Anand - Carlsen, the Third Week

The big match is over -- all over but the shouting, as they say, and I expect the shouting will continue for some time as the chess world adjusts to a generational shift. Magnus Carlsen's victory over Vishy Anand is the most important title match result since Kramnik beat Kasparov in 2000, which was the most important result since Kasparov beat Karpov in 1985, which was the most important result since Fischer beat Spassky in 1972, and so it goes in the history of the World Chess Championship, one generation supplanting and building on the previous.

My previous report, Anand - Carlsen, the Second Week, left off with the score +2-0=6 in Carlsen's favor, the Norwegian needing 1.5 points to win the match. Since that report, the benchmark Google News search on 'anand carlsen' has shrunk from 'about 82,800 results' to 'about 56,900 results', the first decline since I started tracking it the day before the opening ceremony. As the entire chess world knows by now, Carlsen gained the required 1.5 points in the next two games after that report.

• 2013-11-21: Viswanathan Anand loses, Magnus Carlsen a draw away from title [indianexpress.com; game 9]
• 2013-11-22: Magnus Carlsen dethrones Viswanathan Anand to become new Chess World Champion [dnaindia.com; game 10]

The post-match analysis began immediately. Much of it involved soul-searching from Indian sources. How could one of their favorite sons have been beaten so badly?

• 2013-11-23: World Chess Championship 2013: Defeat in Game 5 Sealed Fate, Says Anand [ibtimes.co.uk]
• 2013-11-24: Garry too early, Carlsen too late [deccanchronicle.com]
• 2013-11-24: Viswanathan Anand's dream is to see chess played in every school in India [ndtv.com]
• 2013-11-24: Gen Y has arrived [mumbaimirror.com]; lists other young GMs
• 2013-11-24: The day Carlsen won World Chess Championship [truthdive.com]
• 2013-11-26: Anand taught me a lot, but now it’s my turn to teach him: Magnus Carlsen [firstpost.com]
• 2013-11-26: The New King of Chess [newyorker.com]
• 2013-11-27: The men who helped Magnus Carlsen beat Anand [firstpost.com]

The closing ceremony, despite the rich rewards not often seen in chess, was almost anti-climactic.

• 2013-11-25: Jayalalithaa honours Magnus Carlsen [morungexpress.com]
• 2013-11-26: In a first, Carlsen gets 22-carat medal [deccanchronicle.com]
• 2013-11-26: Jaya honours world champion Carlsen with Rs 9.9 crore cash award, gold medal [newindianexpress.com]

What happens now? The next championship cycle continues with a Candidates tournament and a World Championship match in 2014. There is some speculation whether Anand will participate in the cycle, but I expect that he will play. His play will be different, because he no longer carries the weight of the title on his shoulders, but he has always been a fighter and the next fight is waiting to be fought.

Carlsen will continue to dazzle for many years. He is young and his personality will continue to evolve. How will he adjust to the even bigger spotlight? This is, after all, a generational shift, and no one can say for sure what it will bring.

Anand - Carlsen, the Second Week

We left off last week's post, Anand - Carlsen, the First Week, with game four just having finished in a thrilling draw. Since then, a Google News search on 'anand carlsen' has swelled from 'about 73,300 results' to 'about 82,800 results'. Let's first look at reports from Indian news sources for the five games played during the past week.

• 2013-11-14: World Chess C’ship: Anand admits he was 'lost' in Game Four [firstpost.com]
• 2013-11-16: Carlsen beats Anand in Game 5 of World Chess Championship [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-17: Magnus Carlsen wins Game 6; leads Viswanathan Anand 4-2 [dnaindia.com]
• 2013-11-18: World Chess: Game 7 between Anand and Carlsen ends in a draw [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-19: Another tame draw as Carlsen retains two points lead against Anand [indiatimes.com; game 8]

With wins for Carlsen in games five and six, it was a great week for the Norwegian grandmaster and a terrible week for Anand. Here are a few background stories that appeared during the week.

