Anand: Can't neglect the shorter formats in chess

PUNE: Former world chess champion V Anand has backed shorter versions of the 64-square game by pointing out their virtues.

"In chess, rapid and blitz are default tiebreak options and you can never neglect them completely," said Anand who was in the city on a promotional visit for the second Maharashtra Chess League, scheduled at PYC Hindu Gymkhana from June 11 to 15.

The players' auction is on Friday.

Anand said: "Though the slower format is played in competitions, almost all the players there come through playing a lot of blitz (5 minutes per player) and rapid (25/30 mins per player). It's good for training. It is good to play more games in a day than one game a day which requires high concentration. I don't think rapid is harmful. It's more spectators friendly."

Anand will play the World rapid and blitz championships in Dubai from June 15 to 21. The MCL will also be played over rapid format.

Anand also said the club/league/franchise culture needed to be given time to get established in India and that one can't compare club loyalties and more systematic approach with Europe.

The 44-year-old refused to talk much on his World title rematch against reigning champion Magnus Carlsen not receiving a bid.

On Carlsen's mind-boggling plus-23 score (difference between wins and defeats) in classical chess since January 2013, he said: "Very impressive ... nothing much to say about that. It was impressive last year and it keeps going up. I have to find some way to match when playing against him. Going by Khanty (Candidates success), I feel optimistic and positive."

On whether older players tend to focus on 'not losing' instead of winning, Anand said: "I have no idea. I just feel that I had a difficult phase. For no particular reason, I did well in Candidates ... and now I feel optimistic again."

Anand gave glimpses of his endearing personality when he obliged the kids with a Q&A session with all seriousness.

He also managed to squeeze in a tiny 'workshop' for chess parents. He told them to "relax a bit", saying five-six hours of practice in a day in most cases was not necessary.

"Results should not stop them (children) from enjoying," he said reminding a refined quote from his father, who had said "we backed Anand because he loved the sport."

On dealing with increasing coaching expenses for the sport, Anand said: "If parents feel that coaching is valuable, then it can kind of get into an arms' race. When parents feel it could be useful even without any evidence to base it on, then it's peer pressure.

"No parent wants to handicap their kid. But I believe coaching is best in moderation. The best way of learning is still practising a lot. Without diminishing the coaches, coaching works when you have many examples to show.

"Youngsters are taking the game far too seriously and at far too early an age. They are getting too competitive ... that's the age to have fun. I would advice parents not to be too obsessive about coaching."

Sicilian Defence: Judit vs Kasparov - Touch move controversy

Funny Chess Scene (Big Bang Theory) - How Boys Behave when they Lose to Girls!

Magnus Carlsen plays NTNU

Nordic Semi takes World Chess Champ Magnus Carlsen to Norwegian University NTNU

Hello everyone, World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen continues on his chess tour of the planet. Nordic Semiconductor brought its ambassador Magnus Carlsen to the Norwegian university NTNU in Trondheim and hosted a chess tournament. All students were given the chance to beat the World Champion and to get away with a reward of 100.000 NOK. Watch the video to find out if anyone managed to beat Magnus. But, we have a feeling you already know what happened!

Ubilava on Carlsen’s changing style And Vishy Anand.

Explanations for Magnus Carlsen’s shock two losses in a row in Shamkir included the World Champion’s own suggestion that he watched too much TV. In a recent interview Elizbar Ubilava instead pointed to a deliberate attempt to play complex, dynamic positions. The Georgian grandmaster also talked about Viswanathan Anand’s recent form and his prospects in a new match against Carlsen.

Elizbar Ubilava was in Shamkir to act as a second for the young Azerbaijan player Vasif Durarbayli, but in the past he’s worked with such stars as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and, for a decade, former World Champion Viswanathan Anand. His views on the strategy employed by both Carlsen and Anand are therefore well-worth our attention, and were contained in the following fragment of a recent interview with Teimour Tushiev for the Azerbaijan newspaper Echo:

Teimour Tushiev: Probably the main event of the tournament was World Champion Magnus Carlsen losing twice in a row, first to Fabiano Caruana and then to Teimour Radjabov…

Elizbar Ubilava: Yes, that was of course unexpected, but in my view it was a positive occurrence. If one chess player keeps winning it rules out any tournament intrigue. On the other hand, I noticed that Magnus was trying to play in a slightly different fashion. For example, in many previous tournaments he’s tried to play in a technical, positional style, while in Shamkir he went for complex positions. I think he set out to do that before the tournament, as a one-sided approach kills creativity. He lost to Teimour in an extremely complex King’s Indian position where Radjabov played very well…

Do you think Magnus deliberately went for the King’s Indian?

I’m absolutely sure of it. In Shamkir he went for dynamic positions where he had no advantage. It seems that by sharpening positions the World Champion is striving to improve his calculating abilities. If he doesn’t improve his calculation of variations he won’t be able to retain the Championship crown for long.

