juniors on 1 February at 1 p.m. at the Zurich 'Zunfthaus zur Saffran'.

The owner of IGC International Gemological Laboratories», Mr. Oleg Skvortsov, is the creator of this chess event. He not only loves chess, but also plays chess and supports chess events. Furthermore, Mr. Skvortsov knows many of the greatest chess players in the world personally and has played a lot of games with them.

A press release states, the Zurich Chess Club is very proud to be the organizer and host of this unique event and it would like to thank the main tournament sponsor and chess-enthusiast Oleg Skvortsov, whose generous contribution has allowed for this extraordinary event to take place! 

All games will be commented by GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug and broadcast live via the Internet.

Admission to the classical and rapid games is free, no previous registration is required. Due to limited room capacity, the Opening Ceremony and the blitz tournament are for official guests only. 

Participants (Elo rating according to FRL of January 2014)

Magnus Carlsen (Norway, Elo 2872, Nr 1)
Levon Aronian (Armenia, Elo 2812, Nr 2)
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, Elo 2789, Nr 3)
Fabiano Caruana (Italy, Elo 2782, Nr 6)
Boris Gelfand (Israel, Elo 2777, Nr 8)
Vishwanathan Anand (India, Elo 2773, Nr 9)

Schedule

Daily from 30 January to 4 February 2014.
The rounds start at 15.00 local time (CET), except for the last round, which begins at 13.00 CET.
Spectators are welcome, entrance free.

Main sponsor

«IGC International Gemological Laboratories» is a Russian institute providing gemological services, such as diamond grading reports, enhanced diamonds identification, man-made/synthetic diamonds and imitation detection, as well as certification of diamonds, gemstones and jewelry in the Russian Federation. IGC is the Russian branch of «GCI» a group of gemological laboratories located worldwide.

Co-sponsors

Aspeco, SurJewel, Savoy Chess Corner, Zurich Chess Club (founded in 1809, the oldest chess club of the world)

Partners

Hotels Savoy Baur en Ville, Rössli and Seehof in Zurich

Organization
Zurich Chess Club 

-- Rajat Khanna

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Both will Find it Tough to Deal with the Other, Better Chess, Better Stress Management Wins: GM Gelfand

World Chess Championship 2013 GM interview: Here is a Grandmaster Interview that quite a few people would be waiting for. Susan Ninan of Times of India spoke to former World Chess Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand. Viswanathan Anand won his fifth World Chess title in 2012 beating GM Boris Gelfand in Moscow:  

Q: Last year's match is often referred to as Anand's toughest World Championship win so far. Do you agree?
It was the only title match for Anand which was drawn and he won in the tiebreaker. That says it all.

How do you see this title match going?
I think both players will find the other tough to deal with. Eventually, the one who plays better and manages stress better will win.

What do you think will be the factors that will play a key role in this match?
It's all about good preparation, strong nerves, endurance and a high level of play.

It seemed you were able to work your way through Anand's strategy last year. What helped you catch him completely off-guard? Do you still regret the misadventure in Game 8 which you lost in 17 moves and brought Anand back into the game?
I would say my years of experience. During my long career, I have been studying different players and varied styles of play. It helped me understand Anand well and build my match strategy. Of course, the eighth game of the match was a very painful miss as I didn't play well.

The secrecy around the seconds is said to have been heightened after last year's match. It was later known that additional seconds, whose identity was a wellguarded secret, had been at your aid. Also, who do you think are the players helping Anand and Carlsen this time?
I'm not in the know as to who is helping them, but I'm sure that the players know or at least suspect who is on their opponent's team.

How important a factor will age be in this match? Do you think a rating difference of 100 points between the players will have a bearing?
I hope that Anand will play like a young tiger and age wouldn't play a role. The importance of rating is strongly overrated. It is just the numbers.

How has Anand evolved as a player over the years and why do you think he is still not mentioned in the same breath as Kasparov despite his achievements?
Anand is a modest and dignified person. He is not obsessed about being on the cover of popular magazines or being hounded by the media. He, like Kramnik, doesn't want the world to talk only about him. Anand started his career as a bright tactical player who could win a game in 20 minutes. During the years he matured as an all-round player who could excel in everything on the chess board.