• 2013-11-15: Karjakin, Nepomniachtchi may be working with secretive Carlsen [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-16: Anand loses game 6: 'Most rook endings lead to a draw, except when Carlsen plays' [hindustantimes.com]
• 2013-11-18: It's Carlsen's throne for the taking [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-19: From respect to fear [thehindu.com; Ian Rogers]
• 2013-11-19: Is Friedel rooting for Anand or Carlsen? [indiatimes.com]

One of my personal discoveries during the week was the work of Jaideep Unudurti, writing for the Economic Times. I somehow overlooked his work until now and intend to review his previous articles when I find the time. In the meantime, here are two of his articles from this past week.

• 2013-11-17: Despite trying a hand in Russian politics, Garry Kasparov seems to miss chess [indiatimes.com]; also featured in my post Anand - Carlsen, and Kasparov
• 2013-11-18: Viswanathan Anand draws seventh game; Magnus Carlsen remains two points ahead [indiatimes.com]

With four games to go, Carlsen leads 2-0. Will Anand manage to pull off a miracle? With the odds heavily stacked against that, will he manage to win at least one game? As long as I'm covering Indian sources, let's go back a few months to an interview with Anand that was published just after Carlsen won the London Candidates tournament.

• 2013-04-02: 'Carlsen will be ridiculously difficult to play against' [indianexpress.com]

Q: How different will [the Carlsen match] be from your previous WCC matches? • A: Firstly, he is not from my generation. There is a difference in age and outlook. When I played Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand, I read them in a certain way. And even then, I thought that if I end up playing Vlady this time, it would be a different Vlady from the one I played before. He (Carlsen) is from a different generation and Carlsen is also one of the most talented players from any generation. He will be ridiculously difficult to play against, yeah.

Next week's post might well be the last for this match. I hope you're enjoying the show as much as I am.

Anand - Carlsen, the First Week

My previous post, Anand - Carlsen, One Day to Go, was a summary of news stories on *the match*, mainly from Indian news sources. A week later, the 'about 12,700 results' given by a Google News search on 'anand carlsen' has mushroomed to 'about 73,300 results'. Let's make another summary of news from the past week. Here are some pre-match reports.

• 2013-11-06: Rousing reception for Carlsen [thehindu.com]
• 2013-11-06: World No 1 chess star was in Muscat to prepare for face-off with Anand [muscatdaily.com]
• 2013-11-07: Anand to open with black pieces in World Chess Championship [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-08: Viswanathan Anand, Magnus Carlsen share cold vibes [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-08: Anand reveals his seconds but Carlsen plays coy [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-08: Vishy Anand faces tough battle with Magnus Carlsen to keep world title [theguardian.com; Leonard Barden]
• 2013-11-08: It’s Anand’s experience vs Carlsen’s form [thehindu.com]
• 2013-11-09: Anand-Carlsen as seen by cartoonist Jose Diaz [chess.com; some commenters found this offensive]

As I write this, our two heroes have just drawn the fourth game, making four draws in four games, or +0-0=4 in W-L-D parlance. The first two games were short draws that ended in repetition, while the next two had considerable content. Somewhat surprisingly, all four games tipped in Black's favor.

• 2013-11-10: Anand forces short draw against Carlsen in opener [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-10: Viswanathan Anand says ‘midly surprised’ by Magnus Carlsen’s opening moves in Game 2 [livemint.com]
• 2013-11-11: Anand, Carlsen not playing cat and mouse game, say experts [business-standard.com]
• 2013-11-11: Anand vs Carlsen match will revive chess: Kasparov [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-11: Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen: Chess stages biggest game since Fischer vs Spassky [independent.co.uk]
• 2013-11-12: Vishwanathan Anand - Magnus Carlsen duel fires up chess fervour in India [zeenews.india.com]
• 2013-11-12: Anand vs Carlsen: Gauging over, it's time for real battle [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-13: World Chess C’ship Game Three: Anand, with black, gives Carlsen a scare [firstpost.com]

The week's prize for bonehead chess reporting goes to a source I can't remember seeing before. The first story ignores the impact of an Anand victory on a nation of 1.000.000.000+ Indians. The second story needs to review the definition of 'disastrous'. What can you say about a news source whose current top featured article is 'Here's What It Takes To Work At Hooters'?