So could we say the Shamkir Tournament was a stage in his preparation for the second match against Vishy Anand?

I wouldn’t say the Vugar Gashimov Memorial was a stage in preparation, but rather it was a stage in his progress. It seems to me Magnus is striving to improve his play and his understanding of different positions. The Norwegian probably has a clear plan and wants to achieve more and become stronger. Preparation for the match itself, meanwhile, will start later.

It’s common knowledge that you previously worked with Vishy Anand. What does he need to do in order to even out the chances in the second match against Carlsen? 

When I worked with Vishy Anand (up to 2005), he was an absolutely stunning chess player. His understanding of chess was something else, he instantly evaluated positions and he had a phenomenally well-developed chess intuition. We constantly worked on chess, all the time improving his mastery of the game. Then he became World Champion and defended the title by beating Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov and Boris Gelfand. But the years nevertheless took their toll on his play. Moreover, he began to “shut down” – he started to avoid complex positions and a direct fight. That all led to a deterioration in his chess.

In the first match against Carlsen he tried to exploit technical positions and rook endings. That was his mistake – instead of spending a lot of time on technique he needed to play complex positions. For example, in the ninth game of the match Anand got a promising position but he didn’t play for a win due to an inability to calculate variations, and then in the end he lost. In the first match Vishy definitely couldn’t display his best qualities and lost almost without a fight.

Were you surprised by his transformation in the Candidates Tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk?

Yes, and it turned out to be a surprise for him as well. Vishy himself said he simply came to Khanty-Mansiysk to play chess, and I’m sure he had no thought of actually winning the Candidates. In that tournament the players often risked in situations where you simply couldn’t afford to, and Khanty-Mansiysk was a total failure for everyone else. Anand, meanwhile, simply played chess, played the positions, and that proved to be the right strategy.  As a result Vishy played without any stumbles and confidently won the tournament with a +3 score. Such victories are of course inspiring, especially as everyone had managed to write him off before Khanty-Mansiysk. As for what to expect in the second match against Carlsen, it’s hard to say, but I definitely don’t think he’ll play worse than in the first match.

Kramnik: I don’t care about being the best

This time, I will give it a different twist : Anand

NEW DELHI: The World Chess Championship loss in Chennai had "knocked the stuffing out" of Viswanathan Anand but the five-time winner on Wednesday said that clinching the Candidates title has boosted his confidence and he would try to avenge his loss to Magnus Carlsen later this year. 

Three losses over 10 games without a win and the world Championship title was in tatters last November but Anand soon scripted a historic turnaround when he registered three victories in 14 games without a defeat en route to his Candidates victory to earn a rematch against Carlsen. 

The 44-year-old Indian said delay in addressing his errors cost him the World title and it was his decision to stay away from chess, which helped him to recover emotionally and bounce back with a bang.

"I think many errors had cropped up in my approach to play chess. I was becoming reliant on computers and there were some mistakes coming up. I was not oblivious to it but I was not able to address the problem exactly right. I didn't have time to fix anything," Anand, who was to highlight the role of chess in Business Analytics in an NIIT event, said.

"I remembered long back once after the end of an event, me and (Anatoly) Karpov were talking. He mentioned that a player who had a bad tournament will take long time to recover from bad result because he was so much in love with the game and he didn't have something else to take his mind off chess. 

"So I decided that it was more important to recover emotionally, after all, a result like this knocks the stuffing out of you. So in December and January, I was trying to avoid chess. There were some tournaments which were unavoidable but most of the time I tried to get away from chess," he said. 

After losing his World Championship title, Anand bowed out in the group stage of the London rapid and also his performance at Zurich in March was not upto the mark. 

Anand said: "May be my opponents didn't focus on me properly or probably I was playing more freely. I had one of my best results in Candidates and I'm playing in World Championship in November. 

"I got my confidence back and I am very optimistic now. I know even if I face the same mistakes, I will act now differently," added Anand, who held the World title from 2007 to 2013.

Anand said he carried a lot of his World championship preparations to the Candidates tournament. 

"I was also lucky in a way that since my approach to the match backfired, I didn't get to use lot of my preparations and they were still there which I could carry over to the Candidates," he said. 

"I had a short training camp in February. I thought it was enough and it was more important to spend time at home, play with my son and wait for the hunger to come back and when I went to Khanty (Mansiysk), the first game went brilliantly, it was my first win over (Levon) Aronian and it gave a big boost to me," added Anand, a Padma Vibhushan awardee. 

Anand says he has a fair idea where he wants to work on before he takes on Carlsen later this year. 

"I have a fair bit of idea what I want to change and what I think went wrong. So I have an idea what I want to do. So I will choose my team accordingly. But right now, I don't want to give any details," Anand said.

"Secondly, I'm waiting for the bid. The bidding procedure will finish by the end of this month. So after that we will have an idea of the venue. It is roughly scheduled for November but I just want it to be confirmed," he added. 