Carlsen is called the Mozart of chess because of the beauty he brings to the game....
Journalists like using beautiful words. Carlsen definitely plays fantastic chess. But with due respect to Magnus, there were brilliant players in the past, there are in the present and there will be many more in future.

Since you have played Carlsen as well, what are your thoughts on him? How unpredictable can he prove to be in his maiden title match?
Carlsen is a fantastic young player who has scaled great peaks in a short span of time. But still he doesn't have any match experience, so I cannot predict his play.

What do you think Anand will have to do differently this time?He must find a key to his style and play his best chess.

* More GM opinions on Anand vs Carlsen World Chess Championship 2013

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World Chess Match - A Chess Discussion without Kasparov is Never Complete: Indian Chess Fraternity

Chennai: Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, 50, may have retired from chess, but his aura as one of the strongest players in the game's history hasn't yet dimmed. Kasparov is the favourite player for even youngsters born after his retirement in 2005. “Kasparov is a legend. He was an undisputed world champion for more than 15 years. He will never be forgotten,“ said GM Sahaj Grover of Delhi.

GM-elect Ashwin Jayaram of Chennai says Kasparov is still revered by all chess players, because he left the game in his prime. “Kasparov was world no.1 for a long time and it was extremely difficult to face him until the final years of his retirement. Considering his political activism after retirement, he is still a very important figure,“ he said, adding that Kasparov was always dominant in tournaments, like Fischer before him and Carlsen after him.

A chess discussion without Kasparov is never complete. Not many chess players have enjoyed as much influence as the Russian post retirement.

Israeli GM Lev Psakhis, once a good friend of Kasparov, told Deccan Chronicle that the Azerbaijan-born world champion is a very interesting and clever person who produced a lot of noise.

“It would be good for chess if he came back,” he said, adding that he would choose Kasparov instead of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for the Fide president post. The world’s popular chess player, who has won 11 chess Oscars and played in eight chess Olympiads, has recently announced his candidature for Fide president’s post in 2014.

“Once I told Kasparov that he was champion in making enemies. He asked me why? The truth is that he doesn’t want to create scandals. Many a time, it comes with him like thunder accompanying lightning,” said Psakhis, who added that his “former friend” respects Anand, even though he questioned the Indian’s enthusiasm during the world championship last year.

“Anand and Kramnik are great persons but maybe that’s why they are not very famous outside the chess world. We need some scandals, some blood possibly in good point of view and for that we need Kasparov,” said Psakhis. According to the Israeli, Kasparov, who held on to the world no. 1 ranking from 1996 to 2005, is an electric personality and he can add value to the game.

Anand may have won five world titles but none of them came against Kasparov. According to Ashwin, after his loss at the hands of Kasparov in 1995, Anand was certainly looking forward to another match with the Russian, but it didn’t materialise owing to politics.

While lack of personal goals forced Kasparov to quit chess on March 10, 2005, the person, who sat across the chessboard from Karpov for more than 600 hours in his life and one who is currently involved in a political battle with the Russian president Vladimir Putin could well play an important role in the forthcoming Fide world championship match between Anand and Carlsen. (Article continued after quote)

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Kasparov to visit Chennai during the world championship match 

The world chess championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen in Chennai will have an uninvited special guest: Garry Kasparov. The charismatic former world champion is expected to be in Chennai on November 11 and 12. Kasparov has consented to take part at the annual conclave of a weekly in Goa from November 8 to 10.

The presence of Kasparov will be a PR coup for the world championship, starting from November 9. At the same time, the organisers may also be worried over the Russian GM’s ability to court controversy.

During the last world championship between Anand and Boris Gelfand in Moscow, Kasparov infuriated the Indian by commenting that a spate of draws resulted from his “lack of enthusiasm.” The affable Anand later retaliated by saying “Kasparov misses the attention he used to get and he should come out of retirement.“

Understandably, Kasparov will not be an official guest of the organising committee. “But, as a chess player everyone is allowed to come and watch the game,“ said a member o the organising committee There is no love lost betwee Kasparov and the curren Fide establishment as the Russian has already declared his candidacy for the president's post of the world chess body in next year's elections.

In a recent survey conducted by this newspaper (Deccan Chronicle), most of the grandmasters most of the grandmasters in India chose either Bobby Fischer or Kasparov as their all-time favourite chess player. Kasparov is such a tall figure in chess that he has the magnetism to be the centre of attention during a world championship match he is not part of.

