SANDS: Surging Anand could pose problem in chess title rematch
By David R. Sands – The Washington Times – Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Don’t write off the ex-champ so fast.
GM Viswanathan Anand is a distinct underdog as he tries to reclaim the world title he lost last year to Norwegian star Magnus Carlsen, with the rematch set for November in Sochi, Russia. The 23-year-old Carlsen captured the crown without dropping a game in their first match 10 months ago, as even so astute an observer as ex-champ Garry Kasparov gives Anand little chance of victory this time around.
But the 44-year-old Indian superstar surprised many by winning the candidates’ tournament earlier this year, and he has just scored another fine result by dominating the 2014 Bilbao Masters Final, a Category 21 four-GM double round robin that concluded just last week. Even a last-round loss to Armenian GM Levon Aronian couldn’t derail Anand, who clinched the event with a round to go.
Couple that with some un-Magnus-like recent results — two losses in the August Olympiad and a distant second-place finish to Italian GM Fabiano Caruana in the recent Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis — and Carlsen may be in for a tougher fight to defend his crown than he faced when he won it.
Anand has no chance without Nakamura.
True. Team Carlsen would be spending sleepless nights so that they can spring a surprise upon Anand in the first game itself in the hopes of denting his confidence. Anand is known for his comeback attitude and I believetthis time he will be a tough nut to be cracked.
Everything here will depend on Carlsen’s state of mind at match time. If he’s 100%, there’s nothing that Anand can do, even if he digs up Fischer and Capablanca as his seconds. If Carlsen comes in with some psychological burden, then Anand may have an outside chance.