Asked about his upcoming tournaments, Anand said he will play a lot of rapid events this year. 

"At the moment I am scheduled to play in Corsica in May. It is an exhibition event, then there is World Rapid and Blitz Championships (June 15-21) in Dubai and then I have an event in Geneva. I might put in another tournament but it depends on my training schedule. It is all very tentative," he said. 

"It is nice to play rapid chess again. Last year, I didn't get to play any rapid event, so it is good. This year, I will compensate for last year," he added. 

Asked if it would be a revenge match, Anand said: "Ya, well I will try to take the confidence to the World Chess Championship. It is inevitable that we will remember some aspects of that match but I will try to take it as a fresh match. 

"The previous results will obviously have some influence on my thoughts but it will be a different match. I will try to change the course and he is going to anticipate. I will think about what happened and try to give it a different twist this time," he said.

I'd start as fresher in world title match

In an exclusive interview, Anand says he is looking forward to the re-match with Carlsen.

New Delhi, April 16

After five-time champion Viswanathan Anand’s one-sided loss to Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen in the World Championship match last November, many critics just wrote him off, saying that he was past his prime.

But the 44-year-old “Vishy”, as he is famously known among his fans, roared back to form in the 2014 Candidates Tournament to earn back his right to challenge the Norwegian for the World title. Anand remained unbeaten in this double round-robin tournament, scalping some of the biggest names of world chess like Levon Aronian of Armenia, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

So what exactly changed with Anand? The Tribune caught up with the man himself for an exclusive chat during his recent visit to the capital. Excerpts….

After losing the World Championship match to Magnus Carlsen, your critics had started writing you off. How difficult was it for you to come out of that phase and keep yourself motivated?

I simply just can’t explain what kind of efforts I had put in to come out of that phase. I took a lot of time not thinking about chess. Maybe, the time spent away from chess was actually very helpful.

How much family support played a part in finding your rhythm back? Do you think your decision to stay away from chess and spend time with your son Akhil helped you in becoming more relaxed?

It was very enjoyable period. I enjoyed my time with Akhil in the remaining weeks of November. For a while, I had no thoughts about my loss and that way, you heal emotionally much faster. I enjoyed my time with my family. I wouldn’t say everything got back to normal after that loss because in London Chess Classic, you saw the after-effects (Anand lost to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the quarter-final). In Zurich Chess Classic, I felt better but the results were not impressive. In Bundesliga, I did slightly better. After Bundesliga, I flew back to India and did not look at chess at all for roughly two weeks. I started looking back at chess only when I got to the Candidates Tournament.

Was it more about recovering emotionally from the World Championship loss rather than getting battle ready for a tough 2014 season?

It was a very testing period for me. The result had knocked the stuffing out of me. Even in 2013, there were good and bad moments but I felt the bad moments more intensely than the good ones and that was the unfortunate part. (After the loss against Carlsen), I had simply stopped following chess for a while. It was an unpleasant phase and I prefer not to look back at it anymore.

The win at the Candidates tournament came at a very dark time of your career? Where do you rate this particular title triumph in your illustrious career?

Well, first of all, it’s a great result. By any yardstick, it’s a good result, but having said that, there are some results which you really treasure. This one I will treasure for a long time.

Where do you think it went wrong against Carlsen in the World Championship match?

If you look at my game, my approach was starting to slip. Some errors had crept in my approach towards the game and I had started missing the plot slightly. Well, I do not want to go into the details again. In my previous World Championship matches, I was much more focused because you had the whole team, but even that kind of concentration did not help me much last year. I have no reasons to keep reliving that match. I really wanted to forget it. I would like to play Carlsen as a fresher.

There has never been such a rivalry than the one between the two mighty Russians, Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. Can we expect such rivalry between you and Carlsen?

Well, who knows, but we are just into our second match. Those guys were constant companions for five years or something.

You had hinted last year that one could expect change in your team of seconds. What’s the status?

I did not confirm or deny it. I have a fairly good idea of what I want to change and what kind of work I want to do. The bidding procedure for the venue and month for the World Championship match will finish by the end of this month. I would first like to have these two confirmed, then I’ll decide on my team of seconds.

You are no longer the world champion. Have you made peace with this thought?

Everything you do, you suffer a bit in the beginning, and then slowly, with time, everything gets settled down. The fact that I had played the Candidates Tournament, I can understand that I am no longer the world champion.

Playing Carlsen was like playing a human computer: Anand

It has taken a while to find his way back to the black and white squares of a chess board. The loss to Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship match has clearly not been easy to deal with. Vishy Anand, chess grandmaster, has been on a complete break. And he’s needed it. The match was played in his home town of Chennai and by the end of it, Anand was well beaten. He needed a break to clear his mind, to spend time with his son (Akhil) who was bawling in the background, to tell himself how much he truly loves the game. In an interview with Firstpost, Anand opened up about what went wrong in the world championship match, his future plans and the man who beat him. Excerpts:

Magnus Carlsen has, at various points, mentioned that once he sits down on the chess board he doesn’t believe that anyone could beat him. He carried that same confidence into the World Championship match too. What were your thoughts at the start of the match? Did you feel invincible too? I thought that if I had a good start, I would be able to play well. I thought that if I had a good start, I could force him out of his comfort zones. I was under no illusions that I would have to raise my game – but that’s exactly what I had worked so hard for. I knew I had a chance. I knew my recent shape had not been very good. But I was hoping that I had managed to turn all that around. A match like this is always tough.