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Kasparov trained Carlsen for a year in 2009 and Anand had acknowledged the Russian GM’s help during his match against Topalov in 2010.

Further in a recent interaction with the media in Chennai, Carlsen did not rule out working with Kasparov for the match against Anand.

“It depends on how Carlsen feels about working with Kasparov. The general perception now is that Carlsen and Kasparov had parted ways because the latter was too domineering. So it’s basically up to Carlsen to assess if that is a bigger factor than consulting one of Anand's most difficult opponents. He would keep his association with Kasparov a secret to keep the doubt in the air,” Ashwin said.

-- S. Sujatha in Deccan Chronicle

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World Chess Championship 2012 Anand, Gelfand: One Art Piece from Tretyakov Gallery for Every Game

FROM THE ARCHIVES @ CHESS MAGAZINE BLACK & WHITE: The venue for the 2012 World Chess Championship between India's reigning world chess champion and challenger Israel's Boris Gelfand was a unique one: The Tretyakov State Gallery in Moscow. Art and chess: They indeed go together. Theory of technique, style, and methods all find a fascinating interpretation – a unique one at that – in a master's hands: both in art and chess. Every single position during a chess game is a work of art. Every move creates a new painting. Every chess player is an artist. Like for art, interpretation is everything.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is one of the most famous museums in the world. Its collection highlights Russian art with exclusive completeness from the ancient time (11-12th century) to the present day. 

Shilpa Mehra dedicates masterpieces from the Tretyakov Gallery to each of the 12 games of classical control at the 2012 World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand. 

Game 1 Final position
Masterpiece: The Little Harbour in Sorrento with a View of the Islands of Ischia and Procido
by Silvestr Feodosiyevich Shchedrin
1826, oil on canvas,
45 x 60.7 

Shchedrin creates a romantic image of Italy as an 'earthly paradise'. It is full of harmony: the sun and light. Favorite motifs of the artist - the verandah, overgrown with vines, cozy coves, bays and caves, where a person is in a state of absolute inner peace and complete fusion with the landscape plan.

Vishy and Gelfand see that “everything is in proportion to man, according to the rhythm of his life” and the balance is perfect, so the game must end as a draw.



Game 2 Final position 
View of Fort Picu on the island of Madeira by Bryullov (Bryullo), Karl Pavlovich 
1849–1850
oil on canvas,
65 х 77 

Dynamic brush strokes but no people in the painting. The endgame position looks like it has much more potential. You feel the sense of missing romance as the rose of sky at twilight is juxtaposed with the storm clouds.

But, there is nothing more to the position. Maybe, because it's just the second game. 

Even as Vishy and Gelfand settle for a draw, you know the dynamism of the game would flow into the rest of the tournament and a conflict is just brewing like Bryullov painted it. 

Game 3 Final Position 
by Kabakov, Ilya Iosifovich Machine gun and Chickens
1966,
Mixed media
113 х 102 х 56
at 10, Krymsky Val, Hall 41 

There is nothing more to it and nothing less to it. Your interpretation of Kabakov's creation? Gelfand's two rooks keep the draw even as White's machine gun 'Queen' is kept in check! Only one outcome was possible and it happened – Draw.





Game 4 Position at 18.Qb1
Ayvazovskiy (Gayvazovskiy), Ivan (Oganes) Konstantinovich View of the Leander Tower in Constantinople
1848
Oil on canvas,
58 х 45,3
at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 19 

We dedicate the d-file position to the Leander Tower in Constantinople. There are many legends and stories about the Maiden's Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi) also known since the medieval Byzantine period as Leander's Tower (Tower of Leandros). 

It is a tower lying on a small islet located at the southern entrance of Bosphorus strait 200 m (220 yd) off the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. We had varying interpretations of the game after 18.Qb1, but Vishy and Gelfand interpreted the 'endgame painting' as a draw. 

Game 5 Final Position
Ge, Nikolay Nikolayevich “What is truth?” Christ and Pilate
1890
oil on canvas,
233 x 171
at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 31 

In the late period of his work, Ge was inspired by the subject of the Passions of Christ. The subject of this painting is taken from the 18th chapter of the Gospel according to John. In response to the words of Christ: “I…came into the world to bear witness about the truth…” – Pontius Pilate tosses back with disregard “And what is the truth?” 

