Anand, Carlsen Sign Up for Most Exciting Chess Event of 2012 - London Chess Classic from Dec 1

Photo © Ray Morris-Hill

Is the London Chess Classic going to be the most exciting chess event of 2012? World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen have both confirmed their entry for the fantastic event already.

World Champion 1st to sign-up for London Chess Classic
Fresh from yet another successful title defence, World Champion Viswanathan Anand, of India, became the first player to sign-up to play in the 4th London Chess Classic, at Kensington Olympia, 1-10 December, 2012. It is no secret that London is one of Anand’s favourite cities, and this will be his third successive appearance in the tournament.

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July Chess Ratings: Magnus Carlsen at Record 2837; Anand Slips to 5th Place for Winning World Chess Championship!

World's Highest Rated Chess Player
Norway's Magnus Carlsen

Fide has released the July chess ratings which have World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen on a runaway lead with a record rating of 2837. The highest ever rating record is held by legendary 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov of an 'Everest elo' worth 2851!

The list of top players is published at dedicated page of FIDE ratings website. All players can check new ratings at the main page of FIDE ratings website or download TXT version from downloads page.

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World Chess Champion Vishy Anand's Lecture Video in Madrid for Accenture plc

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand recently presented a lecture at Accenture plc - the world's largest multinational management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. The 12the conference of the company was titled Return on Analytics. It was held  in Madrid. Anand spoke about 'Analysis to anticipate the future and make the best decisions' with ideas about pattern recognition, decision making, the role of computers and the strategies used in World Championship matches. The lecture was recorded in high quality and posted on YouTube. It is in English and about 45 minutes long. Hear the first part of the lecture to know why the World Chess Champion couldn't remember the date of his marriage anniversary!

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Kings Chess Postponement: World Chess Champ Vishy Anand Disappointed

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has said he is disappointed about the postponement of the first major chess tournament he was to play after retaining his World Chess Title last month in Moscow. The Kings Chess tournament to be held in Medias, Romania, from June 23-July 4 has been postponed. 

World Chess Champ Endorses Realty Brand
Anand was speaking in Chennai at a special function where he was made the brand ambassador of TVH, one of the major players in realty market in Southern India. Talking about his association with TVH as its brand ambassador, Anand said, "I have been a TVH customer for seven years. That was a positive experience. And a month or two ago they approached me and I was happy to accept their offer. 

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No Retirement, Out to Win More: Vishy Anand

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has said he has no plans to retire, but is motivated to win more chess tournaments. Fifth-time World Chess Champion was speaking at a felicitation function organised by sponsors NIIT, in Chennai, on Sunday

Anand said his morale was on a high after defeating a "complicated" opponent like Boris Gelfand in Moscow recently. "There are definitely no thoughts of retirement. In fact quite the opposite. (Winning a fifth world title) has been a huge boost to my morale. As long as I enjoy, I don't see any reason to retire."

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World Chess Championship 2013 - Who Will Challenge Vishy? Will Chennai be the Venue?

Boris Gelfand-Viswanathan Anand Photo:
Official World Chess Championship 2012 Website.

World Chess Championship 2012 in Moscow generated enough excitement that chess lovers already want to know details of the next world chess championship! For now, the latest update is that the World Chess Championship 2013 could be held by Fide in October-November 2013.

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Super Chess Radio Show The Full English Breakfast Episode 22

Give it to the British for fine humour and surreal chess... Now, you can add a must-listen chess radio show as well to the list. 

Folks, if you are not listening to the Full English Breakfast, there's something seriously wrong with your chess diet! Episode number 22 speaks about how to check draws in world chess championship matches, Hikaru Nakamura interview soundbites from the US Chess Championship, and Viswanathan Anand press conference from the World Chess Championship 2012! Use the flash player below to hear the show, or head to The Full English Breakfast website. You can watch a previous B&W post for the full video interview with Hikaru Nakamura conducted by Jennifer Shahade.
   

