Anand is World champion

By Arvind Aaron

TEHRAN, DEC. 24. Viswanathan Anand opened a new era in chess history as World chess champion by scoring a hat-trick of victories over Alexei Shirov to win the title by a huge 3.5-0.5 margin. It was the shortest World championship match ever.

Sunday was an eventful day in Asian chess. Anand, 31, the Chennai-born chess professional wrapped up his 25-year old chess career by winning the FIDE World chess title, the only title available for players to compete.

Anand becomes the 16th player to win the World chess title. But Mr Wily Iclicki, the FIDE World championship director announced him as the 15, clearly excluding, Kramnik who recently beat Kasparov in London.

At the stage when Shirov resigned after move 41, Anand was congratulated. He posed for pictures on stage with the Indian flag beside him.

In a press conference after a brief visit to the VIP room, Anand said it was ``dream vome true'' experience to win this event. Anand's victory brings several firsts. First in Asia to win win the world championship. Some say the first vegetarian to do so. Anand replaces Khalifman as FIDE World chess champion.

Game four started amidst great expectations from the 200 odd spectators, majority of them supporting Anand. ``There was clapping each time he won a game,'' Mr P.T.Ummer Koya said.

``We had big expectations in Spain before the match, not much now,'' said Mr. Xavier Ochoa, President of the Spanish Chess Federation. He is here on official capacity and as journalist, not as a member of the Shirov team. ``I am not worried much, most of the grandmasters here are Spanish and Anand who lives in Spain these days is half Spanish,'' he said. Anand's four member team consists of two GM seconds, Pablo San Segundo and Elizbar Ubilavabesides the couple. Anand's wife said when they arrived both Anand and Ubilava fell sick. Later, she fell sick. Help came from the Indian Embassy in Tehran for they are supplying Indian food for Anand and his team. ``It makes us feel nice,'' she said.

The Indian Ambassador attended the opening ceremony, his wife was watching game four today and most of the staff are here to watch Anand with plenty of hope.

The Secretary of the Chinese Chess Association said he was expecting an Anand victory and aws glad that both men's and women's events could have Asian winners. Anand opened with the king pawn and Shirov responded with the French defence, an opening he already tried against Anand earlier this year at Monte Carlo and an Frankfurt.

In game two, Shirov played the Ruy Lopez, Arkhangelsk variation and lost. In this variation of the French defence, Shirov tried an aggressive twelfth move, an improvement over the Sakaev- Bareev, Elista 1998 game where black had tried 12...Qd8. Shirov's knight sacrifice on move 15 looked desparate and he was never close to equality.

Play was uncertain, but Anand played with the same accuracy which has left him undefeated winner in the month old competition.

Shirov's 19th move worsened his position and from that point Anand was firmly in the drivers seat poised to win. That was the decisive mistake of the game. Shirov's two pawns was short of compensation. After Anand forced black to exchange queens on move 24 the result was clear.

GM San Segundo said the piece sacrifice is Shirov style, not the most accurate one. Ubilava said he noticed Anand's reaction from the first row and he did not seemed surprised by it. Shirov's match situation and style demands such play.

Anand won the second piece and Shirov was painfully trying a loser's battle and resigned early in the fourth hour of play. Anand won in 41 moves.

There was loud applauding and noise as soon as the game was over. Anand won with two games to spare. He will get the lion's share of the one million dollar prize fund in the closing ceremony scheduled for December 27. Anand is scheduled to leave for Delhi on December 28 via Dubai and reach India on December 29.

Anand fills his resume

Speaking an an exclusive chat to The Hindu, Anand, the new champion said he did not realise what he had done and it would take a few days to realise his achievement. ``It hasn't fully hit me completely. Actually I am a bit shocked.'' Aruna (his wife) also said the same thing. ``We feel it should be in one or two more days.'' About scoring the hat-trick of victories he said, ``I somehow saw each of them as a separate encounter. I did not realise that it was my third win in a row. Obviously it is fantastic. I was bored of people saying ah this was missing in your resume. I am somehow happy to have it finished. It was very nice to win such a strong event.''

About his feeling he said this victory was missing out in his resume and he was very happy to get it when it was held in New Delhi and Iran. It just worked out well.

It was over in Game Two for Shirov

Losing finalist, Alexei Shirov, told The Hindu everything happened in game two. ``In such a short match when you are more or less equal to your opponent if you lose in such a stupid way it is difficult to recover and fightback and win the match.''

Especially since Anand was in such a good form and he showed no weaknesses in Delhi. If I made the draw in one move (game two) it would still be one-one, let's say, it will still be open. After losing that it was hard to recover. Today I got an interesting position with black for a while I thought I am still fighting.``

Anand's 50-year old trainer Elizbar Ubilava said according to him Shirov was overconfident and paid for it by losing. He said Anand played brilliantly and deserved to win by this margin. Ubilava ridiculed Shirov's approach to the finals as if he would win it.

Statement by AICF Secretary Mr. P.T.Ummer Koya: The victory of Vishy Anand is only a beginning of a new era in Indian chess. This being the golden jubilee of AICF, millions and millions of chess followers in India, the birth place of chess, keenly watch out a great explosion in the new millennium. Thus for AICF, which has now fulfilled its task of making an Indian world champion, the time has now come to march ahead and produce new champions in the world sports arena.

The moves: GM V.Anand-GM A.Shirov, match game four, French defence, C11: Anand, V - Shirov,A C110 World Championship,Tehran(04) 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.f4 Nc6 7.c3 Qb6 8.Nf3 f6 9.a3 Be7 10.h4 0-0 11.Rh3 a5 12.b3 Qc7 13.Neg1 a4 14.b4 fxe5 15.fxe5 Ndxe5 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5+ 18.Qe2 Bxh4+ 19.Kd1 Qf6 20.Nf3 Qxc3 21.Bb2 Qb3+ 22.Kc1 e5 23.Rxh4 Bf5 24.Qd1 e4 25.Qxb3 axb3 26.Nd2 e3 27.Nf3 Rae8 28.Kd1 c4 29.Be2 Be4 30.Kc1 Re6 31.Bc3 Rg6 32.Rh2 Bd3 33.Bxd3 cxd3 34.Kb2 d2 35.Kxb3 Rg3 36.Kb2 g5 37.Kc2 Rc8 38.Kd3 g4 39.Be5 Rc1 40.Rh1 Rxg2 41.Nh4 1-0.

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