In the game, the Black Queen is left asking the White Queen, once I capture the b2 pawn what is the truth about the Bishop on c6? And, the game was a draw. 

Game 6 Final Position

Black Suprematic SquareMalevich, Kazimir Severinovich 1915
oil on canvas
79,5 х 79,5
at 10, Krymsky Val, Hall 6
The black square became a symbol of the new understanding of creativity in the 20th century. While the media and the fans wonder, can draws really make a world chess championship, Vishy and Gelfand go on.

Something apparently meaningless, has profound meaning. Even draws mean that sublime chess games have been played. The black square literally was used by Malevich to close down the history of figurative art. Black is the absence of colour and white is the melding of all colours. Such a solution encapsulates the potential of any and all paintings. Don't approach the painting with the viewer’s usual criteria of beautiful/not beautiful, lively/not lively, I like it/I don’t like it. 

Don't approach the world chess championship so far as good or bad, exciting or not... The sixth draw by Vishy and Gelfand but an important chess game.


Game 7 Final Position

Heroes (Bogatyri) Vasnetsov, Viktor Mikhaylovich 

1898
oil on canvas
295,3 х 446
at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 26 

The final endgame motif with Boris Gelfand's knights charging straight on to deliver checkmate takes you straight to Vasnetsov's masterpiece. Having revived the images of Old Russia's legendary defenders, mighty in their spiritual power, such as Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich, Vasnetsov attempted at the turn of the 20th century to bridge the heroic past of the Russian people and its great future. Indeed Gelfand's steeds show the proud fighting spirit and desire to defend the motherland of Russia. Gelfand wins.


Game 8. Position at 14. … Qf6
The Black Sea. (A storm begins to whip up in the Black Sea) Ayvazovskiy (Gayvazovskiy), Ivan (Oganes) Konstantinovich
1881
oil on canvas
149 х 208
at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 19 

Aivazovsky was the best known and most celebrated Russian artist of marine paintings. In this masterpiece, in the foreground there is a wave with whitecaps of foam – the “Aivazovsky wave” as his contemporaries called it. The palette is unusually rich. It brings together greens, silver tones, emerald tints and extends to the darkening deep blues at the horizon. In the centre we see a lone sailboat, symbol of man’s insignificance before the universe and at the same time a sign of the Romantic Wanderlust.

Wanderlust was the undoing of the Black Queen. The Queen went to f6 completely oblivious of the storm brewing in the sea that would destroy everything. Gelfand loses to Anand in 17 moves in a tragic disaster.


Game 9 Final Position 

Lace Maker Tropinin, Vasily Andreevich

1823
oil on canvas
74,7 х 59,3
at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 13 

Alekseyev, Fedor Yakovlevich
Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin Undated
oil on canvas
81,7 х 112

We found two great masterpieces to dedicate to Game 9 of the Anand-Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship. On the one hand we have the graceful 'lace maker'. Her figure and movements are full of grace. Tropinin embodied the poetry of simplicity and pleasant home life. Quite like the Black Queen. But, Anand's fortress, rather cathedral reminds us of the Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin as Anand's Knight, Rook, and King sit safely looking out on the battleground. Game ended in a draw. 

Game 10 Final Position
Autumn day. Sokolniki Levitan, Isaak Ilich 

1879

oil on canvas
63,5 x 50
10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 37 

Lots of activity in the centre of the board. Game 10 had all the autumn leaves falling and eventually, the Black King stands alone wondering if he should walk the lonely path that might “seem to be entering Nature's magnificent cathedral, where the earthly and heavenly paths are within reach of each other. 

The trunks of pine trees stretch solemnly upwards; set ablaze, as if in a bonfire of flames, the yellow foliage of maples illuminates the dark avenue.” The artist abandons a rigorous realistic manner. Anand and Gelfand abandon the game as a draw. But, there were so many leaves falling...

Game 11 Final Position

Gun Cart

Grekov (Martyshchenko), Mitrofan Borisovich
1925
oil on canvas
83 х 114 

The end position is surely like Grekov's Gun Cart. This was one the artist's most popular paintings with the “machine-gun cart celebrated in songs”. It is a highly mobile firepower for the cavalry. In the work we see everything – movement and blast…conveyed by quick brush strokes, but with the necessary measure of definition that shows the tense state of the gunners. The complex rhythm of the endgame position with a 'full gun cart' is there, but we know there's nothing more to it. The image is integrally that of an eventual draw. 


