CHENNAI: Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand will be eyeing one of the two Candidates’ spots, when he opens his first round campaign against Tian Li Yeoh in the World Cup, which starts in Batumi, Georgia, on Sunday. Anand, who has won the World Cup twice (2000 and 2002), will be competing in the 128-player knockout tournament after 15 years. Having opted out of the Grand Prix series, it will be Anand’s only chance to qualify for next year’s Candidates.
In what can be termed as the tournament of the year with the strongest field assembled, Anand has to recreate his form of 2014 Candidates to have a realistic chance of making the cut. The Indian should get through his opener against Malaysian No 1 without much ado. If things go according to the script, his first test will be against England No 1 Michael Adams in the third round, followed by Hikaru Nakamura in the next round.
Nakamura has been a tough opponent for Anand and has a huge plus score against the Indian in the classical format. However, if he gets past the American, his chances of going further in the tournament will improve. Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana are also in the same half of the draw, which makes Anand’s job even more difficult.
Anand heads into the World Cup after conjuring up one of his best performances in the Sinquefield Cup, which is a positive sign. On the flip side, his form in the rapid and blitz has been cause of concern, which might play a crucial part in some of his matches.
Pentala Harikrishna will be India’s best bet after Anand to make an impact in the tournament. He has been in good form going into the big tournament, doing well in his last two events in Geneva and Biel. Harikrishna made a big leap last year, breaking into the top 10 for first time. Harikrishna’s ability to convert tiny advantage to victories, besides his sound positional understanding, makes him one of the best players in the world.
Harikrishna takes on Cuba’s Yuri Vidal Gonzalez in the first round. Vidal might not pose a big challenge to Harikrishna but it will get tougher with every passing round. If Harikrishna gets going, he will end the tournament with a positive result.
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, who is set to become the fourth Indian to cross the 2700-rating barrier in the September rating list, runs into Neuris Ramirez Delgado of Paraguay in the tournament’s opener. He will be keen to improve on his first-round exit from the 2015 World Cup, besides making a mark in this year’s tournament.
Baskaran Adhiban surprised one and all with this third-place finish in Wijk aan Zee, inclusive of victories over Sergei Karjakin and Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Not averse to taking risks, besides having the ability to topple higher-ranked players is what makes him one of the most exciting players in the world of chess. Adhiban sounded upbeat on his first round encounter against Vietnamese No 2 Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son, saying: “I have a very good feeling about the upcoming match. It will be a great chance for me to become stronger and unleash my hidden potential.”
“Confidence in your ability, fighting spirit, will power and strong resistance are the main qualities required for playing well in the World Cup,’’ pointed out Adhiban when queried about the key factor for performing well in the biennial event. SP Sethuraman, Karthikeyan Murali and Deep Sengupta are the other three Indian players competing in the event.
World champion Magnus Carlsen will be looking to add World Cup title, which is the one thing missing from his CV. It will be quite a challenge even for Carlsen because of the unpredictability of the format and depth of field. Ironically if Carslen triumphs, it will be his first classical title in 2017.
Besides Carlsen, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian and Sergey Karjakin are the other strong contenders for winning the title.
Devil in the detail
Sergei Karjakin won the last edition of the World Cup, defeating Peter Svidler 7-5 in one of the most dramatic finals ever witnessed. The winner and runner-up of the World Cup qualify for 2018 Candidates.
Format
Every round will consist of two games till the players reach the semifinal stage. The finals will consist of four games. In case of a tie, rapid/blitz games will be played to break the deadlock between players.
Indian Pairings (1st round)
Anand vs Tian Li Yeoh, Harikrishna vs Yuri Vidal Gonzalez; Vidit vs Neuris Ramirez Delgado, Adhiban vs Nguyen Ngoc Truong; Sethuraman vs Ponomariov, Karthikeyan vs Vallejo; Deep Sengupta vs Stupak.
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