In the sense, it almost feels like you are locked in a cage at times. At what point did you think it was over for you? Well, it was staggered. The first few games were probably okay. I thought I held my own. The fifth game (his endgame errors cost game five) loss hit me really hard. It was precisely the thing that I had worked so hard on; the areas that I had sought to improve in my preparation and I was unable to execute. In that sense, I failed. The 9th game blunder didn’t change things very much – I didn’t see a win, it would have been a draw. The 10th game was really nothing. Viswanathan Anand.

Reuters so what is it about Carlsen? Did any aspect of his game surprise you? He surprised me by changing so little. I know how he plays. But I expected him to come out and try something different. But he stuck to his guns – it was brave. It was also unexpected for me. Usually for a World Championship match, people work on something different… maybe something to surprise the opponent. Carlsen just stayed the same.

You have said that you couldn’t figure out Carlsen’s style. What does that mean? I thought I could get a grip on him. I thought that I could force him to make mistakes. I thought that if I stayed with him in the early going, I would be able to match him. But his style makes it difficult. In a sense, he is an all-rounder. He can do everything well and he makes mistakes – but they aren’t big enough to take advantage of. He is also unconventional – there are times when he will play something and take it back on the next move… to the same place.

 Did it feel like you were playing a computer? His approach resembles… I hesitate to say… computer. Put him in front of one and he’d lose easily. But he is very confident of his calculating ability – so in that sense… yes, probably like a human computer – if that makes sense. One of the things that were mentioned before the start of the match was that Anand was the openings specialist and Carlsen took over in the middle and end game.

Do you think you did enough with that advantage? I think what is not understood about Carlsen is that he is not bad at openings. He is not a specialist but a generalist. He can play a lot of opening and he can play them at a fairly high level. His aim is to get a solid position and you can’t do that at the top level if you are bad with openings. This thing about openings is an exaggeration.

So if Carlsen were to play Kasaprov – you have played them both – who wins? One thing that is clear about Carlsen is that he is one of a kind. I am a big believer in comparisons. I would say both are very good, very strong. But these are the kind of comparisons that chess buffs all over the world make all the time. It probably just adds to the fun… Well, Carlsen is a more allround player. His strengths are harder to determine. Kasaparov was a specialist. He thought hard about his game and had very specific strengths. So if anything, I would give Carlsen the edge there. Being an allrounder is not easy – you are backing yourself to keep up the level throughout the game but somehow Carlsen has managed it.

In interviews to the Norwegian press, Carlsen has criticized your approach, saying that you blamed tournament losses to preparation for the world championships. He has also said that he will never do that. Your thoughts? I guess you have to put up with some snide remarks when you have lost. But honestly, what can I say… You have spoken about wanting to play in the Candidates next year.

Does this loss change anything? Will your method change? Will you change? I think the recent trend is away from openings. In a sense, computers have killed the opening phase. There is only so much that you can do. So if anything can be done, it is to rebalance the game. That can only happen by concentrating on the middle and end game. For now though, I have taken a break from chess. Then I got to London for a tournament. Then I take another break – a long break. That’s when I will give it some serious thought – what I want to do and how I want to do it.

Do you think about your legacy? Is it about time to start thinking about it? Well, there are times when you wonder what you have done for the sport. I am happy at the kind of response that the match got in India and I feel I played some part in it. I would like to believe that India understands chess and with NIIT Mind Champions academy, I hope to help more players in the country. A legacy though is not just about what I think. Finally, how are you going to wind down? Probably with a game of Blitz – maybe on the internet, maybe just at home. Blitz would be fun. For the moment, I just want to enjoy chess without thinking of results; without thinking really.

Reaction to Anand’s victory

After a lean few years and a painful defeat against Magnus Carlsen few were predicting great things from former World Champion Viswanathan Anand in the Candidates. Instead the 44-year-old led from start to finish, winning with the same ease with which he first won the undisputed World Championship in a similar tournament back in Mexico in 2007. We’ve gathered together some of the first reactions to his victory, including the views of fellow grandmasters, his wife Aruna and Vishy himself.

