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Vishwanathan Anand or Vishy Anand as he is popularly known among the fans is certainly an undisputed champion of chess. Born in Chennai on December 11, 1969, the chess superstar has won several tournaments to become unparalleled in the chess history. The “lightning kid” of Chennai has turned into a living legend.
Anand learnt the first lessons of chess by her mother Susheela at the tender age of six. The whizkid of Chennai came into limelight when he won the the National Sub Junior chess championship at the age of 14 in 1983. Next year, he went ahead to become the youngest Indian to win International Masters title at the age of fifteen. Since then, he has won series of victories adding many titles to his list. He also became the first Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship in 1987. In 1988, he became India’s first grandmaster and was awarded the Padam Shree, one of the highest civilian honour for his excellency in chess. He got this award when he was only eighteen years old.
He played his games with a blitz speed. He won the 629 players World Blitz championship in 2000 and numerous Chess Classic tournaments. He defeated the top ten players in Rapid Chess Championship in 2003.
The meteoric rise of Anand saw him displacing Russian dominance in the game. He won the prestigious tournaments of Reggio Emilia at the age of 21 which brought him ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. However, success eluded him in FIDE World Championship matches and PCA matches whre he was defeated by narrow margins. Anand got his grand victory in 2ooo when he won the FIDE World Chess Championship. He held the title for two years and is also the current champion.
Numerous awards conferred on him has made him more humble. This tall and bespectacled gentleman will continue to inspire millions of chess players around the world and generations to come. He is truly a star. He is a living legend. Wishing good luck to Anand for World Chess Championship 2010.
