Viswanathan Anand shows cold feet for Candidates
Tushar Dutt,TNN | Dec 21, 2013, 12.47 AM IST
PUNE: Beaten world chess champion V Anand declared on Friday he may not attempt to regain his throne. Asked if he had decided about appearing in the Candidates tournament, the 44-year-old said: “No, not at the moment.
I mean, most likely I won’t play. Zurich is the only confirmed event for me right now. There are many interesting invitations for the second half of the year. And possibly I will be playing in Ukraine, where I will be playing rapid.”
The eight-player Candidates tournament in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, starts on March 11 next year. The winner of the tournament will get a crack at reigning champion Magnus Carslen of Norway next November. The Candidates tournament is the only way to qualify for the World title match.
Anand was in the city to launch NIIT’s Mind Champion programme. If Anand pulls out of the event, it won’t be a huge surprise. His priorities appear to have changed and the weather at the Candidates too may not be to his liking. Khanty Mansiysk is in Siberia, where Friday’s temperature was minus 31 degrees Celsius. The average temperature in March is minus 3.
In case the world No. 9 Anand (Elo 2773) opts out of the Candidates meet, his spot will go to 21-year-old Fabiana Caruana of Italy, the world No. 7 (Elo 2782). The Russian federation chose Peter Svidler (age 37, rating 2758) over Caruana and granted their home player a wild card.
If Caruana is to get a seat for the Candidates, the withdrawals must be conveyed to Fide 30 days before the first game. Late withdrawals won’t allow replacement for the Candidates meet. Anand qualified directly for the Candidates since he is the beaten player from the title match.
For Anand, no looking back is the only way ahead. He said he has moved on after losing to Carlsen in Chennai last month and is now focusing on his future assignments.
“To be honest I have actually preferred not to do any of it (post-match analysis). I think sometimes you just accept that things can go horribly wrong and then it’s more important to recover and focus on the next tournament rather than be obsessive about what you did wrong,” he said. “Clearly, there will be some broad lessons and they are accepted as well.”
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Caruana is stronger now.
Too funny, “the weather…may not be to his liking.” Yeah, that definitely played a role…NOT.
Hope Fabiano is in !!!!!
Yes. Fabiano would be the best option. Certainly better than that choker Nakamura.
I’d really like to see Caruana and Nakamura in the canditates.
But Hikaru will get his shot, sooner or later.
I hope Hikaru Nakamura’s ‘cowboy’ chess is shown up. Tricky shooting is cute but it shouldn’t cut it at the level of the candidates. But if he gets lucky and flukes a win then Carlsen will utterly crush him – Anand’s lost match will look good in comparison – but sadly it will be very bad for the image of chess as a proper sport.
To anon’I hope Nakamura’s ‘cowboy’ chess is shown up’ Guess you must be the true ‘Cowboy’, since Naka is not playing in the candidates. That said it would be nice if he did play,along with Caruana.
The reality is Anand probably does not have the stamina to compete at the top level anymore and he knows this, hence the mixing of words rather than just saying it bluntly…which is not what any top player wants to admit. I do appreciate his focus on what is next for him…this seems like a good priority, let’s not kid anybody..he is 44 years old and in this sport that is past one’s prime.
The comments regarding Nakamura posted here are just silly…He is currently #3 in rankings and he can probably only improve not decline in the coming decade, so he has as much a chance as anyone in the top 10 to play Carlsen at some time soon, certainly much more than say Gelfand or Andrekin.
CONGRATULATION MY DEAR FRIEND…YOU ARE THE BEST WHAT A CHESS HAD PRODUCED IN CENTURY…YOU HAVE DONE SO MUCH AS A PLAYER AND INFORMER TO ALL OF US WHO LIKE CHESS….BRAVO….
Anand may very well not make it to the championship match. But the very fact that all comments here portray him as an inferior player whilst he is leading halfway through the candidates is proof that people ALWAYS underestimate him and he will never be regarded as one of the eternal chess titans he actually is.
Anand will be competing for the Title with Carlsen soon… Yeahhhh, am so happy… :):)