Viswanathan Anand remains the throbbing heart of Indian chess. At 52, after inspiring four generations of boardwalk warriors, the emperor remains as vibrant as he was as a teenage prodigy. The passage of time has done little to numb the neural network of highways that seem to make all the connections needed to produce magical moves on the 64 squares of his realm.
In Norway, Anand is asserting his status as an enduring enigma. An ageless wonder with an endearing passion for chess, curiosity, and persistence. As he runs the table in the Norway Chess tournament with a series of significant victories, Anand is writing another glorious chapter by making an emphatic return inside the top ten.
Victories over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Veselin Topalov, and Wang Hao helped Anand into a share of the lead with Magnus Carlsen at 8.5 points. And then came the big kill. Late on Sunday, 5 June, Anand took his collection of points to 10 by trouncing Carlsen in the Armageddon that followed their drawn classical match. The Indian has a slender half point edge over the world champion. Wesley So (8.5), who took a point off Anand on Friday night, is tied in third with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Teimour Radjabov, Aryan Tari, and Anish Giriare are also in the field at the Finansparken in Stavanger.
Into a fourth decade as an elite chess player – Anand broke inside the top ten for the first time in 1991 – he shows no signs of withering. An emphatic return to the top ten underlines the legendary champion's continued hunger for the enervating challenges of top tier chess. In a world of increasingly younger champions, Anand is an antique that remains a priceless piece of chess history. In the same breath, he has done exceptionally well to retain his relevance as a leading contender in the world of millennial chess stars.
Anand’s resurgence to the top tier of chess elite coincides with the poignant emergence of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. The latter is a 16-year-old with infinite possibilities and his rapid evolution as a chess player took a sharp positive turn when he beat Carlsen not once but twice in recent months.
The great Tiger of Madras can identify with the teen prodigy's steep climb, perhaps even rekindle some of his own heroic memories from the 1980s. Anand was also 16 when he became the national chess champion in 1986 and the FIDE World Junior Champion a year later.
It is no mean feat for a classical player like Anand, who grew up consuming reams upon reams of chess theory, to mix it up with a young generation of stars growing up with mind bending digital infrastructure and teaching systems. Anand seems to be extending his reign through a constant process of adaptation and active learning that can put some of the youngsters to shame.
If Anand grew up on a diet of positional chess, Tal attacks and a sparkling thread of dynamism in 20th century chess, the millennials depend on a hyper dose of omniscient digital engines such as AlphaZero, Stockfish and Komodo Chess. Even though Indian historians claim a rich heritage of chess on the sub-continent, it took some wild effort from Anand to help leave an indelible imprint, particularly in India, but also across a constantly evolving landscape of the chess world.
The five-time world champion has been instrumental in placing India firmly on the map. The rich legacy of chess in his wake is a testimony of Anand’s influence over the canvas of the sport in India. Players such as Harikrishna Pentala, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, and thousands of other practitioners owe their aspirations to the great legend. Anand’s ability to remain the highest rated Indian chess player, a full 31 years after his breakthrough into the top ten in 1991, is testament to his discipline, commitment, and willingness to constantly learn.
It is truly remarkable that the 52-year-old can sustain an insanely high level of performance for such a long time. In the lead up to the event in Norway, he was also successful in taming Carlsen in a 49-move blitz game. He has carried that form to the main event at Stavanger. The tournament is a 10-man league which is scheduled to end this Friday. His two-point lead may not be very safe just yet, but on current form, it is fair to expect him to secure a top finish, if not a full victory.
Quiet Invader Breaks Russian Hegemony
Anand achieved some remarkable successes in the final decade of the twentieth century. But he also had to contend with the divisive politics that surrounded chess during his emergence on the world stage. Despite the noise, Anand kept his head down, steering clear of the crossfire between FIDE and PCA (1993-96).
But despite these distractions, Anand remained true to his pursuit. Even though he won the 2000 World Championship in the knockout format, it wasn’t until winning the classical Championship in 2007 that Anand received the full acknowledgment he always deserved.
Anand broke the Russian hegemony, heralding a new era for chess. Since then, the Indian has set himself apart through his steadfast dedication to chess theory and childlike enthusiasm for staying parallel with the evolution of the game. His understated elegance, academic interest and humble demeanour have endeared him in equal measures to the world of chess. Anand is clearly the elder statesman of the game, celebrated around the globe.
At home though, Anand’s relatively low-key profile around Indian sport remains an ironic phenomenon. The densest voices in Indian sport remain vocally invested in cricket and Olympic sports. Not that Anand might even care, but Indian sports will be served better through a deeper appreciation for Anand’s contribution to it.
Since the arrival of Anand on the chess scene, India has achieved great depth of talent. We have four grandmasters inside the top 50 of the ELO Ratings. Even more significantly, India ranks fourth behind the USA, Russia, and China with an average top 10 rating of 2674. Anand is the architect of an increasingly competitive landscape of Indian chess.
His re-entry into the top ten after a 32-month hiatus merits a grand celebration. And reflection too. Indian sport needs to unlearn and relearn how to appreciate this great champion, just as easily as Anand has managed to do with his chess.
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