1. Russian grandmaster and journalist Dmitry Kryakvin compared the upcoming Carlsen-Anand rematch to the sixth World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik’s successful rematch against the young Mikhail Tal when he was pushing fifty:

As part of my job I often work with some chess periodicals and archives and the situation with Vishy winning somehow reminds me of the situation before the Tal-Botvinnik rematch. If you open up the periodicals of those years you can read a lot of uncomplimentary words about the “Patriarch”. What’s he doing at such an age? And above all, why? But we all know now how things ended up. Besides, Anand, in contrast to Mikhail the Sixth, earned the right for a rematch with Carlsen absolutely fairly and who knows how the rematch will end if the Norwegian rests on his laurels.

2. Abhijeet Gupta:

This match will definitely be different, that is for sure. I cannot remember the last time Anand won a top tournament in such a dominating fashion. And another thing to remember is that he has already seen the worst. It cannot get any worse than what happened last time. So he’ll be even more motivated.

3. Vishy's Wife, Aruna: 

That was a very difficult period. It was the lowest point of Anand's career. I have never seen Anand suffer so much. The entire family suffered seeing him suffer so much.

It was not like he talked a lot about the match. He got used to the fact that the title was lost towards the end of the match itself but, of course, he was very disappointed with the result as well as his overall performance.

He was actually well prepared for the Carlsen match but could not get good positions on the board. In Khanty, there was no such thing.

4. Vishy Anand:

How do you feel after a convincing win, in a format that was gruelling and had some of the best players in the world?

It was a sense of relief. I played a lot more freely. I was wanting to play freely in the last couple of years. Somehow it was not happening. All I wanted was to play good chess and have a practical attitude towards the tournament. Very happy and satisfied to have won it.

Many players did not give you a chance, with even our RB Ramesh stating that the scar of the World Championship loss would take a long time to heal. Were you hurt by all this?

I did not pay attention to what people thought about me. I always take opinion from people who I really count upon. The loss in Chennai was painful. I was not the same player that I really was. People will talk about the loss for years to come. But I kind of moved on and did not think about it coming into the Candidates Tournament.

What was the secret behind silencing the critics? Was it will power, pride?

I am not the kind of person who goes about silencing the critics. I just wanted to play good chess. Touch wood.

Do you cherish this win more as it has come at a time when critics doubted your ability to bounce back?

I think the win is similar to the win in Mexico in the World Championship in 2007. I think my style of play here was similar to that one. It is an important win in the sense that it came at a time when people had practically written me off.

How does it feel to take on Carlsen again?

I am not thinking about Carlsen right now. I want to savour the moment and enjoy the win.

FIDE has selected the venue for 2014 Carlsen - Anand World Championship match

Breaking News:

The 2014 World Chess Championship match between chess phenom, model, and reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) and 5-time World Champion Vishy Anand (India), will take place at the Kingdom of Genovia. It will be held from 5 November to 25 November 2014, under the auspices of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). 

The Kingdom of Genovia will provide 10 million euros for this highly anticipated match, with 2/3 for the winner, and 1/3 for the loser, minus 20% fees to FIDE. This will be the largest prizes in chess history.

In a written statement, obtained exclusively by CDN, Princess Mia of Genovia said the following:

"Genovia is excited to host such a prestigious event. I am pleased that FIDE has accepted my bid. With the latest resurgence from 5-time World Champion Anand at the Candidates Tournament, chess fans from around the world will be in for a real treat."

The players will be playing their 12-game match in the Royal Palace. The teams of seconds for Carlsen and Anand will be announced by November 1. Legendary former World Champion Boris Spassky, and former World Championship Challenger Viktor Korchnoi, have been selected by FIDE to provide exciting LIVE commentary.

Anand Confirms his Triumph Leaving his Rivals Searching for Answers

The final day saw the coronation of Viswanathan Anand as the winner of the Candidates tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk and a surprise second placed finisher in Sergey Karjakin who came right from the basement to almost topple him but still finish in a creditable second place. Anand goes on to play Magnus Carlsen for the title in what is scheduled to be a match in November. For me Anand showed great ring craft throughout, his career has been filled with such pressurised tournaments and he used that experience fully to avoid the melt downs that happened to almost all his rivals. He was only in trouble against Karjakin in round 13 which was a game that started with him being the one with it all to lose, later when defending the pressure also settled on Karjakin who suddenly had chances to win the event himself. Karjakin eventually allowed a forced draw when he thought it was a winning try. If Anand maintains this return to form he should be in better shape than in India to challenge Carlsen. Whether that will be enough is another question.

Anand admitted that he wasn't really in the mood to play having achieved victory but that he didn't want to finish with the bitter taste of defeat in the final round. His opponent Peter Svidler also seemed happy to draw the line under an event which hadn't gone his way. The played a Ruy Lopez Marshall where both players seemed to know it should finish in a draw. "basically the most prevalent feeling right now is a feeling of a huge wasted opportunity because I think I played, at least in the first half, very interesting chess and I had chances in almost every game and I think a lot of what went wrong in this tournament were what you would maybe call unforced errors"... I kept on making strange mistakes in situations where I shouldn't have and because of that a tournament that could have been very interesting from my point of view finished a minor disaster." was Svidler's summation of his tournament.

