Viswanathan Anand
Born in Chennai on December 11th 1969, Viswanathan Anand began his training in chess at the age of six from his mother Susheela. She gave him his first lessons in chess. His father Viswanathan after whose name Anand is fondly called as Vishy is a railway executive. Destiny crowned him with success at the tender age of fourteen when he won the National Sub Juniors Championship in 1983. Since then a string of victory ensued with him winning many more titles. The 'Lightining Kid was conferred on him for his speedy play.
In 1987 he became the First Asian to win the World Junior Championship. He also earned the coveted Grandmaster title. He carved a special place on the chessboard by winning the strongest tournament at that time, The "Reggio Emilia" in Italy in 1991 ahead of Kasparov & Karpov.
He has been a World Championship challenger in the PCA(New York 1995) & FIDE(1997 Lausanne) cycles. He has the distinction of winning the Strongest knock out tournament in recent chess history in Groningen in December 1997.
Entry To World Chess Championships
In 1988, Viswanathan Anand became the first Grandmaster of India, by winning the International Chess tournament held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. This achievement won him one of India's most prestigious civilian awards - the Padma Shri. The following decade proved to be the golden period for Anand. It was at this time, when he registered continuous wins at coveted tournaments. He entered the World Chess Championship competitions in 1993 and rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the World Chess, including Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.
Personal Life
A graduate in Commerce, Viswanathan Anand is fond of reading, swimming and listening to music. He is married to Aruna, with whom he is living in Collado Mediano, Spain.
Notable Wins
* 1986: Arab-Asian International Chess Championship
* 1987: Sakthi Finance Grandmasters Chess Tournament
* 1988: 5 Hoogovens Chess Tournament
* 1989: 2nd Asian Active Chess Championship, Hong Kong
* 1990: Gold Medal in Asian Zonal Championship
* 1990: Manchester Chess Festival, Manchester
* 1990: Triveni Super Grandmasters Tournament, Delhi Joint
* 1991: World Chess Championship, Brussels Quarter Finalist
* 1992: Reggio Emilia Chess Tournament, Reggio Emilia
* 1992: Goodrich Open International Tournament, Calcutta
* 1992: Alekhine Memorial, Moscow
* 1993: PCA Interzonal, Groningen
* 1994: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco
* 1994: World Championship Candidates Cycle, Linares
* 1994: PCA Grand Prix, Moscow
* 1995: PCA Candidates Final, Las Palmas
* 1996: Dortmunder Schachtage, Dortmund
* 1996: Credit Swiss Rapid Chess Grand Prix, Geneva
* 1996: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
* 1997: Torneo de Ajedrex, Dos Hermanes
* 1997: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco
* 1997: Aegon Man vs Computers Chess Event
* 1997: Chess Classic Rapid Tournament, Frankfurt
* 1997: Invesbanka Chess tournament, Belgrade
* 1997: Credit Suisse Classic Tournament, Biel
* 1997: Knock-Out Championship, Groningen
* 1998: FIDE World Chess Championship (Finalist)
* 1998: 60th Hoogoven's Schaak Tornoi, Wijk Aan Zee
* 1998: Torneo International De Ajedrez, Linares
* 1998: Torneo Magitral Communidad De Madrid, Madrid
* 1998: Siemens Nixdorf Duell (Rapid), Frankfurt
* 1998: Fontys-Tilburg International Chess Tournament
* 1999: Wydra Memorial Chess (Rapid), Haifa
* 1999: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
* 2000: Wydra International Tournament (Rapid), Haifa
* 2000: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
* 2000: Fujitsu Siemens Giants Chess (Rapid), Frankfurt
* 2000: Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica
* 2000: Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Dortmund (Joint with Kramnik)
* 2000: FIDE World Cup, Shenyeng
* 2000: FIDE World Chess Championships, Teheran and New Delhi
* 2001: 2nd Torneo Magistral, Mexico
* 2001: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
* 2001: Duel of the Champions (Rapid)
* 2001: FIDE World Chess Championship, Moscow (Semi Finalist)
* 2001: Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica
* 2002: Eurotel World Chess Trophy, Prague
* 2002: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
* 2002: FIDE World Cup, Hyderabad
* 2002: Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica
* 2003: Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk Aan Zee
* 2003: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco
* 2003: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz beat Judith Polgar 5.0:3.0
* 2003: Corsica Masters, Bastia
* 2004: Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk Aan Zee
* 2004: Dortmunder Schachtage, Dortmund
* 2004: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz beat Alexei Shirov 4.5:2.5
* 2004: Corsica Masters, Bastia
* 2005: 18th Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess, Leon
* 2005: Chess Classic, Mainz
* 2005: FIDE World Chess Championship Tournament, San Luis (Runner-up to Topalov)
* 2006: Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk Aan Zee (Joint with Veselin Topalov)
* 2006: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco (Joint with Alexander Morozevich)
* 2006: 19th Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess, Leon
* 2006: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
* 2006: Mikhail Tal Memorial Blitz Tournament, Moscow
* 2007: Morelia-Linares Super Grandmaster Tournament, Linares
* 2007: 20th Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess, Leon beat Topalov
* 2007: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
* 2008: Morelia-Linares Super Grandmaster Tournament, Linares
* 2008: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
* 2010 : FIDE World Chess Champion
Awards
* 1985: Arjuna award for Outstanding Indian Sportsman in Chess
* 1987: Padma Shri, National Citizens Award and Soviet Land Nehru Award
* 1991-1992: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
* 1998: British Chess Federation 'Book of the Year' Award for his book 'My Best Games of Chess'
* 2000: Padma Bhushan
* 2001: Jameo de Oro the highest honor given by the Government of Lanzarote in Spain
* 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008: Chess Oscar
* 1998: Sportstar Millennium Award
* 2007: Padma Vibhushan
Achievements:
* Became India's first Grandmaster in 1988
* Became the first Indian to win the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000
* Won , the Chess Oscar many times
* World Chess Champion in 2007 and 2008
World Chess Champion 2010
Prior to the World Chess Championship 2010, Anand, who had booked on the flight Frankfurt-Sofia on April 16, was stranded due to the cancellation of all flights following the volcano ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull. Anand asked for a three day postponement, which the Bulgarian organisers refused on April 19. Anand eventually reached Sofia on April 20, after an exhausting 40-hour road journey. Consequently, the first game was delayed by one day.
The match consisted of 12 games. After 11 games the score was tied at 5½-5½. Anand won game 12 on the Black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined to win the match and retain the World Championship. In game 12, after Topalov's dubious 31st and 32nd moves, Anand was able to achieve a strong attack against Topalov's relatively exposed king. Topalov subsequently resigned.