• 2013-11-05: Garry Kasparov: A Win For Carlsen In The Upcoming World Championship Match Will Be A Huge Win For The Chess World [businessinsider.com]
• 2013-11-10: The Most Anticipated Chess Match In Decades Is Off To A Disastrous Start [businessinsider.com]

Considerably better, and another source I hadn't seen before, was the source I used for game two above.

• 2013-11-07: What Anand match means for brand Carlsen [livemint.com]
• 2013-11-08: Few takers for paid tickets to Anand vs Carlsen match [livemint.com]

Also worth noting is the source for game three above.

• 2013-11-12: Anand vs Carlsen Game 3 Preview: Time to take things up a notch [firstpost.com]
• 2013-11-12: Anand vs Carlsen reminds me of the Spassky-Fischer game: Kasparov [firstpost.com]

Where's game four? It should be in next week's news.

Anand - Carlsen, One Day to Go

The opening ceremony of the long awaited World Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen takes place tomorrow and media interest in chess is at a level not seen since Bobby Fischer died almost six years ago. On my main blog, a post on Anand - Carlsen Openings received more views after a few hours than most posts get over their entire lives.

The previous post on this blog, Anand - Carlsen Resources, offers a good metric in a Google News search on 'anand carlsen', currently showing 'About 12,700 results'. Many of those results are from Indian news sources, what you might expect from a country with a population of over a billion people celebrating a national hero.

It's impossible to keep up with that volume of reporting, but here are a few articles that caught my attention in the week running up to the start of the match.

• 2013-10-29: Who's first among 'seconds'? [dnaindia.com]
• 2013-10-31: It will take more than just home advantage for Vishwanathan Anand to win World championship title clash in India [dnaindia.com]
• 2013-11-02: Anand will need ‘fire in his game’ to beat Carlsen: Polgar [firstpost.com]
• 2013-11-03: Anand, Carlsen opt for no-nonsense zone [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-04: Kasparov to visit Chennai during World Championship tie [thehindu.com]
• 2013-11-04: Hard to rate Anand, Carlsen, says Polgar [newindianexpress.com]
• 2013-11-04: Magnus Carlsen wary of Viswanathan Anand ahead of World Chess Championship [ndtv.com]
• 2013-11-04: Carlsen arrives well prepared for world championship [indiatimes.com]
• 2013-11-05: Garry Kasparov: A Win For Carlsen In The Upcoming World Championship Match Will Be A Huge Win For The Chess World [businessinsider.com]
• 2013-11-06: It all boils down to style [dnaindia.com]
• 2013-11-06: Anand, Carlsen on different planets before Battle Royale [indiatimes.com]

Another article,

• 2013-11-05: Anand is as much a national treasure as Tendulkar [thehindu.com]

caught my eye not only for its many comments, but also for its 'Infographic', embedded below. (Note to myself: find out how to make one of these.)

Will Anand's opening gambit checkmate Carlsen?

In every parade there's someone standing on the side complaining about it, and chess makes a particularly easy target.

• 2013-11-04: The World Chess Championship is an embarrassing anachronism. It’s time to end it forever [slate.com], subtitled, 'No More Kings - Magnus Carlsen is the world’s best chess player, but he shouldn’t be the world champion.'

Why shouldn’t he be the World Champion?

The problem with the title of world champion is that it’s too crude a measurement of chess skill in an era of instantly updated ratings, and you get embarrassing, confusing situations where the player who is clearly the best isn’t labeled as such. Having a world champion makes sense in boxing, where infrequent matches make comparing fighters a tricky proposition. But in chess, as in tennis, the world’s two best players will meet head-to-head as many as four or five times in a year.

Tennis doesn’t have a world champion, and rightly so. That sport measures greatness by elevating four tournaments (the grand slams) above all others and assessing a player’s results there. Peaks and valleys are measured by a ratings algorithm that’s updated from week to week.

The author, who 'blogs about crossword puzzles', can go back to his word games. The rest of us will enjoy the ultimate test of chess skill that transcends 'instantly updated ratings' and the one-off 'head-to-head' meetings that prove nothing beyond who was in better form that day.