NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

Number two, and still waiting...

If the world's second ranked player comes in third, it raises a few eyebrows. Such are the expectations of those who follow top-level chess.

The super-tournament at Linares, Spain, is no ordinary chess tournament. It is touted as the 'Wimbledon of Chess,' a billing that is easy to justify. Only the best of the best are invited. (This year's version is believed to be the third highest rated tournament ever.)

Usually the top ten players of the world show up, with an exception or two. This year, Shirov and Karpov were the missing ones.

And yet, it was still an awesome field. Eight of the world's very best players. Each player meets everyone else -- twice. Once with White pieces, and once with Black. It doesn't get any fairer than this. 14 gruelling rounds, in 18 days.

Anand drew ten, won three and lost one game. Let's first gush over his three wins, each coming with its own story.

After starting with 5 draws in the first 5 rounds, Anand was like a pressure cooker ready to burst. In the 6th game, he exploded, and Peter Svidler's Grunfeld Defence was the victim. A sweet victory, capped off with a mate by castling! You don't see that very often.

This was followed with 3 more draws, well fought ones at that, and then Anand faced the champ, Garry Kasparov. Their earlier meeting (in Round 4) had been a draw. Anand lost this encounter, his first loss of the year -- more on that anon.

Anand bounced back the very next day with an amazing win over the Bulgarian GM Topalov. True chess followers should check out the Bishop sacrifices he made in course of that game. This was Anand's second win in the tournament.

By this round, it was becoming clear that Kasparov was winning the tournament. And the Russian GM, Vladmir Kramnik, was in second place. Kramnik almost never loses. He doesn't win that often, but his avoidance of losses helps his score considerably.

In the very last round, Anand needed a win to tie for second place, provided also that Kramnik drew. And luckily for Anand, he faced Adams, a player Anand seems to find relatively easy to beat. Both the win and Kramnik's draw occured, and Anand had secured his second place.

Even though this is a round-up of Anand's performance at Linares, it would be criminal not to mention Kasparov's. The spectacular level of Kasparov's play leaves all adjectives looking inadequate.

As Black, he beat up five super-GMs who played "e4" as the first move. A bust to e4! Will chess be the same if you couldn't play "Pawn King Four" to start?

There is a scene in the movie Gandhi that is difficult to watch. Demonstrators step up, get beaten by the British police and fall down bloodied. Likewise, every GM bravely started with 'e4' and the champ beat them to a pulp. Beautiful chess.

On one occasion, Bobby Fischer, in his exuberance, wrote an article titled "A Bust to King's Indian Defense (KID)" in ChessLife. KID is very much alive today. Hopefully, today's computers will churn out ways to counter Kasparov's treatment of '1. e4'.

Anand started with '1. e4' too. Actually, he even had a draw, according to some observers. Finding himself in time-trouble faced with Kasparov's home preparation, Anand committed a blunder very late in the game, and literally threw the draw away.

Some feel that he chokes up when playing Kasparov. Will another Kasparov-Anand World Championship be a foregone conclusion? Who's to say? Anand supporters quote Fishcher-Spassky as a counter-example. Before the Championship match, Fischer had never won against Spassky. But, hysterics aside, he won the '72 Championship rather comfortably.

It is very likely that someday soon, Anand will make his third challenge for the World Championship crown. An entire nation will be watching ...and hoping that third time's the charm.