Vladimir Kramnik finished the event with a short accurate draw against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Most of the interest was in his confirmation of the story that it was he who finally persuaded Anand to play "We really spoke about it in London and Vishy was unsure by that time. I advised him to participate because I really thought he had a chance and I just told him so.... Also I think he has all chances to win the match against Carlsen. I had similar crises, so I know what was happening inside him."

Veselin Topalov finished the event with a draw against Dmitry Andreikin. Topalov said "It could have been worse but in general I think except Anand and Dmitry I don't think anyone can be very happy with his play. I mean all the others are more or less losers [before Karjakin's win] none of us got even close to threaten Anand in fact that's the whole tournament you know."

The final game of the day saw a clearly dispirited Levon Aronian go down to another loss and finish near the tail-end of the field. He had a good position out of his unusual opening but his heart really wasn't in it and he "missed everything" in time trouble and ended up with a miserable position and was ground down after many hours. His opponent Sergey Karjakin was very pleased with his +3 in the second half and he could have won the event had he converted the day before (although no doubt today's game would have been completely different too). "Yeah I didn't really play well, so." Aronian.

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand won the 2014 FIDE Candidates Chess tournament after settling for a draw with Sergey Karjakin of Russia in the 13th and penultimate round on Saturday.

Anand has an unassailable 1.5 point lead with one more round to play in the tournament. It was a marathon against Karjakin that lasted more than five-and-a-half hours.

With this victory, Anand wins the right to challenge World Champion Magnus Carlsen in November. Carlsen had dethroned Anand in the World Championship match in Chennai in 2013.

The draw helped Anand reach eight points and he benefitted from the biggest upset in the tournament when top seed Levon Aronian of Armenia lost to lowest ranked Dmitry Andreikin of Russia.

On a day that saw Vladimir Kramnik avenging his earlier loss in the tournament against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan played out a draw with Russian Peter Svidler to seal the fate in Anand's favour irrespective of the results on Sunday.

With Anand on eight points, Karjakin, Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Andreikin and Aronian are now 6.5 points each. Peter Svidler stand seventh on six points while Topalov reamined on 5.5 to fill the last place.

In the last round Anand meets Svidler and the draw could be a likely result as the Indian will play with white pieces.

In the game against Karjakin, Anand equalised quite easily with the Queen's gambit declined and had no troubles whatsoever in finding a thematic pawn sacrifice that made his position easier to play.

However, while trying to work out the right path, Anand erred slightly and faced a difficult but possible defense when he parted with two pieces for Karjakin's rook.

The ensuing endgame was easier for Karjakin and the defense was not easy, yet Anand kept finding the right moves and obtained a passed pawn on the king side that proved vital.

Karjakin was aware at this point that the fight was over but he played on till 91 moves before signing the peace treaty.

The tournament victory gives Anand winner's cheque of 135000 Euros (a little over Rs 1 crore) and the right to a match against Magnus Carlsen of Norway who dethroned the Indian champion at Chennai in November last. This rematch will take place sometime in the last quarter of this year.

'Anand' It’s Back to Square One

For the first time in his career, five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand has openly admitted to changing his style so as to reinvent himself and keep up pace with the changing times. In a freewheeling email interview to Sunday Standard, Anand opens up about his game, life and changing perspectives, ahead of the Candidates tournament. 

It has been a long time since Anand defeated Carlsen in the classical format. But the maestro says there are no mental blocks as far as Carlsen goes and assures that with his new approach he will set the record straight. Anand also says his hunger for the game has not diminished. With age comes maturity and the Chennai-based legend states that he believes in playing quality chess and is not worried about titles or rankings. Excerpts:

How are you preparing for the Candidates tournament? A lot of strong players will be in action. Who do you think is a tough opponent?

The Candidates will be a tough event — strong players and a grueling format. I think there is no one particular favourite. It depends on who is in top form. I have been preparing for the event since January.

Have you made any change in the style of preparation?

Again, can’t say much.

Have you changed your seconds from the World Championship?

I can’t really talk about it right now.

Have you overcome the World Championship defeat?

That is over. I don’t think about it anymore. It seems like it happened ages ago. As a sportsperson you have to learn to let go and move on.

In the London Chess Classic you began to win again, but managed to reach only till quarterfinals. When you won the first match (after the World Championship loss) in the tournament did you get over a psychological barrier? How do you rate your performance?

At this level of the game, there are no barriers. You have good games and bad ones. I would say moderately happy. I was very proud of my games in the qualifying. I could feel myself like a six-year-old again, just playing very fast and confidently. That is the way I would really love to play.

At Zurich, in perhaps the strongest field in the history of the game, you came fifth overall. How do you rate this performance? You are known for your rapid skills, but lost three games?

Well, I am going through a phase of changing my game. So there will be some hits on the way before you reach your optimum form. So, Zurich was a good learning experience.

Is there a mental block when playing Carlsen? You are yet to beat him in the classical format in the last two years or so.