Game 12 Final Position

Korovin, Konstantin Alekseyevich

Early Spring Late 1870s 

Oil on canvas 

48.5 x 39.5 

The fans and commentators were suddenly all taken aback. No, it is early spring, the game has just begun can it be abandoned as a draw. Is there not the full potential of the spring waiting, a battle awaiting? Gelfand and Anand decided otherwise. They had heralded the spring of modern chess by giving to the world 12 nice games (results notwithstanding) at the 2012 world chess championship! 

A new season – where a blitz and rapid tiebreak – would decide who would reign as the chess king for the seasons to come!

The excellent live broadcast of 2012 World Chess Championship and all the games are available at the 2012 Anand-Gelfand world chess championship at the official website. 

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Anand vs Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship: Best moments Chess Training Video Part 4

Here is the fourth and final part of a special chess training video series featuring the best moments from the World Chess Championship 2012: Viswanathan Anand vs Boris Gelfand in Moscow, Russia. This instructive video is by special arrangement with Grandmaster Igor Smirnov and we hope it gives you tips and tricks to improve your own chess. 

The previous videos in this series are:
Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

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Anand vs Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship: Best moments Chess Training Video Part 3

Here is the third part of a special chess training video series featuring the best moments from the World Chess Championship 2012: Viswanathan Anand vs Boris Gelfand in Moscow, Russia. This instructive video is by special arrangement with Grandmaster Igor Smirnov and we hope it gives you tips and tricks to improve your own chess. Don't forget to tune in at our site for the remaining parts of this chess training series. Hope you did not forget to watch the first part and the second part.

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Anand vs Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship: Best moments Chess Training Video Part 2

Here is the second part of a special chess training video series featuring the best moments from the World Chess Championship 2012: Viswanathan Anand vs Boris Gelfand in Moscow, Russia. This instructive video is by special arrangement with Grandmaster Igor Smirnov and we hope it gives you tips and tricks to improve your own chess. Don't forget to tune in at our site for the remaining parts of this chess training series. Hope you did not forget to watch the first part.




 

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Anand vs Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship: Best moments Chess Training Video Part 1

Here is the first part of a special chess training video series featuring the best moments from the World Chess Championship 2012: Viswanathan Anand vs Boris Gelfand in Moscow, Russia. This instructive video is by special arrangement with Grandmaster Igor Smirnov and we hope it gives you tips and tricks to improve your own chess. Don't forget to tune in at our site for the remaining parts of this chess training series. 

 




 

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Shortest Chess Game in World Championship History: Anand - Gelfand Game 8, Moscow, 2012

The shortest decisive World Chess Championship game took place between World Chess Champion Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and Israeli Grandmaster Boris Gelfand (originally trained in Russia) on 31st May, 2012. The game lasted only 17 moves, ending with Gelfand's resignation. 

Here is the game, replayable in your browser using the arrow buttons below the board. The gamescore includes Houdini 2 Pro's analysis generated automatically in the Chess King Pro interface:

Israel's Boris Gelfand and India's Viswanathan Anand at Game 8 press conference. Photo: Fide.

During the press conference, which took place immediately after the game, Boris Gelfand confessed that he simply failed to spot white's 17. Qf2. After playing 14...Qf6, he could only see 17. Qf4, after which white would have to play either 18. Bd3 or 18. Bh3. The Israeli grandmaster also considered the possibility of offering a losing exchange after a potential 15. Kc2 Nf4 16. Ne4 continuation. An interesting position appeared after 16... Re4 17. fe. “I played a risky variation and thought it would turn out okay, but I didn't anticipate White's last move. It's difficult to say where I could have played better. I think that, if this variation fails, then the whole concept is wrong. Of course, I could have just played Knight to g7 or f6 on the 14th move instead of Qf6, but then Black's position would have been worse after 15. h4.”

