World Chess Championship 2013: Anand's pre-game novelty

Norwegian chess player Magnus Carlsen (R) and Indian world chess champion Viswanathan Anand answer media representatives questions at a press conference in Chennai on November 7, 2013, ahead of the World Chess Championship.

The World Chess Championship took off in Chennai yesterday with a majestic opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in front of eight thousand chess fans. Chennai which is regarded as the cultural capital of India firmly stuck to its image by putting on a cultural extravaganza. It was a treat for cultural enthusiasts who got to see the auspicious “nadaswaram”, a unique chess dance choreographed by the famous Bharatnatyam dancer Shobhana and the fascinating Norwegian folk dance performed by the “Villniss Dance Company”. You can watch the entire show here.

In the draw of colours, Anand got black which means he’ll be playing with the black pieces in games 1, 3, 5 in the first half and after the color reversal will be black in games 8,10 and 12. I’m unsure if the order of the colours matter, however it could favor Carlsen since he’ll start with White pieces, presenting him with the opportunity to put pressure on Anand right from the word go.

If the players have different strategies for the first and the second half, I feel Anand will play rock solid chess in the first half before he starts taking chances in the second half. But then what would happen if Carlsen takes an early lead? Will Anand change his strategy? All we can do at this point is merely speculate.

The highlight of the day was a novelty by Anand during the pre-match press conference: Anand gave a jolt of sorts to Carlsen when he revealed that Peter Leko, the former Hungarian prodigy who tied Vladimir Kramnik in the 2004 world chess championship final, will be one of his seconds, which made Carlsen raise his eyebrows and grab a glass of water.

But then when Carlsen was asked to reveal his team of seconds he nonchalantly replied that he respects Anand’s openness, but he won’t return the favor. There has been enough rumors to suggest that Garry Kasparov would be offering outside help to Carlsen.

Obviously having a great team of seconds – who can work for you day in and day out – is very vital in a World Championship, but then again its just one of the factors which decides your play over the board. As it stands, Anand’s team has Sandipan Chanda, Krishnan Sasikiran, Peter Leko and Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Anand did give a disclaimer that what he said could just be half truth. Carlsen is yet to reveal his team of seconds and will reveal only after the match is over I guess.

Well, I think fans should stop second-guessing and get ready to witness the match, which in terms of popularity is close to the popularity ratings of Fischer – Spassky match, during the cold war era. As for the official commentators for the event, Susan Polgar has been finalized to spice it up.