This is something I hope to correct. It is his (Carlsen) style, which is very different to what many players have grown up with.

How do you recollect the match against Carlsen at Zurich?

It was a normal game. You can’t base each encounter on the match. That is over. You have to just look forward and play a normal game.

How eager are you to go through the grind, win the Candidates and take on Carlsen again in the World Championship in November?

I am looking to do well in Khanty right now. If that leads to a match in November I would definitely try and do things differently.

Despite having nothing left to prove do you still have the hunger to be the world champion?

I would say I have hunger to play good chess.

What motivates you now to give your best? Is it pride, reputation or just simple love for the game?

I would just say that I love the game. If something gives you a lot of pain, it also gives you a lot of enjoyment. That is why you love it and is passionate about excelling in it.

How do you handle pressure, not just expectations of fans from the country, but also that from the Western media, players and officials who cannot digest an Indian ruling the world of chess?

You do have some amount of pressure being the outsider. But I have always tried to keep a small circle of friends and just enjoy the chess. I don’t really read much chess news. But there are also many people who show their support especially since you had to work doubly harder to reach the top.

Does the attitude (running down Anand) of some former Russian greats like Garry Kasparov motivate you to prove them wrong?

I don’t waste my time on petty chess politics. Chess was clearly Kasparov’s strongest point.

Garry Kasparov's Top Eight Sacrifices of all time..!!

Fide announces Candidates Tournament 2014 Pairings.

8 Candidates, 14 Rounds, 56 Games ..!!
Get ready to feel thrill..!

The exact schedule of the event:

11 March: Arrivals
12 March: Opening Ceremony & Players Meeting
13-15 March: Rounds 1-3
16 March: Free day
17-19 March: Rounds 4-6
20 March: Free day
21-23 March: Rounds 7-9
24 March: Free day
25-27 March: Rounds 10-12
28 March: Free day
29-30 March: Rounds 13-14
31 March: Tiebreaks / Closing ceremony
1 April: Departures


Pairing


Round 1

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7


Round 2

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5


Round 3

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6


Round 4

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4


Round 5

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7


Round 6

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4


Round 7

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8


Round 8

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6


Round 9

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7


Round 10

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5


Round 11

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6


Round 12

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4


Round 13

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
1 GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS - GM Aronian Levon ARM 7
2 GM Karjakin Sergey RUS - GM Anand Viswanathan IND 6
3 GM Svidler Peter RUS - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 5
4 GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS - GM Topalov Veselin BUL 8


Round 14

SNo. Name FED Res. Name FED SNo.
7 GM Aronian Levon ARM - GM Karjakin Sergey RUS 2
6 GM Anand Viswanathan IND - GM Svidler Peter RUS 3
5 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE - GM Kramnik Vladimir RUS 4
8 GM Topalov Veselin BUL - GM Andreikin Dmitry RUS 1

Kasparov on Fischer

Anand- Carlson to face off in Zurich

Viswanathan Anand admits he will be under "some pressure" when he takes on Magnus Carlsen at the Zurich Chess Challenge, starting Wednesday. Anand sharing his thoughts with ET from Switzerland, says "I guess my game (against Magnus) will attract a lot of attention". Anand's season will open with the event. "I am looking forward to a nice start to 2014," he says of his expectations. 

The Zurich Chess Challenge (ZCC) will feature six of the absolute best of the chess world, including newly-minted world champion Carlsen, last year's tournament winner Fabiano Caruana and current world number 2 Levon Aronian. It is "one of the best events of the year," Anand says. 

The winner will enter the record books, as the Challenge is the strongest tournament in chess history. The average rating of the participants is a stratospheric 2801, making it the first Category 23 tournament. 

It is a sprint rather than a marathon, with just five rounds of classical chess. "True, it , it is a short event, but with blitz and rapid events as well," says Anand. 

He also points out that "4 out of 6 played in Wijk, so they will be continuing in a way," referring to the just-concluded Tata Steel event held in Wijk aan Zee. 

Anand was tracking that event and has words of praise for the winner, Aronian who scored a tremendous 8 point of 11 rounds. "It was a very impressive run by Levon," he says. Anand points out with a smile that Aronian actually blew the last game, but still won with a "1.5 point margin after the loss". 

The Challenge, held in the opulent surroundings of Hotel Savoy, is the brainchild of Russian magnate Oleg Skvortsov. A keen amateur chess player, Skvortsov made his fortune in gems and pulls out all stops in the events that he organises. 

The tournament has a unique format, the six contestants play against each other once in classical and then play with the colours reversed in rapid. What is more, the rapid tournament is weighed down, i.e. a win in rapid only brings you half the points as in classical. However, if two rivals are closely matched, then a player could make up for that by going all out in the rapid. "Well first things first," says Anand when presented with such a scenario. 

