23-year-old Magnus Carlsen defeated Viswanathan Anand in the 11th game of the World Chess championship and retained the title which he had won in Chennai last November.
The 12 game Match went Carlsen’s way with a 6.5-4.5 score making the last round redundant. NIIT MindChampion, Anand, may have lost the game but won admiration from everyone for converting the usually dull and dry Berlin defence position into an entertaining and exciting duel.
In fact there were moments in the game, just like in the previous encounters in this Match, when the Indian appeared to be treading the path to victory but Carlsen kept his cool and made precise moves.
The five- time World Champion was grace personified and displayed his class in the post-game press conference by generously praising his opponent. “I played much better, I kept getting interesting positions which was not really happening in Chennai. Magnus had strong nerves. He is obviously very strong and all things taken into account he just played better.”
In fact there was thunderous applause during the press conference when a journalist asked whether Anand would quit Chess and he promptly replied “No”. The instantaneous denial indicated the passion and love Anand had for chess and the applause emphatically showed the love and respect showered on this five-time Champion.
Commenting on the World Chess Championship 2014, Mr. Rajendra Pawar, Chairman, NIIT Limited said “An aggressive game and a strong fight-back by five-time World Champion and NIIT MindChampion Viswanathan Anand augurs well for his victory next time.”
“Meanwhile he continues to inspire millions of young Indians to embrace the game of Chess. Anand is a true legend who has placed India back, prominently, on the world chess map”, added Mr. Pawar.
Yesterday, in fact there were collective groans after Anand opted for the Berlin Defence with the Black pieces against Carlsen, for it conveyed that Anand would be satisfied with a draw. The slow manoeuvring in his territory that the Indian resorted to in the opening did not give a hint of the storm which was to be unleashed later.
With practically all commentating experts describing the position as dull and favouring White, Anand enlivened the proceedings with a spectacular 23rd move. This move threatened opening up of the position on the queen-side, from where Anand’s pieces threatened to infiltrate.
Anand looked very much in control and needing a victory to stay alive in the Match, he tried to take a winning shot by sacrificing his rook for a bishop. This was, perhaps, a bit pre-mature and Carlsen took charge once again after this inaccuracy.
The Match was more closely contested than the final score suggested. It was a very good fight by Anand in his quest to win a sixth title.
The Moves
Carlsen,Magnus (2863) - Anand,Viswanathan (2792) [C67]
World Chess Championship 2014 Sochi (11), 23.11.2014
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Bd7 10.Nc3 h6 11.b3 Kc8 12.Bb2 c5 13.Rad1 b6 14.Rfe1 Be6 15.Nd5 g5 16.c4 Kb7 17.Kh2 a5 18.a4 Ne7 19.g4 Ng6 20.Kg3 Be7 21.Nd2 Rhd8 22.Ne4 Bf8 23.Nef6 b5 24.Bc3 bxa4 25.bxa4 Kc6 26.Kf3 Rdb8 27.Ke4 Rb4 28.Bxb4 cxb4 29.Nh5 Kb7 30.f4 gxf4 31.Nhxf4 Nxf4 32.Nxf4 Bxc4 33.Rd7 Ra6 34.Nd5 Rc6 35.Rxf7 Bc5 36.Rxc7+ Rxc7 37.Nxc7 Kc6 38.Nb5 Bxb5 39.axb5+ Kxb5 40.e6 b3 41.Kd3 Be7 42.h4 a4 43.g5 hxg5 44.hxg5 a3 45.Kc3
1–0
By NIIT TEAM ANAND
TeamAnand@niit.com.
NIIT and Vishy share a deep and enduring relationship, spanning over the last 15 years, making it one of the longest brand associations in the history of Indian sport. Together they have worked relentlessly to empower millions of school children across India by allowing them to apply the strategies and lessons drawn from chess to their academic pursuits through NIIT MindChampions’ Academy (MCA).
In the year 2002, NIIT and Viswanathan Anand jointly established NIIT MindChampions’ Academy (MCA), a not-for-profit initiative to promote Chess in schools to enable development of young minds. MCA has touched over 1.5 million children in over 17,000 schools across India.
Over the years Vishy and NIIT have supported each through good times and bad. As the 2014 world championship rolled out in Russia, wishes for Vishy poured in from chess enthusiasts and supporters across the world. #wish4vishy, a social media campaign that truly captured the imagination of people and drew unstinting emotional support from fans, was especially created by team NIIT who rallied around their Mind Champ, encouraging him at every point.
NIIT salutes his spirit of resilience and perseverance and applauds him for prominently placing India on the world chess map!
No comments:
Post a Comment