Garry Kasparov coming to India

Garry Kasparov, considered the greatest chess players ever, will be visiting India soon. The former world champion, who retired in 2005, after spending nearly 20 years at the helm of the world chess, will be in New Delhi in mid-March. It will be his first ever visit to India.

Kasparov, 45, will be in the capital to deliver a keynote address for a Delhi-based media organisation. The exact nature of the address is not yet known but his recent activities have been more political than sporting. A staunch critic of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Kasparov — after his retirement — had launched a political movement against Putin’s authority and has often used words like mafia when he talked about the Russian Government. He had also unsuccessfully tried to contest in 2008 elections.

The Russian is likely to take part in a simultaneous chess exhibition. As of now, he is expected to spend two days in New Delhi. However, his other programmes in India are being kept under the wraps. “I’m looking forward to the visit,” Kasparov told DNA through his agent.

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in April 1963, Kasparov had scaled to an unthinkable Elo rating of 1851 at the peak of his career. He had become the youngest ever world champion in 1985 at the age of 22. He went on retain the official title till 1993 when he split the world chess and formed his own Professional Chess Association. But in an interview to DNA last year, he admitted that splitting the world chess was his biggest blunder.

The world chess finally got united after Indian Grandmaster Viwanathan Anand won the United world title in Mexico in 2007. Kasparov was, in fact, among the first few to congratulate Anand after the Indian maestro beat Vladimir Kramnik in the Bonn World Championship recently.

Wins come too late for India

The Indian men and women’s team registered identical 3-1 victories over Czech Republic and Slovenia respectively, in the 10th and penultimate round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad here today.

The women’s team, with 14 points, improved to seventh while the men’s team move to joint ninth position. Swati Ghate and Mary Ann Gomes won their respective matches after D Harika and Tania Sachdev played out draws on the top boards.

In the men’s section, Surya Shekhar Ganguly and GN Gopal came good in the last two boards while Krishnan Sasikiran and P Harikrishna were held on the top boards.

Meanwhile, there was another twist at the top of the men’s section with Ukraine defeating overnight leaders Israel 2.5-1.5 to emerge as joint leader with Armenia on 17 points. With just one more round to go, Israel and China are now joint third on 16 points while there’s a four-way tie for the fifth spot that includes Russia.

Upsets continued to rule the women’s event and Poland emerged new sole leader on 17 points after a clinical 2.5-1.5 victory over Armenia.

The fancied Chinese went down to Georgia 1.5-2.5 in a close contest.

The Indian men’s team faced a resolute opponents in Czech Republic. Sasikiran was forced to a draw by Navara David on the top board with black pieces. On the second table, Zbynek Hracek held Harikrishna who played white and it was left to Ganguly and Gopal to deliver the goods on the lower boards. Ganguly accounted for the young GM Viktor Laznicka while Gopal proved too good for Jiri Stocek.

The women’s team too faced initial challenge after Harika was held by Anna Muzychuk and Tania could do little against Jana Krivec in the second board. However, on the lower boards it was a different story as Swati defeated Ana Srebrnic who played white and Mary Ann used her white pieces to excellent effect and outwitted Ksenija Novak.

Saina, Bindra fired me up, says Viswanathan Anand

World champion Viswanathan Anand on Friday said the series of successes by various Indian sportspersons had motivated him in defending his title against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia.

“I am really happy to see so much sporting success for India this year. Apart from cricket, I followed Abhinav Bindra and Saina Nehwal’s triumphs. In fact, that gave me a little bit of extra motivation to win again,” Anand said on his return to Chennai.

Anand arrived in Chennai to a tumultuous welcome in the wee hours of Friday and was greeted by a horde of fans and quote-hungry reporters.

This is his first visit home after retaining his title, his return to the country being delayed by illness. He will be taking a couple of months off and will play his next tournament in February.

Anand, who looked tired, was received by his mother Sushila at the airport.

The large crowd that turned up overwhelmed him. “The reception and the enthusiasm of the fans is fantastic. I hope none of you gets killed in the melee,” he said.

The 38-year-old said he was proud of the thumping he gave former world champion Kramnik in the 12-game match — a format that is supposed to be the Russian’s forte.

“A three-point lead is unheard of, especially against a player like Kramnik,” he said, and admitted that his “opening preparations played a big part”.

“Games 3 and 5 were not only important wins but were also beautiful wins,” said Anand, referring to his three-point lead in Bonn last month.

Anand said he was also proud of his consistency and that he managed to peak at the right time because of which he reached the pinnacle of the game.

“I am pretty proud of my consistency. I have been in the top-three (in the world) from 1996... I also managed to peak in the right years which is very important,” he said.

Anand said he had not reached a cul de sac as far as the game was concerned. “I am still learning a lot about chess. I am enthusiastic about it and (still) motivated to play,” he told a news channel.

Asked about his legacy, Anand said, “I am happy and proud that I have contributed in making India a potential powerhouse in chess”.

Anand is the lone Grandmaster to win world titles in three formats — he won the 128-player knockout format in Teheran in 2000, the tournament format in Mexico in 2007 and the traditional match-play format last month.

Women rise as men fall

On a mixed day for India at the 32nd Chess Olympiad, the women’s team defeated Bulgaria to move up to joint third but the men’s team slipped to tied 10th following their loss to France in the seventh round. Tania Sachdev and Mary Ann Gomes helped India women to a 2.5-1.5 victory over Bulgaria.

The Indian men went down 1.5-2.5 to France after Grandmaster P. Harikrishna succumbed to young Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

On the top board, GM Krishnan Sasikiran played out a draw with Etienne Bacrot while on the third and fourth tables Surya Sekhar Ganguly and G.N. Gopal carved out similar results against Laurent Fressinet and Vladislav Tkachiev.

