Vishy Anand to Attend US Metropolitan Chess Inc Instructors' Camp in August
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Current World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has signed up to return to the United States after 17 years for a chess related purpose. He would be at the Metropolitan Chess, Inc. in August 2012 for an instructors' camp. Watch the press release video.
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Chess offers an outlet for pure, real and meaningful thinking, says Viswanathan Anand
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Here's a weekend quote from the world chess champion Viswanathan Anand to spread some chess cheer!
 "Chess offers an outlet for pure, real and meaningful thinking, and the game has a 'Zen' like quality of symmetry, equality and fair play," said Anand. He also said, Sport has the ability to create future leaders and gives vent to the "real and meaningful thinking".
The world champion said progress in education and knowledge are intrinsically linked with the human brain and added that the strategies used in chess can effectively be used to build a sound future. "The strategies from the game of chess can be used effectively and innovatively to create the great leaders tomorrow," Anand insisted while emphasising on 'Building a Beautiful Mind.' You can read the article at this Indian newspaper link.
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World Chess Champion Vishy Anand: Chess is not played nationally in India
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
 Even though India has given the world chess - traditionally believed - chess as a sport has really not gone into mainstream in the country like say in Russia or The Netherlands. The world chess champion Viswanathan Anand agrees that chess is more in the South than North India.
In an interview to FirstPost, Anand says, "Chess is very South-heavy, it doesn’t play nationally".
Maybe, you can add West Bengal and Maharashtra to that. But it’s a very southern sport and it doesn’t play nationally. What is beginning to change is that more people are starting to take it up from various parts of the country, which is heartening. And the second thing is that because we are using the schools network, a lot of kids are able to learn it along with their studies. In fact, we also think that there is a positive co-relation between the two,” said Anand from Chennai.
Anand spoke about the Internet's impact on chess, his own journey and other aspects of chess. You can hear the audio of the interview at this link. Enjoy.
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Prefer titles to ranking, says World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011Hi everyone,World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand is back to rating No. 1. Here is an interesting interview he gave to an Indian newspaper DNA. The world champion says he prefers titles instead of ranking. That's a very interesting comment considering how the current trends in world professional chess go. World chess champion Viswanathan Anand made it back to the top spot of the FIDE rankings with a career best Elo of 2,817 points. He tells DNA that the race has never been so tight.What does it mean to the regain the No 1 ranking?It means that I’m actually playing well. Around October, I was playing well and felt that the world No 1 was within my reach. I am happy with my performances as they have been consistent. More importantly, I have done well in the last four tournaments that I played in.How much does ranking matter to you? Do you prefer titles or rankings?The world title is more specific and a bigger challenge whereas ranking is constant. I would say the ranking is a validation of how consistently I play and a reflection of me playing well. But I will admit being world No 1 is sweet. I’m happy as this is the highest rating points (2,817) that I’ve reached.Who would you rate as your toughest opponents currently?I would say Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian are my biggest competitors at the moment.You have shifted base to Chennai. Any particular reason?I moved back as I wanted to spend more time at home. Earlier, I used to get only a month or so at home but now I get 4-5 months. Majority of my time is spent travelling.You have world titles in all three formats and now you are No 1 again. What more is left to achieve?My next big challenge is definitely the World Championship in 2012. Defending a title is a big challenge. But this year, I want to do well in the tournaments in the second half of the year.How do you keep motivating yourself?Right now, it’s fairly easy as it’s a very tight race for the top spot. Rankings can change with every game. There is the added motivation with people breathing down your neck. Also, there are a lot of new tournaments that have come up. So that’s a new impetus.Do you expect Carlsen to come hard at you?I don’t think it’s a two-horse race. Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik are also very close. The chess world is in a very exciting place right now.When is your next tournament?I’ll be playing a rapid chess tournament in Monaco in March. I haven’t played that format in a while so it should be good. The second half of the year is going to be tight.Are you following the World Cup?I am watching all the India matches and the one with England was very exciting. Strauss played very well.Who is your pick to win?India have a good chance and are one of the favourites. But in the knockouts anything is possible and that is when it gets exciting.From Alexandra Kosteniuk'swww.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog atwww.chessqueen.com Labels: chess blog, world chess champion viswanathan anand
Anand to defend world chess championship title in India?
Chess blog for latest news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
With London withdrawing from the bid to host the 2012 World Chess Championship, it is India that has stepped forward to bid for the event.
According a report in the Indian newspaper, The Times of India, dateline Chennai, it is reported that India would most probably host Viswanathan Anand's world chess title match in 2012. India's decision to join the fray came after London withdrew its bid to host the match last week.
Though the FIDE (world chess federation) had not confirmed the venue because the qualifying matches (Candidates phase) to identify the challenger to Anand were still in progress, the London organizers wanted an agreement to be reached by January 29, 2011.
FIDE had its presidential board meeting in Turkey last weekend which was attended by All India Chess Federation secretary DV Sundar. "The meeting did not discuss any bid in detail," Sundar told TOI. "But we offered to host the match in India," added Sundar, who is also the vice-president of FIDE.
London was projected as the city to host the match since 2009 but the sponsors found it difficult to finalize the deal with FIDE. At the moment, only Anand is the sure candidate for the match and his challenger would emerge from a series of Candidates matches to be held this year. "FIDE can't finalize any venue before the Candidates matches are over in May because the venue should be acceptable to the challenger as well. So the bids would be finalized only in May. Unfortunately, London said they could not wait that long," said Sundar.
You can read this report in full here. Meanwhile, in another report in Deccan Herald, World Champion Viswanathan Anand has said that he would love to play in India!
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Super chess champions on a super speed express
Chess blog for latest news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
Guess what two super chess champions did on a super-speed express? Play chess of course. Reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand played two games against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov on Tuesday. Then the two took on 11 players each in simultaneous matches. The entire event took place on a high-speed Spanish train en route from Madrid to Valencia.
These trains, which run at speeds of up to 300 km/h (186 mph) on dedicated tracks, are called AVE, which stands for Alta Velocidad Española. The name is literally translated from Spanish as "High Speed Spanish", but also a play on the word ave, meaning "bird". Marginally cleverer than the French version, which was christened "Train with the Great Speed" ("Train à Grande Vitesse").
The first game was played in the arrival hall of Madrid's Puerta de Atocha station.
The two then boarded the AVE and travelled to Valencia, playing a simultaneous
exhibition against nine opponents on the train.
At the Joaquin Sorolla station in Valencia each picked a player from the simul for a game they played against each other. The two amateurs, César Estrada and Emilio Cuevas, were allowed to ask their mentors for advice during the game.Then Anand and Karpov played a second game, which also ended in a draw. Anand said that the 95-minute journey from Madrid to Valencia was perfect for a game of chess.
You can find a very nice video interview and the games at this www.chessbase.com report.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: chess blog, world chess champion anatoly karpov, world chess champion viswanathan anand
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