Chess news (mainly covering players from India)...

[Bipolar]

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I love chess, but let me just say, as a player, I'm a total beginner.

As someone who is originally from Tamil Nadu, I am deeply proud that Viswanathan Anand held the title of World Chess Champion for six years, from 2007 to 2013. I was disappointed when he lost the match with Magnus Carlsen, but let's duly applaud Carlsen, and let's move forward.

So Anand has been slightly unclear on whether he intends to challenge for the World Champion title again. Here (http://en.chessbase.com/post/anand-will-he-won-t-he-join-the-dance)'s a news article from Chessbase. In an interview with The Times of India on the 21st of December, he commented that he was unlikely to play in the 2014 Candidates tournament (this is the tournament that decides who will challenge the current world champion). However, on the 23rd of December, FIDE announced that Anand was included on the list of players who had qualified for the tournament. Since then, he has given interviews to NDTV and FIRSTPOST, where he has stated that he still has the "hunger" to play for the World Champion title, although it seems he has not yet confirmed whether or not he will actually be playing in the 2014 tournament. Either way, as a fan, I wish Anand all the very best.

We may have a "successor" to Anand - 14-year-old Aravindh Chithambaram of Chennai, performed with a performance rating of 2728 to win the Chennai Grandmaster Open. I do hope this kid will go on to achieve great things in chess!


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[Bipolar]

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Anand in a positive frame of mind ahead of candidates tournament (http://www.newindianexpress.com/thesundaystandard/It’s-Back-to-Square-One/2014/02/16/article2059467.ece).


Best wishes Vishy! We're all behind you!

[Bipolar]

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The 2014 Candidates tournament (http://candidates2014.fide.com) is underway. Three rounds in, and so far so good for Anand (http://en.chessbase.com/post/candidates-rd3-anand-grabs-early-lead-with-2-5-3) - wins against Levon Aronian and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and a draw against Topalov in round 2.

Levon Aronian has been regarded as the favourite to win the tournament, however after the first three rounds, Anand holds the lead. He can win if he continues to play as he has done - clearly in a positive frame of mind. Sunday 16 March is a day off, and there are 11 rounds to go.

Best wishes Vishy!!


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[Bipolar]

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Wow... Anand wins the tournament now...

So he will be playing Magnus Carlsen again in November...

Congratulations Anand!!



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[raagadevan]

When I play chess, I’m solving problems, having fun: Viswanathan Anand

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/when-i-play-chess-im-solving-problems-having-fun-viswanathan-anand/article5872850.ece?homepage=true

[Bipolar]

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Another young player from Tamil Nadu earns the title of Grandmaster! (http://news.aicf.in/2014/08/aravindh-chithambaram-completes-final-gm-norm/) (I know this is an old story by now, but just thought I'd add it to this page).


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[Bipolar]

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26 March 2016:



Indian Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viswanathan_Anand) is currently playing in the Candidates Tournament 2016 (http://moscow2016.fide.com/) in Moscow. The tournament officially opened on the 10th of March 2016, with Round 1 being played on the 11th March 2016.

The winner of this tournament (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidates_Tournament_2016) will play a match (later this year) with the current world champion, 25-year-old GM Magnus Carlsen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnus_Carlsen) of Norway, to compete for the title of World Chess Champion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship).

The 26th of March 2016 is a "rest day".

The last two rounds of the tournament are due to be played tomorrow and the day after (Sunday the 27th, and Monday the 28th, of March 2016).

Anand, who is 46 years old, is currently in third place. The two players ahead of him are 23-year-old American GM Fabiano Caruana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabiano_Caruana) of the United States and 26-year-old Ukranian-born Russian GM Sergey Karjakin (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Karjakin). They both have 7 points each, and Anand currently has 6.5 points. There are two rounds to go.



Anand has certainly shown mental resilience in this tournament. He recovered from setbacks to come back and score wins, beating expectations in impressive fashion. He started with a win (https://youtube.com/watch?v=He1O3Y1zAAQ) against Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veselin_Topalov) in Round 1. He lost (https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fzwk5d59CyA) a game to GM Karjakin in Round 4, then scored a win (https://youtube.com/watch?v=6-TgwEZ01Ls) against Russian GM Peter Svidler (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Svidler) in Round 6, and another win (https://youtube.com/watch?v=gPzHR8I39pE) against Armenian GM Levon Aronian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levon_Aronian) in Round 9. In Round 10, he lost (https://youtube.com/watch?v=CL5gSu40gO4) to GM Caruana, and then scored a win (https://youtube.com/watch?v=4xCQ3mjxMHk) against GM Karjakin in Round 11. He lost (https://youtube.com/watch?v=LoCTs3u2fzs) to American GM Hikaru Nakamura (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Nakamura) in Round 12 (which was played on Friday the 25th of March 2016).

GM Anand will be aiming to win both of his remaining games, to score two more points, as he aims to win the tournament. In Round 13, Anand plays against Russian-born Dutch GM Anish Giri (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anish_Giri), and in the last round, Anand plays GM Svidler.



Here's wishing Anand all the very best for his games!! I'm rooting for Anand to win the tournament!!




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[Bipolar]

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Those of you on Twitter, I hope you will tweet Best Wishes to GM Anand!!

Once again, here's wishing GM Anand all the very best for his games!!

I'm rooting for Anand to win the tournament!!




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[Bipolar]

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Well, GM Anand scored a draw against GM Giri today, whereas GM Caruana and GM Karjakin scored draws in their respective games.

So, GM Anand cannot win the tournament (due to the rules on ties). But he may finish equal first on points, if he scores a win against GM Peter Svidler in the last round.

Hope folks on Twitter will tweet Best Wishes to GM Anand!!



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