Viswanathan Anand revealed that he had seen the possible blunder as early as the 11th move, when he played pawn takes f5. “At first I had the same thought as Boris – that actually I had to go Queen f4, and then I refined it to Queen f2, and that's how it happened.” The world champion called move 7... Nh5 provocative as Black usually plays this move after 7... e6. He could have responded more aggressively and played 7. g4, but considered this to be too “committal”. “I played Bc5 taking advantage of the fact that had not played his pawn on e7.” (Read the full press conference report at www.blackandwhiteindia.com)

Anand Viswanathan (IND) (2775) - Gelfand Boris (ISR) (2751)

Result: 1-0

Site: Moscow (Russia)

Date: 2012.05.21

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.e4 ♗g7 6.♘e2 O-O 7.♘ec3 ♘h5 8.♗g5 ♗f6 9.♗xf6 exf6 10.♕d2 f5 11.exf5 ♗xf5 12.g4 ♖e8+ 13.♔d1 ♗xb1 14.♖xb1 ♕f6 15.gxh5 ♕xf3+ 16.♔c2 ♕xh1 17.♕f2 how does Black save the Queen :( 17......

17...♘c6 18.dxc6 ♕xc6 19.♗g2 ♕d7 20.♘d5 ♕a4+ 21.b3 ♕xa2+ 22.♖b2 ♕a1 23.♘f6+ ♔g7 24.♗xb7 ♖e1 25.♗xa8 (0:00:39) 17.Qf2

17...♖e3 18.♕xe3 ♕xh2+ 19.♗e2 ♘d7 20.♕e7 ♘b6 21.♖f1 ♖f8 22.♔b3 ♘c8 23.♕xb7 f5 (0:00:03) 17.Qf2

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World Chess Championship 2013 Venue: What FIDE, Carlsen, AICF, Anand and Everyone Said!

The World Chess Championship 2013 venue was decided after quite a few twists and turns. There was quite a bit of uncertainty over Chennai as the venue for the eagerly-awaited World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen after the World No 1 player from Norway expressed unhappiness with the FIDE's choice of venue.

FIDE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with All India Chess Federation and Tamil Nadu State Association for holding the World Championship match in Chennai, the home city of World Champion Viswanathan Anand stating that India had been offered to host the event last year itself when Russia had outbid India for hosting the Anand - Boris Gelfand World Chess Championship 2012 in Moscow.

It was feared that Carlsen's might refuse to sign the contract. According to Carlsen's agent, Espen Agdestein, they were not happy that the MoU was signed without following a bidding process as described in the FIDE regulations for the World Championship match. Agdestein said there should be an open bidding process and a neutral venue for the match and that the world body should have a dialogue with both players before arriving at a final decision.

There were rumours about a preferred World Chess Championship 2013 venue being New York, Miami, St Tropez, Paris and Tromso. The Norwegian town is already hosting the 2013 World Chess Cup and the 2014 World Team Olympiad.
 

Later, Norwegian Chess Federation president Jøran Aulin-Jansson even sent an open letter as a "formal complaint" to FIDE on the selection of Chennai as the venue for the 2013 World Chess Championship match. The letter called for a "fair and transparent procedure and competition for the selection of the organiser" while emphasising that the letter was not a campaign against the organisers in Chennai.

Soon thereafter, the French Chess Federation approached FIDE to have Paris as the World Chess Championship 2013 venue. "FFE, in collaboration with the City of Paris, on behalf of a group of private companies, is a candidate for organising the World Chess Championship 2013. The presidential office of FIDE, which will meet this weekend, should address the problem of opening a tender for this match. In fact, after the Match was given to Chennai (India), Carlsen and the Norwegian Chess Federation have officially requested that the game takes place in a neutral country," stated a press release supported by Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe and French chess federation president Philippe Mouttou. 

Finally, FIDE went ahead and signed a contract with the All India Chess Federation (AICF) to have Chennai as the venue of the World Chess Championship 2013 match. In a press release dated ay 6, 2013, FIDE defended the choice of Chennai as venue stating, "Since the Candidates’ Tournament ended, and GM M. Carlsen became the challenger of the coming World Championship Match there have been several developments, mails exchange between all parties (Carlsen, Anand, FIDE), questions asked, and also speculations. 

"FIDE would hereby like to put forward the current situation regarding this event.

