Today, Vishwanathan Anand won the 12th and final game of the match against Bulgarian Topalov, to retain the crown. This was an incredible match and deserved the dramatic finish it had today.
It didn't start that well for Anand. He first had trouble reaching the venue in Sophia, Bulgaria as the volcano eruption in Iceland had stopped all the flights. Then he lost the very first game due to a blunder. He bounced back immediately by winning the next game and equalizing the match. That was followed by very high level complicated chess by both the players - undoubtedly the 2 best players in the world today.
The match was tied before today's game. Anand won it as black. Today, he was definitely helped by Topalov, who committed a crucial blunder. But it wasn't all easy after that and Anand had to play precisely.
Overall, both players played terrific chess. The result is fair, as Anand definitely played better both technically and psychologically. His match strategy was generally better than his opponent. Even today, he avoided a draw in an equal position and kept on playing, applying pressure. This battle of nerves was over just 10 moves later, when Topalov self destructed himself. Then a desperate attempt to save the game simply did not work against the calm genius of Anand.
It's been 20 years since Anand has been at the top of the chess world. It's a phenomenal achievement. In the first half, he was second only to the greatest player in the history of chess - Kasparov. After Kasparov peaked and retired, Anand has been the overall best player. Kramnik and Topalov have had their peaks, but Anand's the only one to have the continuity.
The revolution he has caused in Indian chess is no less remarkable. He did it on his own, without any help from Indian Government, against the mighty coordinated schools of Soviet and Eastern European players, in spite of the dirty politics at the top of the chess world. And still, he is the same humble player with easy manners – which has won him fans all over the chess playing world. Just because of the inspiration provided by him, India now has a growing base of talented chess players. This game does not require strong physique and ton of money, like most other sports. It's all in the brain, of which there is no shortage in India. So one day, it's quite possible that India becomes the dominant country in chess. If that happens, Anand deserves the lion's share of the credit.
If you want to play over the games of this match, you can do so at http://www.chessbase.com.
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It didn't start that well for Anand. He first had trouble reaching the venue in Sophia, Bulgaria as the volcano eruption in Iceland had stopped all the flights. Then he lost the very first game due to a blunder. He bounced back immediately by winning the next game and equalizing the match. That was followed by very high level complicated chess by both the players - undoubtedly the 2 best players in the world today.
The match was tied before today's game. Anand won it as black. Today, he was definitely helped by Topalov, who committed a crucial blunder. But it wasn't all easy after that and Anand had to play precisely.
Overall, both players played terrific chess. The result is fair, as Anand definitely played better both technically and psychologically. His match strategy was generally better than his opponent. Even today, he avoided a draw in an equal position and kept on playing, applying pressure. This battle of nerves was over just 10 moves later, when Topalov self destructed himself. Then a desperate attempt to save the game simply did not work against the calm genius of Anand.
It's been 20 years since Anand has been at the top of the chess world. It's a phenomenal achievement. In the first half, he was second only to the greatest player in the history of chess - Kasparov. After Kasparov peaked and retired, Anand has been the overall best player. Kramnik and Topalov have had their peaks, but Anand's the only one to have the continuity.
The revolution he has caused in Indian chess is no less remarkable. He did it on his own, without any help from Indian Government, against the mighty coordinated schools of Soviet and Eastern European players, in spite of the dirty politics at the top of the chess world. And still, he is the same humble player with easy manners – which has won him fans all over the chess playing world. Just because of the inspiration provided by him, India now has a growing base of talented chess players. This game does not require strong physique and ton of money, like most other sports. It's all in the brain, of which there is no shortage in India. So one day, it's quite possible that India becomes the dominant country in chess. If that happens, Anand deserves the lion's share of the credit.
If you want to play over the games of this match, you can do so at http://www.chessbase.com.
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