Mission Moscow

Viswanathan Anand’s mission Moscow
Published: Sunday, May 6, 2012, 8:00 IST
By Vijay Tagore | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Over the next three weeks, Viswanathan Anand’s credentials, competence and character will come under the scanner while he chases a fifth world chess championship crown against Israel’s Boris Gelfand. Vijay Tagore previews the showpiece event

Viswanathan Anand is a sort of an anti-thesis in chess, any sport, in fact. At a time when the age of the world champions is sizably shrinking, the Indian Grandmaster stands tall in the chess world.

At 42, he is one of the oldest world champions. Across sports!

In a few days from now, he will set out on a mission to defend that crown which he has so astoundingly won four times over a period of 10 years. The passage of time since the first title in 2000 in Tehran has failed to diminish his unquenchable spirit and unbreakable will. Be it against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 or Veselin Topalov in 2010, Anand played at a level that was inconceivable among his peers. He has wowed friends, foes and critics alike and invited some purple prose too.

“I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess,” says Kramnik. “At the given moment, I think he’s the best in the world in terms of play.”

At the given moment, he is undoubtedly the best. Across the chess board, Anand can be belligerently brilliant in attack and stubbornly impenetrable in defence. The combination of aggression, defence and skill comes with a touch of restraint. He exudes an air of calm that is exceptionally unflustered. He never shouts from the rooftops that he is a four-time world champion. And he stays away from controversies. He is a gentleman first, world champion next.

Over the next three weeks, his credentials, competence and character will be come under the scanner. Does he have the wherewithal to win the title? Does he have the desire to do it again? And can he become one of the few men to become world champion five times?

“His main weakness is that he’s no longer so young, and now he’s also got a child. I can’t imagine he’s still going to work his socks off as before,” observes Kramnik, analysing Anand’s situation.

Curiously enough, the world championship match will not be a spring versus autumn battle. Boris Gelfand, Anand’s opponent, is no spring chicken and at 43, is a year older than him. In a sense, it will be an autumn-versus-autumn duel that will dominate the chess world for the next three weeks.

Anand sure has played many a match but none as tricky as the one against Gelfand could turn out to be. Having won the title four times, he will have to invoke all the fire in his belly to fight it out against an opponent who has all the motivation. Gelfand knows he is unlikely to have another shot at the world title.

Expectedly, he will come out all guns blazing.

Anatoly Karpov, for one, believes Gelfand will have an edge solely because of his desire and motivation. “We have to bear in mind that Gelfand still has ambitions and the desire to scale new heights and become the world champion, while Anand possibly no longer has the sharpness with which he approached his first match and his title. Of course, he wants to maintain the status quo, but does he have the nerves? It seems to me that he is nervously more worn-out than Gelfand. World championship matches are a matter of nerves, and the question of motivation can prove to be more important than the purely chess element.”

Motivation is a factor and he will need to address it but head to head, there is good news for Anand fans. Gelfand has not beaten him since 1993 and the Chennaiite enjoys a better record over his Israeli adversary (the Belarusian migrated to Israel in 1998).

Anand also has the rich experience of match play having won titles in 2008 and 2010. At this stage, he is the most experienced match player in the world.

But a championship match of this magnitude holds little significance for past laurels. A lot will depend on the attitude, desire, motivation and, of course, preparation.

Anand is known to prepare well. He is believed to have worked hard at an undisclosed bunker for the last six months. He comes up with stunning novelties to unsettle his rivals. Victories over Kramnik and Topalov bear testimony to this fact. His 1.d4, contrary to the expected 1.e4, had dismantled Kramnik.

“Anand’s preparation is unmatchable. Even now, he goes to a match best prepared. I’m sure he will go in with a few aces up his sleeve,” says RB Ramesh, another Chennai-based GM. “Over the last six months, we’ve prepared as best as we could. Let’s see,” says GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Anand’s ‘second’.

But Gelfand, too, is known to be good at homework and Anand himself endorses his opponent’s potential for preparation.

“Gelfand is a player who is very principled in his chess understanding. He is very well-versed in theory and I would say he is one of the best theoreticians in chess. He has a very classic understanding of chess,” the world champion tells DNA.

He further says, “He is a tough opponent for me and in the first four encounters he defeated me. In 1996 I was able to defeat him in Wijk Aan zee and Biel. This match would be a very tough challenge chesswise as you are playing one of the best prepared players in the world. Boris would definitely be very motivated and keen to win.”

Anand’s recent form hasn’t been too impressive. He’s had some poor results at different tournaments but the slump can attributed to his focus on the world championship match. Even before the Kramnik and Topalov matches, Anand’s form was volatile. “It is because his focus is not in the games he plays but the (world championship) match he is about to play,” explains Ramesh.

Form, motivation and desire notwithstanding, Anand is considered an overwhelming favourite in the match.

Raghunandan Vasant Gokhale does not give Gelfand a chance. “I think the match experience of Anand is good enough. For the last decade he has been single-most quality player in the chess world,” says Gokhale, a Mumbai-based Dronacharya awardee.

Mumbai-based GM Praveen Thipsay says Anand will “have an easy time”. “He has an extensive repertoire of opening. His positional understanding is very good. Gelfand is a complete player, no doubt. But he will be no match for Anand,” Thipsay, a seven-time national champion, says.

A public poll at www.anand-gelfand.com has rated Anand as an overwhelming favourite with over 82 per cent voters predicting a win in 12 regulation games. At the time of going to print, 1,292 of the 1,566 votes went in Anand’s favour. Only nine per cent voted for a Gelfand win. Another five per cent believe that Anand could win in the tie-breaker and three per cent predicted that Gelfand may scrape through in sudden death.

Gary Kasparov (2000) and Alexander Alekhine (1935) were such overwhelming favourites and both ended up on the losing side. Anand should know how dangerous the favourites tag can be.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com