Directly after the 2012 match was awarded to Moscow, FIDE agreed to grant an option to Chennai. The PB and its meeting in Armenia in January decided that FIDE and AGON, who holds the rights for organizing the whole cycle of the World Championship, were advised that India would take up its option organize the World Championship match. This was done on January 24 in Athens, where both parties agreed not to open a bidding procedure, but to grant an option to India, as requested. We should emphasize that according FIDE rules the World Championship cycle is not included in the list of events, for which FIDE is obliged to do so (like Olympiads, for instance). This has been deliberately done, because in many cases FIDE, having the priority in mind to secure the match and the cycle, was ready to give an option or even to grant the match if the proposal was attractive enough.

"Consequently three of the last matches were given to an organizer without a bidding procedure.

"On March 15th India asked to extend the option until April 10th and FIDE agreed to it because it was clear that the bid would be accepted and just needed an approval of the Tamil Nadu State Parliament, a session which took place on April 8th. One could ask why was the extension given to a date when the name of the challenger will be known already, and the simple answer is that FIDE, being convinced that the positive answer was just a matter of technicality, did not want to lose this bid for an alternative that gave no guarantee for a better result or any result at all.

"When the approval of the bid by India was published and FIDE representative was called to formalize it, on April 8th, GM Carlsen’s manager contacted FIDE and asked to have a meeting to discuss this matter before a formal move is done with India.

"Carlsen and FIDE’s representatives met in FIDE office on April 15th, when all claims were brought up by Carlsen’s representatives and were answered by FIDE. Among the points raised and answered we would like to emphasize one and this is the issue which was also raised in media – the question of neutrality. Unfortunately it has always proved difficult to find a sponsor to such a match when the name of the challenger is not known yet. Therefore most of matches in the past were organized in one of the participant’s countries. Consequently both World Champions Anand and Topalov played in their opponent’s country – a natural result of the situation.
"On that day both parties signed a paper whereby it was agreed to give Norway an option to come up with an organizer for half of the match, provided that India would accept such a solution.

"FIDE tried its hardest to convince India to split the match, but they refused India wanted to fulfill what has been approved by the government of the Tamil Nadu State and FIDE had to keep its obligations, and consequently an MoU was signed in Chennai on April 19th. One day later, the FIDE President visited France, where he got a proposal to organize the match in Paris. Mr Ilyumzhinov promised to bring the proposal before the Presidential Board. The French proposal was higher than the Chennai one, with more contributions offered. However, the Board decided (unanimously with one abstention) that FIDE must respect its obligation and thanked the French federation and the city of Paris for their proposal, hoping that there will be another opportunity to have a big event in Paris.

"FIDE has acted with full transparency during the whole process, trying its best to secure the match and standing by its obligations and reputation. FIDE will do everything to secure equal conditions for both players and also will try and still trying to increase the prize fund for the match.

FIDE wishes these two great players a successful match, and is sure that India, the homeland of Chess will bring to the world a fascinating event. Gens Una Sumus."

Magnus Carlsen smiles during a press conference in Oslo. --AP

It was feared, World No. 1 might refuse to play. However, he said he was determined. Carlsen issued a statement stating:

"After qualifying for the World Championship match by winning the London Candidates I have been highly motivated for, and looking forward to the World Championship match against reigning champion V. Anand.
"I’m deeply disappointed and surprised by the FIDE decision to sign a contract for the 2013 match without going through the bidding process outlined in the WC regulations, and for not choosing neutral ground. The bid from Paris clearly showed that it would be possible to have more options to choose from.The lack of transparency, predictability and fairness is unfortunate for chess as a sport and for chess players.

"My team and I will now start preparing for the match. The main thing now will be to come to an agreement with the Indian Chess Federation and FIDE regarding terms and conditions before and during the match. I really hope this process will run quick and smoothly.

"Lastly, I will not let the news from Baku diminish the joy and excitement derived from playing the top level Norway Chess tournament starting tomorrow."

So, Chennai it is - the venue of the World Chess Championship 2013 match. Hopefully, no one will be disappointed and the chess world will savour excellent chess from the two of the best chess Grandmasters there ever were in the world. (P.S. Viswanathan Anand, for his part, steered clear of the controversy hinting he was open to playing anywhere.)