   
   
Podcast Powered By Podbean
   

Don't go to sleep tonight without listening to The Full English Breakfast Chess Radio Show number 22.

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Tiebreak Chess Game 2 Anand-Gelfand played Kasparov Style

Efim Geller - Chess before
computer prep!

Legendary World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov has been following chess keenly even after his retirement from the sport. In an interesting comment on the recently-concluded Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship 2012, Kasparov referred to his own game played in 1979 against Efim Geller in the Russian National Chess Championship. You can read about Gary Kasparov's comments on the recently-concluded World Chess Match at Crestbook. But, before you surf away, here are both the games: the second Anand-Gelfand tiebreak and the Geller-Kasparov chess game from 1979. You can replay the games in our flash chess game player. (Note by blog admin: Post-mortem of chess games played is a done thing in the chess world and not a criticism of the players themselves.)


Efim Geller-Gary Kasparov, 1979, 1/2-1/2

Viswanathan Anand-Boris Gelfand, 
World Chess Match Tiebreak Game 2, 1-0


Isn't chess amazing... like bridging time and universes, like navigating through dimensions... and returning to oneself over and over again, to the same moments mirroring back to us, on the chess board and in life? 

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Irritated Viswanathan Anand Spikes Critics (Kasparov Comments Links Updated)

World Chess Champion 2012 Viswanathan Anand, who has just won his fifth world title, hit out at chess great Gary Kasparov and other critics for suggesting that he lacked motivation.

"I think that this is the first time I have played a match where so many people seemed to have negative opinion about my play. And the thing is I do not think I lacked motivation," Anand said about his clash with Israel's Boris Gelfand, whom he beat in Moscow on Wednesday to win his fifth world title. The 42-year-old Anand told a news channel in an interview from Moscow that Kasparov "keeps talking about my age" but Gelfand was slightly older at 44.

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Anand wins World Chess Championship Title Fourth Time in a Row!

Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand on Wednesday retained his World Chess Championships title - his fifth one and fourth in a row - against Israel's Boris Gelfand in closely-fought rapid tiebreak. Anand was a picture of complete calm as he went on to beat Gelfand 2.5-1.5. Earlier, the two grandmasters had tied in the classical time-control games with a score of 6-6.

The first game of the tiebreaker ended in a draw in 33 moves before Anand beat Gelfand in the second game in 77 moves. The two of the remaining four-game rapid chess tiebreaker ended in a draw as Anand successfully defended his title.

This was 42-year-old Anand’s fifth World Championships title and fourth crown in a row. The Indian chess wizard bagged his first world title in 2000 before winning three in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He has been the world champion since 2007.

Anand wins approximately USD 1.4 million —— 55 per cent of the total prize fund of USD 2.55 million —— while Gelfand will get the remaining amount. The Indian ace won the 2007 crown in a tournament format among eight players. In 2008 and 2010, he beat Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria respectively after the format changed to championship match between the defending champion and a challenger.

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Anand, Gelfand Game 11 in 2012 World Chess Match - Vishy Surprises Gelfand With 8. ... Bd7

The chess move surprise that Boris Gelfand had prepared for Viswanathan Anand in Game 10 got a reply in the form of another surprise chess move from the reigning world chess champion in Game 11. Anand chose the Nimzo-Indian Defence for Black (like in Game 9) and left his opponent thinking very, very long after 8…Bd7. 

 Photos: Official Website

Eventually, of course, the Queens were traded and though Boris Gelfand held the advantage of two bishops, the “hanging pawns” in the centre came under fire from enemy rooks. On the twentieth move, the Indian grandmaster launched tactical operations in the centre, preventing his opponent from stabilising the situation and strengthening his advantage. Running out of time to think, Gelfand decided to simplify things after which their positions were completely equalised. On the 24th move, the opponents agreed to a draw. 

The guests of honour on May 26 were the famous Russian musicians, pianist Nikolai Lugansky and cellist Alexander Knyazev. Former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik delivered a lecture to children and parents and also took numerous questions from the young audience. The world's second highest rated chess grandmaster Levon Aronian also visited the venue briefly.

