Ace chess master Viswanathan Anand turns 52 today
2 min read
Dr Raghu Ram Achar
Mysuru: Viswanathan Anand, fondly called as Vishy Anand in the International chess circuit is definitely and undoubtedly a great chess player. We, Indians would have come across one or the other question related to him in a current affairs quiz.
Yes, He is the first Indian grandmaster and went on to become the five-time World Chess Champion (Chess vishwanatha). Vishy became the fourth player in history to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list, after Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, and Garry Kasparov. He has very aptly been awarded the second, third, and fourth highest Indian civilian awards, the Padmavibhushan, the Padmabhushan, and the Padmashri respectively.
Is that it? Born on 11th December 1969, becoming Grandmaster at the age of 18, he has been the greatest representative of Chess not just at the Indian level but globally. The present top GMs adore, admire him and consider him as a legend and also a God of Chess. The present-day World Champion, Magnus Carlsen won the title from Vishy in the year 2013. Though there was a buzz about his retirement, the rightly nicknamed Lighting Kid won the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in 2017 at the age of 48 to shut the critics.
GM Hikaru Nakamura in recent times has pointed some valid points about the humble Vishy Anand being the great representative of the game and bringing a revolutionary change in bringing more than 60 GMs from India after him. Not just that, he has passed on a wonderful legacy about Chess through to the youngsters who have now been admired globally. He is presently ranked 16 in the chess world.
Following his footsteps are the other top-rated GMs viz., Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Harikrishna Pentala, Adhiban Bhaskaran, Koneru Humpy. With the right mentorship of Vishy Anand, the chess prodigies like Nihal Sarin, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Aryan Chopra, Gukesh D get their necessary final polish to play at the top level.
This article was written in sheer admiration to Vishwanathan Anand on his 52nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Sir!!
( The writer is Chess fan and amateurish chess player)
Mysooru News
