Topalov tougher than Kramnik

KOLKATA: It was a journey that began with the Lord of the Rings and ended with the Master being crowned Lord of the 64 Squares. Yet again.

Surya Sekhar Ganguly, one of Viswanathan Anand’s four seconds during his World Championship match against Veselin Topalov in Sofia, described the win as “one of the greatest in Anand’s career”.

The start was anything but ideal. A volcanic eruption in Iceland just days before the start of the world championship forced the cancellation of Team Anand’s flight from Frankfurt to Sofia. They had no option but to undertake a 40-hour long drive and reached the venue just a day before the scheduled start of the 12-game series. Anand requested FIDE for a three-day postponement, but was granted just a day’s grace.

“No doubt it was a tiring journey, through five countries,” Ganguly, who returned home in the wee hours of Sunday, told TOI. “We discussed chess and relaxed by watching Lord of the Rings on the DVD in our car,” he said.

Ganguly, who was one of Anand’s seconds during his previous world championship match against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 as well, felt it was much more challenging for them this time. “While Kramnik is a very strategic type of player, Topalov is very aggressive and has a lot of variety,” Ganguly said. Anand’s team, which started working some eight months back, concentrated on good opening. “Topalov never wants to settle for a draw. Hence the matches were much more long-drawn this time, taking a toll on both the players,” Grandmaster Ganguly said.

Team Anand, Ganguly revealed, had planned to play for a draw in the last game. “We planned that way since Anand was playing with black. We were satisfied with the opening and when we found the position was almost equal, we decided to take a quick nap to be fresh for the tie-breakers. But when we woke up, it was a different story,” Ganguly said.

Topalov, trying to push for a win to avoid tie-breaker, ultimately ended up losing the game and helped Anand retain the title. Overall, it was another learning experience for Ganguly. “Anand began badly losing the first match, but he made a quick comeback and put Topalov under pressure,” he said.