Following Game 11, the score is even at 5.5-5.5. Sunday, May 27, is an off-day at the match. Game 12 - the final one with classical time control - will be held on Monday, May 28. Viswanathan Anand will play White. If the score is still even after this game, the world champion will be determined by a tiebreak (in games with accelerated time control) on Wednesday, May 30. As always, you can watch the excellent live broadcast of Game 12 of the 2012 World Chess Championship at the official website.

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Game 11 Moves - Anand's Easy Draw versus Gelfand at 2012 World Chess Championship

2012 Anand, Gelfand World Chess Championship Game 11 in Moscow: Saturday chess did not have the fireworks expected. Reigning world chess champion India's Viswanathan Anand has settled into his rhythm and obtained an easy draw against Israel's Boris Gelfand in the game. The Game 12 - the final in the series of classical control chess games in the current world chess match - would be played on Monday and would be available live through the fantastic official website feed from India time 4.15 pm. Meanwhile, here are the Game 11 moves in our Chess King applet.

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Crucial Game 11 Live Today - 2012 Anand, Gelfand World Chess Championship (Betting odds Updated)

The crucial Game 11 is on today! Tune in to the live webcast from the 2012 Anand, Gelfand World Chess Championship via the official website at about India time 4.15 pm. Only two games in classical time control are left in the main match. If the score remains tied after Monday's game, a tiebreak would be played on Wednesday. There is a rest day on Sunday tomorrow.

 Game 10 underway on Thursday. Photos: Official Website.

Vladimir Potkin, Vladimir Below, 

and Anatoly Karpov gave a simul to talented children

Expectations from Game 11 at World Chess Championship 2012

• Israel's Boris Gelfand, the challenger would use his White to the best advantage. The risk is great. Gelfand has been on the offensive and he would like to decide matters for once and all.
• India's Vishy Anand has regained his rhythm. He has immense patience which he displayed in Game 9 by building an unbreakable fortress and letting Gelfand hammer at iron falls with no use.
• Most people think it is to Vishy's advantage if the match goes into tiebreak. However, Gelfand has come this far by getting through a series of tiebreaks against some of the current top players in the world. We think, the tiebreak could be an advantage for Boris Gelfand. Though, a tiebreak in a match like this is almost a lottery.
• A win by either player today could decide the match. 
• Betting odds: Bookies predict 79% chances of draw in Gelfand-Anand Game 11, 11% chances of a Gelfand win with White and 10% chances of an Anand win with Black. European betting information odds improved for Gelfand to 85%. Another update - Bookie odds were revised to a 50% for draw in the tenth game at Game 10 Move 22. ...Be8

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World Chess 2012 Game 10 - I Thought I Had Endgame Hope, says Anand

The World Chess Championship 2012 is down to the last two games between Israel's Boris Gelfand and India's Viswanathan Anand. The two remaining chess games - before the tiebreak (if required) on Wednesday - would be broadcast live at the official website on Saturday and Monday from 4.15 pm India time. Sunday is a rest day. The score stands tied at 5-5 as of now.

Meanwhile, during the press conference after Game 10, it became known that the challenger had offered a draw on move 21, but the world champion decided to continue the game, believing that he still had winning chances after 14.Nbd2. Yet the game ended in a draw a few moves later. 

Commenting on the game, Viswanathan Anand noted that 5…e5 seemed very interesting. “My knight settled on e3. In the endgame, I had some hopes; I thought that it was probably not huge, but White could have some pressure because of Black’s weak pawns on the c-file. I think 19…Bc4 was a good move. The problem with 19…f5 is that I can play 20.Ng3 and, after Bb4, there is the in-between move 21.Nf5, basically much better for White. If Black makes any other waiting move, then I can double the rooks and play Bc1-Bf4, which should be in my favour. Maybe 17.Ba3 is already a slightly wrong plan, but in the event of 17.a3 with the idea of b4, I thought Black could play 17…Nd5 and Nb6 somewhere.” 
  