This kind of hybrid formats is perhaps the wave of the future, as organisers try to add masala to staid events. Of the other players, defending champion Fabiano Caruana will be keen to make a good impression after a patchy show in Wijk. Anand, of course, is aware of the resonance Zurich has in the chess world. "I have indeed read the book," he says referring to the famous 1953 tournament held in Zurich, and the book written about it by former world champion challenger David Bronstein. 

Of course, for two of the players, Anand and Aronian, the event will have a resonance beyond the event. In March, the Candidates tournament in Khanty-Mansisyk will be held to decide the challenger to Carlsen. 

Still, when they take on the rivals in the ballroom of the Savoy, Siberia will be far from their minds.

Sicilian Defence_Dragon @Inspirational Game (Garry Kasparov)

31 Great Chess Quotes from Garry Kasparov

 

Mr. Kasparov needs no introduction. He was ranked world's number one for  225 out of 228 months from 1986 to his retirement from chess in 2005. Kasparov holds a record of 15 consecutive professional tournament victories and 11 chess Oscars! He became a youngest ever world champion at the age of 22, defeating Anatoly Karpov.

Kasparov held the title for 15 years! We present a list of quotes by the greatest chess player of all time Garry Kasparov.

Chess strength in general and chess strength in a specific match are by no means one and the same thing.

This is the essential element that cannot be measured by any analysis or device, and I believe it's at the heart of success in all things: the power of intuition and the ability to harness and use it like a master.

Nowadays games immediately appear on the Internet and thus the life of novelties is measured in hours. Modern professionals do not have the right to be forgetful - it is 'life threatening'.

Any experienced player knows how a change in the character of the play influences your psychological mood.

By the time a player becomes a Grandmaster, almost all of his training time is dedicated to work on this first phase. The opening is the only phase that holds out the potential for true creativity and doing something entirely new.

When your house is on fire, you can’t be bothered with the neighbors. Or, as we say in chess, if your King is under attack, don't worry about losing a pawn on the queen side.

Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it is much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by.

By strictly observing Botvinnik's rule regarding the thorough analysis of one's own games, with the years I have come to realize that this provides the foundation for the continuos development of chess mastery.

The best chess masters of every epoch have been closely linked with the values of the society in which they lived and worked. All the changes of a cultural, political, and psychological background are reflected in the style and ideas of their play.

I see my own style as being a symbiosis of the styles of Alekhine, Tal and Fischer.

In general there is something puzzling about the fact that the most renowned figures in chess - Morphy, Pillsbury, Capablanca and Fischer - were born in America.

Who else in chess history has won so many serious games with the help of brilliant tactical strokes? - (on Alekhine)

When I was preparing for one term's work in the Botvinnik school I had to spend a lot of time on king and pawn endings. So when I came to a tricky position in my own games I knew the winning method.

Excelling at chess has long been considered a symbol of more general intelligence. That is an incorrect assumption in my view, as pleasant as it might be.

The ability to work hard for days on end without losing focus is a talent. The ability to keep absorbing new information after many hours of study is a talent.

Brute-force programs play the best chess, so why bother with anything else? Why waste time and money experimenting with new and innovative ideas when we already know what works? Such thinking should horrify anyone worthy of the name of scientist, but it seems, tragically, to be the norm. Our best minds have gone into financial engineering instead of real engineering, with catastrophic results for both sectors.

Perhaps chess is the wrong game for the times. Poker is now everywhere, as amateurs dream of winning millions and being on television for playing a card game whose complexities can be detailed on a single piece of paper.

Winning is not a secret that belongs to a very few, winning is something that we can learn by studying ourselves, studying the environment and making ourselves ready for any challenge that is in front of us. 

Chess continues to advance over time, so the players of the future will inevitably surpass me in the quality of their play, assuming the rules and regulations allow them to play serious chess. But it will likely be a long time before anyone spends 20 consecutive years as number, one as I did.

I have found that after 1.d4 there are more opportunities for richer play.

The highest art of the chessplayer lies in not allowing your opponent to show you what he can do.

The stock market and the gridiron and the battlefield aren't as tidy as the chessboard, but in all of them, a single, simple rule holds true: make good decisions and you'll succeed; make bad ones and you'll fail.

Tactics involve calculations that can tax the human brain, but when you boil them down, they are actually the simplest part of chess and are almost trivial compared to strategy.

For me, chess is a language, and if it's not my native tongue, it is one I learned via the immersion method at a young age.

I've seen - both in myself and my competitors - how satisfaction can lead to a lack of vigilance, then to mistakes and missed opportunities.

Few things are as psychologically brutal as chess.

Nervous energy is the ammunition we take into any mental battle. If you don't have enough of it, your concentration will fade. If you have a surplus, the results will explode.

The biggest problem I see among people who want to excel in chess - and in business and in life in general - is not trusting their instincts enough.

If you wish to succeed, you must brave the risk of failure. 

Vishy is a brilliant player. But it is very difficult to compete at 40. He is up against people half his age. I will be surprised if he can go on any longer. He can fight against anyone but time.