CHENNAI : Viswanathan Anand’s stirring comebacks from forgettable performances is what makes him a great player. The Indian surprised himself — when he made amends for his below-par show in the rapid — winning the Tata Steel India Chess Blitz title with a scintillating show. The icing on the cake was that coming on Indian turf in Kolkata. Last year he had achieved a similar feat when he won the World Rapid crown ahead of Magnus Carlsen in Riyadh after his disastrous outing at the London Chess Classic.
There was no inkling of what was in store when Anand ended the first day of blitz with five points, 1.5 points adrift of leader Hikaru Nakamura. The five-time world champion started the second day on a positive note, winning his first two games against Wesley So and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
After a draw against Sergey Karjakin in the 12th round, he reeled off three more wins against his compatriots Surya Shekhar Ganguly, Vidit Gujrathi and R Praggnanandhaa to stay in the hunt. He was playing like the Anand of old, playing intuitively, making quick decisions and avoiding blunders. After a crucial victory over Pentala Harikrishna in the penultimate round, Anand went into the final round sharing the top spot with Nakamura.
After Anand split points with Levon Aronian in the 18th round, Praggnanandhaa did Anand a favour by holding on to a draw against Nakamura, resulting in a playoff.Anand, who had lost the Armageddon playoff to Nakamura in the title clash in Zurich (2015), reversed the result this time in style. He won the first tie-break game by creating a passer in the rook and pawn endgame. In a tension-filled second game, he kept his cool to force a draw to seal the title. It was a fairytale ending for Anand, who went winless in nine rapid games. Importantly, it brought joy to the spectators who have thronged the venue on all the five days.
In his last nine rounds, Anand had scored 7.5 points, besides having the best performance rating in the tournament (2864). His 62.4 rating gain propelled him to World No 4 on the live blitz rating (2848.4).
“Anand’s win was very unexpected after his poor form in rapid. Time and again he has shown his greatness. He can never be written off. Absolutely brilliant,’’ was how India GM Sundararajan Kidambi summed up Anand’s victory in Kolkata.
Hari makes a mark
Pentala Harikrishna’s joint second-place finish along with Aronian (5.5/9) in the rapid was the other bright spot for India. He scored victories over higher-ranked players like Mamedyarov and Aronian to make it a memorable event. “Hari did really well to finish joint second. He showed real class while competing against the elite,” lauded Kidambi on Harikrishna’s performance.
Youngsters’ day out
Nihal Sarin and Praggnanandhaa, India’s best juniors, had their moment in the sun despite facing world-class opposition. Nihal gave a good account of himself, drawing against Anand, Mamedyarov and Karjakin in the rapid. Similarly, Praggnanandhaa posted victories over Karjakin and Ganguly, besides twice holding Nakamura to draws in the blitz.