It will be a battle of generations when five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand defends his title against world No 1 Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship match that starts on Saturday.
Anand will bank on his match experience in the 12-game match to turn the tables on Carlsen. Even though it looks like a tough challenge considering the Norwegian’s stupendous achievements in the last two years, Anand has trained meticulously in the last four months and is raring to go. At 43, Anand will be eyeing his sixth title, while Carlsen at 22, guns for his maiden crown after becoming a challenger following his victory in the Candidates tournament in London.
The Anand-Carlsen match has generated tremendous interest not only in India but throughout the world. Carlsen is the most popular player since Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov and chess experts feel he has the game and charisma to popularise the game and take chess to the next level.
It will also be a battle between the best match player and the best tournament player. Anand has defended his world crown three times in the match format to enhance his reputation as the best match player after Kasparov.
Carlsen has been the most dominating player in tournaments from the time he became world No 1 in 2010. He has won all the big tournaments to achieve the highest-ever rating in the history of chess, breaking Kasparov’s 13-year-old record (2,851 points) in January. He is comfortably placed on top (2,870 points) of the rating list, 69 points ahead of second-placed Levon Aronian and 95 points ahead of Anand.
Anand leads Carlsen in their head-to-head battles with six wins, three losses and 20 draws even though the Norwegian has had favourable results in their recent encounters.
Chennai will join cities like Bonn, Sofia, Buenos Aires and Moscow, which have hosted the World Championship, when the first move is made on Saturday. Carlsen is the slight favourite but Anand’s match credentials cannot be discounted. If Anand gets a good start, retaining the title is not out of the realms of possibility.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will inaugurate the championship here on Thursday.