The Hindu : Sport : Anand is now undisputed World champion

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Monday, Oct 01, 2007
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Sport

Anand is now undisputed World champion

Special Correspondent

He won four games and drew the rest to stay undefeated in the 14-round competition

— Photo: AFP

THE KING: Viswanathan Anand drew with Hungarian Peter Leko in the final round to win the World chess championship.

NEW DELHI: It took Viswanathan Anand just over half an hour to complete the formalities of putting the finishing touches to his winning campaign in World chess championship in Mexico City on Saturday.

Needing just a draw against Peter Leko to reach an unsurpassable winning tally of nine points, the World’s top ranked player did it without much ado. After just 20 moves, the players agreed to settle for a draw that gave Anand the title and Leko, the fourth spot.

The title was worth $390,000 for Anand who stayed undefeated in the 14-round competition. He won four games and drew the rest to claim the title with a one-point margin.

Undisputed champion

Anand’s first world championship title came in 2000 in Teheran at a time when the chess world faced a rival claim for the “title” from Vladmir Kramnik.

As a result, the Indian ace was not acknowledged as the universal champion of the world. This time, Anand has proved to the world that he is indeed the undisputed world champion.

In November 2000, nearly two months before Anand won against Alexei Shirov of Spain, Kramnik had dislodged Garry Kasparov as the “world champion” by winning their 16-game match, 8.5-6.5 with a game to spare. Kramnik successfully defended his “title” against Leko in 2004 and last year defeated the 2005 champion Veselin Topalov to become the first undisputed champion of the game since 1993.

This time, Kramnik tied for the second spot with Boris Gelfand at eight points. In the final round, Kramnik defeated Levon Aronian while Gelfand drew with Alexander Morozevich.

As per the revised World championship regulations, Kramnik holds a one-time right to challenge Anand for the world crown in 2008.

“It is really funny that just a few hours have passed after I won the title here (in Mexico) and I am being asked about the match against Kramnik,” said Anand when contacted by The Hindu after his triumph.

“Right now I am not looking that far. I will surely deal with it when the time comes. At present, I am almost as happy as I was after winning my first (world) title in 2000.

“This time it’s somewhat special because the field was very strong. It feels nice come through without a defeat in 14 rounds,” said Anand.

The champion performed at the playing strength of 2848 against his own rating of 2792.

As a result, Anand looks set to breach the coveted 2800-mark in rating for the second time in his career when FIDE releases its new list on Monday.

When asked to compare his 2000 triumph with the present one, Anand said, “Both (titles) came off quite smoothly. I was able to focus right through.

“In 2000, I got a scare in the match against Alexander Khalifman and I was virtually eliminated.

“This time, it happened against (Alexander) Grischuk on the penultimate day of the championship. A defeat against Grischuk would have ruined all the plans. Honestly, I was fortunate to salvage that half point,” the champion admitted candidly.

Anand is expected to come to India in mid-October after fulfilling his club commitments in Turkey. The All India Chess Federation is planning a fitting reception for the champion.

The results (14th round):

Viswanathan Anand (9) drew with Peter Leko (Hun, 7); Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 8) bt Levon Aronian (Arm, 6); Alexander Morozevich (Rus, 6) drew with Boris Gelfand (Isr, 8); Peter Svidler (Rus, 6.5) drew with Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 5.5).

Standings: 1. Anand, 2-3. Kramnik and Gelfand, 4. Leko, 5. Svidler, 6-7. Morozevich and Aronian. 8. Grischuk.

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