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World Chess Champion Five Times: The Anand Timeline

Viswanathan Anand, the reigning World Chess Champion, has held the top title five times. He was crowned thus in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012). He has remained the undisputed World Champion since 2007 and was also the FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion in 2003. Here are brief write-ups on each of the five times the 'Tiger from Madras has won the World Title:

World Chess Championship 2000: Viswanathan Anand won the title for the first time after beating Spain's Alexei Shirov 3.5-0.5 in Tehran. He became the first Indian to win the title. However, Anand failed to keep his title in 2002 when he lost the semi-finals (tournament format) to Vassily Ivanchuk. The title eventually went to Ruslan Ponomariov thus making him the youngest world chess champion ever at the age of 18. Later, in 2005, Veselin Topalov became the FIDE World Chess Champion, 1/5 points ahead of Peter Svidler and Viswanathan Anand who both tied for second place with 8.5 points out of 14 rounds. 

This World Championship was hosted in New Delhi and Tehran. The first six games took place in India from November 27 to December 15. The final took place in Tehran from December 20 to December 24. World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov criticised the format of the event and took FIDE to court!

The title was, at this time split. So, both the recently-crowned Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the previous World Champion Garry Kasparov (the World No. 1 at that time) did not take part. 

World Chess Champion in 2007: Mexico City hosted a double round-robin eight-player format from September 12-30 to decide the world champion. Anand won with a score of 9 out of 14 points which included four wins and 10 draws. He remained the only unbeaten player at the event. 

This World Chess Championship was unique because it was based on the tournament format instead of a match. The previous edition of the championship in 2005 had also been a round-robin event, but the title was split at that time with a Fide World Champion and a Classical World Champion. Classical champion Vladimir Kramnik refused to take part in 2005. Eventually, the 2007 tournament was to unify the title. Fide also decided that the world title from 2008 would be in match format.

In 2000, when Anand had won the FIDE World Chess Championship, the rival 'Classical' World Chess Championship title held by Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. The title was eventually unified and Anand became, in 2007, the first undisputed World Chess Champion to have won the title from a tournament format since Mikhail Botvinnik had in 1948.

Viswanathan Anand had said, in October 2007, that the double round-robin format was good and Kramnik's right to automatically challenge him was "ridiculous".

World Chess Championship 2008: The match format returned and Anand beat Kramnik in Bonn, Germany during a held from October 14–29. The rules required the first player to score 6.5 in 12 games to take the title. Anand amassed the points in 11 games which included three wins from the first six games. Two of these wins were with Black. Anand had a lead with 6–4 and required one draw from the last two games. 

World Chess Championship 2010: This match was versus Veselin Topalov in Sofia, Bulgaria. Anand and his team had a tough time even getting to the venue. The Frankfurt-Sofia flight on April 16 was cancelled due to the ash from volcano Eyjafjallajökull. The entire Europe was hit. Anand wanted a three-day extension, but the Bulgarian organisers refused. Anand still made it to Sofia on April 20 logging a 40-hour by-road journey! The match began a day later than scheduled. 

The World Chess Championship 2010 included 12 games. The score was tied with 5.5 each after 11 games. Anand went on to win the 12th game with Black and retained his title. 

How Veselin Topalov came to be the challenger in this match is a story by itself. Fide, attempting to unify the title, announced that the World Chess Championship 2007 would be an eight-player tournament including the 2005 FIDE World Chess Champion, but not the Classical World Chess Champion. Later, a so-called 'unification match' was organised between Topalov and Kramnik (2006 World Title Event). Kramnik won and Topalov could not qualify for the 2007 World Championship. However, in June 2007, FIDE decided to announce "compensation" for Topalov in the form of privileges to Topalov allowing him to take part in the 2009 qualification cycle giving him direct entry into the Challenger's match. Topalov took on Gata Kamsky for this Challenger's match as the latter had won the Chess World Cup 2007. Thereafter, Topalov beat Kamsky and became Anand's challenger in Sofia..

World Chess Championship 2012: Viswanathan Anand defended his title next in at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. He took on Boris Gelfand who had earned the right to challenge him by winning the Candidates Matches 2011. 

The match went to a tie after 12 games with six points each. Both had one win each and the other games had been drawn. Anand retained his title by winning the rapid tiebreak by 2.5–1.5. Anand had lost the 7th game, but returned to beat Gelfand in the 8th game in 17 moves – making it the shortest game in any World Chess Championship ever.

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