Boris Gelfand also commented on the game, in particular 5…e5: “It’s always pleasant to apply a novelty on move 5. It doesn’t happen every day. People talk about novelties on move 20, 25, or even frighten you with novelties on move 40… I liked the series of moves after the capture on e5, where Black attacks the knight four times in a row. Black should play precisely, but I think the position holds, which I actually demonstrated.”

Answering the question as to whether the players wanted to determine the outcome of the match in additional time (similar to football), Anand said he didn’t think about a tie-break but played each game individually, making decisions depending on the position on the board. Gelfand said that any comparisons with football were not quite relevant here: “No one is stalling for time here. In football, the players may be tired in the 120th minute, but this doesn’t mean that any team wouldn’t be glad to win in the regular time.”

Asked whether the players analysed the games after they were over, the world champion answered that, of course, he was curious about what had happened but he didn’t spend too much time on analysis because he had to get ready for the next games. “I decided to postpone the analysis until after the match, when I’ll take a close look at my games,” said the challenger.

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Anand-Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship - Replay Game 10 Moves

Game 10 Result: 1/2-1/2
Match Score Anand-Gelfand: 5-5 


All credit to Israel's Boris Gelfand the challenger - for holding down India's reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand in the tenth game today at the 2012 World Chess Championship. If Vishy had prepared a surprise by going 1.e4 and went for a Rossolimo Sicilian (3.Bb5), then Gelfand returned the favour by playing5....e5. There are only two games left now and then a tiebreak would be played on Wednesday (if required). If the score remains tied at 6-6 by Sunday, a rapid/blitz tiebreak will be played on Wednesday. Do tune in to the official website of the tournament on Saturday for Game 11 live broadcast (India time 4.15 pm). Boris Gelfand will have his last White on Saturday.

Today Edvard Radzinsky, the famous writer, historian and TV presenter, was the honorary guest of the match. The press conference was dedicated to the “Chess and Terror” theme. Radzinsky spoke about the unique chess set titled “Reformers Against Revolutioners”, which was created in commemoration of the tragic events of the second half of the XIX century, when tsar Alexander II was murdered by members of the People’s Freedom movement. Radzinsly dwelled not only on the chess set, which was a genuine masterpiece, but also on the controversial era in Russian history, when the government of Alexander II implemented radical reforms in the country’s economic and political system.

Three simuls were played in the chess courtyard. The 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov, the Champion of Europe 2011 Vladimir Potkin and Grandmaster Vladimir Belov played against children.


Meanwhile, you can view the 2012 Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship Game 10 moves in our Chess King applet.

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2012 Anand, Gelfand World Chess Match Game 9 Moves - Gelfand Tries Hard Against Anand Fortress!

Result Gelfand-Anand Game 9: 1/2-1/2
Match Score: 4.5-4.5 (Photo: Official Website)

Israel's Boris Gelfand - the challenger to world chess champion India's Vishy Anand - continued to press with White all the way to 49 moves in Game 9 of the 2012 World Chess Championship, but had to settle for a draw eventually. The Nimzo-Indian opening was played for the first time in the 2012 World Chess Championship match today. Gelfand had a slight edge with the pair of bishops and hanging central pawns and even went for a continuation that left him with a Queen against Anand's Rook and Knight with four and five pawns each. However, Anand was precise and stayed put with his fortress. The score in Moscow is now 4.5-4.5. 
Game 10 will be played on Thursday and broadcast live on the official website as usual. Friday would be a rest day. If the score remains 6-6, a rapid/blitz tiebreak will decide the champion on Wednesday next week. You can replay the Game 9 moves in our Chess King applet.

