Vishwanathan Anand

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Vishwanathan "Vishy" Anand is the Current World Chess Champion. He was born in Chennai, India on December 11, 1969. He was taught the moves of chess by his mother when he was six years old. Later, when his family moved to the Philippines for a year, the young Vishwanathan would solve chess puzzles that aired on a local Philippines television station. When they moved back to India, Vishy began playing chess regularly at the Mikhail Tal chess club in his home town. Chennai had a thriving chess culture due to the presence of champions like Ravi Kumar and Manuel Aaron. Vishy displayed an amazing memory and incredible raw talent for the game and began flourishing as a player.

Anand's ascent in the chess world was sudden and would steadily increase over time, culminating in his Undisputed World Championship victory over Vladimir Kramnik in 2007. In 1983, at the age of fourteen Anand won the National Sub-Junior Championship with a perfect score of nine wins, zero losses and zero draws. He earned the title of International Master at just fifteen, being the youngest player in India to do so. By the age of sixteen, he had proved himself as the best player in India becoming national Chess champion. In 1988, at the age of eighteen, Vishwanathan Anand would achieve the title of International Grandmaster, becoming India's first ever GM.

Anand would soon burst onto the international scene. In 1991, he would win the prestigious Italian tournament, Reggio Emilia, ahead of Gary Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Vassily Ivanchuk. He would continue to have major international success. He qualified for the Candidates tournament in 1993, eventually losing to former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. In 1995 Anand would qualify for the PCA World Championship earning the right to face World Champion Gary Kasparov. The match was held at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, N.Y. The match would begin with eight draws. Then Anand was able to defeat the world in the ninth game after a stunning exchange sacrifice, although Kasparaov at the peak of his prime would come back with a vengeance to win the match 10 ½ to 7 ½. Anand would once again play Karpov in 1998 this time for the FIDE World Championships and losing narrowly in a playoff. Anand would eventually win the FIDE title over Alexei Shirov in the year 2000. Many considered the newly crowned Vladimir Kramnik, the rival Classical World Champion to be the true champion.

Name

Vishwanathan Anand

Country

India

Born

December 11, 1969

Death

Title

Grandmaster

Peak Rating

2817

More...


In 2007 the world chess title became unified and Anand's victory in the FIDE World Chess Championships in Mexico City placing ahead of Vladimir Kramnik. In 2008, Anand would go onto to defeat Vladimir Kramnik with a decisive 6 ½ to 4 ½ victory. Anand had cemented himself the strongest chess player in World, a distinction that he holds even to this day, with maybe the exception of the World's top rated player Magnus Carlsen. Anand has been a fighting champion. In 2010 he successfully defended his title in a very controversial and match vs. Veselin Topalov 6 ½ to 5 ½ . Most recently, in 2012 he defended his title against Boris Gelfand. After being tied 6 to 6, Anand would retain the title in a blitz playoff. He is scheduled to defend his title once again in 2013.

Vishwanathan Anand has proven to be a formidable World Champion and possibly the most consistent leading chess player in the past 20 years. Vladimir Kramnik has described Anand's legacy as one of the most versatile World Champions in history. He has won several championships and major tournaments in just about every format. Like many of the game's greats Anand has a special talent for rapid chess, and has long been considered the World's foremost blitz player. He is also one of just a handful of players to achieve an ELO of over 2800, with a peak rating of 2817 on November of 2011. Funny and Likeable, Vishwanathan Anand has become a national hero in India and has been the recipient of numerous state awards and honors.

Some famous Vishy Anand Quotes:
"For me chess is not a profession. It is a way of life, a passion."
"Confidence is very important, even pretending to be confident. If you make a mistake but do not let your opponent see what you are thinking then he may overlook the mistake."

On Anand:
"The impact that Vishy made for chess in India is unsurpassed. He is a national hero in his homeland and he has revolutionized Indian chess." – Susan Polgar