World Chess Championship: Viswanathan Anand's shot at all-time greatness
Viswanathan Anand will take on Magnus Carlsen for the world title.
It is not Viswanathan Anand's age that one should look at. It is his tenacity and ability to move with the times that is of greater significance.
He has straddled between generations and successfully at that.
He, and probably Boris Gelfand, is the last from an era that has been ruled by the Russian chess school. But Gelfand was part of it and Anand outside of it.
Yet Anand stuck it out. He saw the Russians, learnt from them, suffered at their hands and finally beat them at their game and at their home. That's why his 43 years of age mean little.
Tiger Woods has 14 Majors. Roger Federer has 17 Slams. Our own Sachin Tendulkar has 100 centuries and will soon have 200 Tests. Each one of them could have called it a day way back, and still be assured of a place in the history books. They all have countless tournament wins and numerous landmarks, just like Anand. Great sportsmen love a challenge. The harder it seems, the more luring it becomes.
After having won five World titles in far-off lands - though a part of the 2000 title came in India - the next big hurdle for Anand could be the one at home. Not because the fans expect so much from him, but also because the world feels the 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen is ready to dethrone the Master.
When the pundits say history beckons Carlsen - he could become one of the youngest ever to become a World Champion, they forget that this is also Anand's shot at all-time greatness.
Anand is now the world's most experienced Matchplay player. In the recent years, preparation for a World Championships is almost a pattern for Anand.
The reason could be he is seeing and looking out for any new ideas that may be on the way or what people are playing. After all every player is influenced by what his peers are doing.
Then he works on his fitness - something he seldom did in his early years. Many say a 43-year-old Anand is fitter than 25-year-old or 30-year-old Anand. Yes, Anand has been there, done it and done it well, too. He emerged as a flagbearer of the non-Soviet group in the early 1990s, particularly at Reggio Emilia in 1991-92, where in the field of 10, he was the only non- Russian speaking player and it included Kasparov and Karpov.
Anand, just 21, won what was then the world's strongest event ever.
Over the next decade he paid his dues. He suffered in a chess world, which was pro-Russian to an extent that it was almost partisan.
Rules were turned and twisted and interpreted in a way that helped the powers that be - and it was always the Russians.
Anand maintained a stoic silence. He focused on the board and did what he was best at - playing chess. He played and lost to Karpov in 1991, played and lost to Kasparov at his peak in 1995, and then again played and lost to Karpov in 1998. He had paid his dues.
Then followed his successes: in 2000 and after a hiatus in a striferidden chess, they came again in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Only after he won the 2000 World Championships in the 128-player format that Anand finally established himself. Never mind the snide remarks about the quality of field, etc. Over the next decade, Anand won titles in every format - in the world championships and elsewhere. He won classical and blitz tournaments; he won World titles in different formats.
Meanwhile, Carlsen has been the world No. 1 for last four years, since the age at 19. Yet, the biggest chink in Carlsen's armour could be that he has never really played a serious match, save the one against Levon Aronian in 2007 at the Candidates qualifiers. He was only 16 then and lost the match.
The only other major exposure to matchplay has been when he helped Anand in 2010 - against Veselin Topalov - surely both knew that they could be up against each other one day.
He has straddled between generations and successfully at that.
He, and probably Boris Gelfand, is the last from an era that has been ruled by the Russian chess school. But Gelfand was part of it and Anand outside of it.
Yet Anand stuck it out. He saw the Russians, learnt from them, suffered at their hands and finally beat them at their game and at their home. That's why his 43 years of age mean little.
Tiger Woods has 14 Majors. Roger Federer has 17 Slams. Our own Sachin Tendulkar has 100 centuries and will soon have 200 Tests. Each one of them could have called it a day way back, and still be assured of a place in the history books. They all have countless tournament wins and numerous landmarks, just like Anand. Great sportsmen love a challenge. The harder it seems, the more luring it becomes.
After having won five World titles in far-off lands - though a part of the 2000 title came in India - the next big hurdle for Anand could be the one at home. Not because the fans expect so much from him, but also because the world feels the 22-year-old Magnus Carlsen is ready to dethrone the Master.
When the pundits say history beckons Carlsen - he could become one of the youngest ever to become a World Champion, they forget that this is also Anand's shot at all-time greatness.
Anand is now the world's most experienced Matchplay player. In the recent years, preparation for a World Championships is almost a pattern for Anand.
The reason could be he is seeing and looking out for any new ideas that may be on the way or what people are playing. After all every player is influenced by what his peers are doing.
Then he works on his fitness - something he seldom did in his early years. Many say a 43-year-old Anand is fitter than 25-year-old or 30-year-old Anand. Yes, Anand has been there, done it and done it well, too. He emerged as a flagbearer of the non-Soviet group in the early 1990s, particularly at Reggio Emilia in 1991-92, where in the field of 10, he was the only non- Russian speaking player and it included Kasparov and Karpov.
Anand, just 21, won what was then the world's strongest event ever.
Over the next decade he paid his dues. He suffered in a chess world, which was pro-Russian to an extent that it was almost partisan.
Rules were turned and twisted and interpreted in a way that helped the powers that be - and it was always the Russians.
Anand maintained a stoic silence. He focused on the board and did what he was best at - playing chess. He played and lost to Karpov in 1991, played and lost to Kasparov at his peak in 1995, and then again played and lost to Karpov in 1998. He had paid his dues.
Then followed his successes: in 2000 and after a hiatus in a striferidden chess, they came again in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Only after he won the 2000 World Championships in the 128-player format that Anand finally established himself. Never mind the snide remarks about the quality of field, etc. Over the next decade, Anand won titles in every format - in the world championships and elsewhere. He won classical and blitz tournaments; he won World titles in different formats.
Meanwhile, Carlsen has been the world No. 1 for last four years, since the age at 19. Yet, the biggest chink in Carlsen's armour could be that he has never really played a serious match, save the one against Levon Aronian in 2007 at the Candidates qualifiers. He was only 16 then and lost the match.
The only other major exposure to matchplay has been when he helped Anand in 2010 - against Veselin Topalov - surely both knew that they could be up against each other one day.
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