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Why Israel's Boris Gelfand could win Game 9 - Watch Live Today (Поэтому Борис Гельфанд мог выиграть сегодня)

All polls say India's Vishy Anand is the favourite to win the 2012 World Chess Championship against Israel's Boris Gelfand. BUT - the question is - could challenger Boris Gelfand hold his own and really make a big upset against all odds? Here are five reasons why this could be a possibility in today's Game 9 at the Anand, Gelfand 2012 World Chess Championship expected to be an exciting one:

1-Boris Gelfand plays White in Game 9 and he has that statistical/theoretical/rhetorical advantage

2-Viswanathan Anand is Gelfand-beatable (We saw that in Game 8!)

3-Gelfand's fear of a loss is gone!!! He knows the whiff of victory. Not as impossible as everyone said.

4-Gelfand's wife Maya has sent a message of 'He can!'

5-Gelfand's victory over Anand in Game 8 was more to do with his hold over the game as compared to Anand's victory in Game 9 that was more to do with Gelfand's blunder.

B&W wishes both the players and all chess players a great Anand, Gelfand Game 9 at the 2012 World Chess Championship 2012 today available live at the official website.

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Anand, Gelfand Game 9 Live Today! Gelfand confesses he adopted risky line in Game 8

The Anand, Gelfand 2012 Game 9 Live would be available at the World Chess Championship official website within a few hours. Russian Champion Peter Svidler would be in the commentary room today. The Game 9 moves would be available here at B&W website right after the game. Meanwhile, in the press conference after Game 8, Israel's Boris Gelfand confessed that he had adopted a risky line in the game. 

Israel's Boris Gelfand and India's Viswanathan Anand at Game 8 press conference. Photo: Fide.
During the press conference, which took place immediately after the game, Boris Gelfand confessed that he simply failed to spot white's 17. Qf2. After playing 14...Qf6, he could only see 17. Qf4, after which white would have to play either 18. Bd3 or 18. Bh3. The Israeli grandmaster also considered the possibility of offering a losing exchange after a potential 15. Kc2 Nf4 16. Ne4 continuation. An interesting position appeared after 16... Re4 17. fe. “I played a risky variation and thought it would turn out okay, but I didn't anticipate White's last move. It's difficult to say where I could have played better. I think that, if this variation fails, then the whole concept is wrong. Of course, I could have just played Knight to g7 or f6 on the 14th move instead of Qf6, but then Black's position would have been worse after 15. h4.”

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Gelfand Can Win 2012 World Chess Title, Says Wife Maya

Boris Gelfand, Maya, Avner,
Avital Photo:7kanal.com

World chess title challenger Boris Gelfand's wife, Maya, says she is confident about her husband's skills. "I disregard other people's opinions. I know he can win."
She said that she does not consider the competition a pleasant experience, but as "hard work." 

Maya was speaking in Jerusalem to YNet news service about Israel's Boris Gelfand who is the challenger in the Viswanthan Anand-Boris Gelfand World Chess Championship Match 2012. "Boris is focused, he's very tense, he's gathering all his strength," she told Ynet. "He has no time for excitement, it's time to work."

Israel's Boris Gelfand had won Game 7 of the world chess match, but Viswanathan Anand won back Game 8 to level the score at 4-4. You can find all the game moves and the complete schedule of the 2012 world chess championship with links in the sidebar on the right.

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Anand's 'Sweet 17' Date with Gelfand at World Chess Championship 2012; Game 8 Moves

One game at a time, and one move at a time was all reigning world chess champion India's Viswanathan Anand needed on Monday at the 2012 World Chess Championship against challenger Israel's Boris Gelfand. Gelfand was possibly all nerves as he blundered away is Queen. It was a trifle unfortunate for the Israel grandmaster who has been in super form lately. But then, chess is a cruel game. Tuesday, May 22, is a rest day. The match is alive and it's still way to go. Game 9 of the championship match will resume on Wednesday, May 23, and you can stay tuned at the official website for the live broadcast of the game. Gelfand will play White in the ninth chess game of the match. We hope to see you back at the B&W Chess Mag website for our fun posts on the Anand, Gelfand World Chess Championship 2012 Match. You can check the Game 8 moves in our Chess King applet.

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