Viswanathan Anand returns home to tumultuous welcome

Hordes of enthusiastic fans and a quote-hungry media jostling for a byte greeted world champion Viswanathan Anand on his arrival here in the early hours on Friday.

Anand, making his first visit to his home city after becoming the undisputed world chess champion, was received by a huge crowd that included schoolchildren and Tamil Nadu State Chess Association officials.

As soon as he came out of the airport with wife Aruna after midnight, there was jostling among the crowd to have a glimpse of the world champion.

Anand looked tired but relieved as his mother Sushila Viswanathan welcomed him. He also appeared surprised by the large crowd that had turned up to greet him, saying, "The reception and enthusiasm of the fans is fantastic.”

“I hope none of you gets killed in the melee,” he quipped before he was whisked away home in a car with a siren blaring.

The waiting media personnel could not get more than that from the world champion, who is the lone Grand Master to win the world chess title in all three formats of the game.

After winning the 128-player knockout format at Tehran in 2000, Anand won the tournament format in Mexico in 2007 before winning the traditional match-play format in Bonn last month.

Indian eves crush Germany; men beaten

Asian champion Tania Sachdev continued her superb form to beat Ketino Kachiani-Gersinka, while Mary Ann Gomes accounted for Sarah Hoolt to help the Indian women's team beat Germany '1' 3-1 in the fourth round of the 32nd Chess Olympiad here.

However, the Indian men lost narrowly to top seed Russia in the open section after P Harikrishna's heroic efforts that netted him a victory over Peter Svidler went in vain.

The 1.5-2.5 loss at the hands of the best team in the Olympiad saw the Indians slip to joint 10th spot on six points out of a possible eight while Russia maintained a clean slate.

The lead is now shared by Russia and Germany '1' on eight points each and there are seven teams following them with 7 points in their kitty. The Indian men will meet Austria in the next round.

In the women's section, China outclassed Armenia by a huge 3.5-0.5 margin to share the lead with Polish ladies who downed Serbia 2.5-1.5.

With two teams on 8 points, the Indian women are now joint third on seven points and share it with Russia, Georgia and Hungary whom they meet in the next outing here.

It all summed up well for the Indian eves as Tania came up with another fine performance on the second board to beat Ketino, a former Georgian who now plays for Germany.

Playing black, Tania employed a setup akin to the Benoni and was duly rewarded when Ketino went for insipid play in the ensuing middle game.

Declaring her intentions to fight for a bloody battle, Tania marched her king side pawns early to gain control and Ketino's counter-play did not materilise. The game lasted 41 moves.

Viswanathan Anand started the revolution

Did you know India has produced 17 champions who have brought home the world chess titles, from all levels, a whopping 28 times?

In 2008 alone, seven world titles have come India’s way. Clearly, the revolution started by Viswanathan Anand in 1987 is churning out world champions like in no other sport. In Does Anand believe that he triggered off a revolution? “I really don’t know,” says Anand as he pauses to deal with a direct question and continues, “Perhaps, I did things that many did not expect at that time. Now looking back, it does appear like the starting point. But you don’t notice it when you are in the middle of a revolution. It is much later that you realise what has followed.”

Former USSR championship runner-up Grandmaster Artur Yusupov, who has played several Candidate matches through the 1990s, firmly believes “India will continue to grow stronger. With Anand winning the world title, the number of champions coming out of the country will grow.”

Anand has no doubt about the future of Indian chess. “What a fantastic year we’ve had so far! We have the two world junior champions (Abhijeet Gupta and D. Harika) and a few more from the youth sections. It’s just brilliant. The number is sure to grow.”

However, unlike the erstwhile Soviet Union, the Indians are not products of a time-tested system. They are champions in spite of a system that does not encourage chess. Talented children from all parts of the country work on their own with very little support-structure to fall back on. At least at the age-group level, the cash incentive scheme of the Sports Ministry has played a huge role in keeping these children in the game.

Slowing down


Lack of corporate sponsorship and the staid approach of the All India Chess Federation have combined to slow down the progress. When Anand won the title last year, he was of the view that the time was ripe to attract India’s corporate to chess. But the situation has remained unchanged in the past 12 months.

India’s world chess champions since 1987: Viswanathan Anand (World champion, December 2000, 2007, 2008 and World junior champion, 1987).

P. Hari Krishna (World u-10 champion, 1996 and World junior champion 2004); K. Humpy (World girls’ u-10 champion, 1997; World girls’ u-12, 1998; World girls’ u-14, 2000; World junior champion, 2001); Aarthie Ramaswamy (World u-18 champion, 1999).

Deep Sengupta (World u-12 champion, 2000); D. Harika (World girls’ u-14 champion, 2004, World girls’ u-18 champion, 2006 and World junior girls’ champion, 2008); N. Srinath (World u-12 champion, 2005); Sahaj Grover (World u-10 champion, 2005).

Girish A. Koushik (World u-8 champion, 2006); Ivana Furtado (World girls’ u-8 champion, 2006 and 2007); Ch. Mohineesh (World u-10 champion, 2006); Ch Sahajasri (World u-10 champion, 2006).

Abhijeet Gupta (World junior champion, 2008); Sayantan Das (World u-12 champion, 2008); Vidit Gujarathi (World u-14 champion, 2008); Padmini Rout (World girls’ u-14 champion 2008); B. Adhiban (World u-16 champion, 2008).

Anand's parents overwhelmed by congratulatory messages

As the whole nation celebrated Viswanathan Anand's feat of retaining the world chess title, his parents were overwhelmed by congratulatory m
essages from visitors pouring into their home in the city.

"It is a moment of joy for all of us. Our relatives in great number were at home and as usual we watched the game online," Viswanathan and Susheela said at their house while talking about the exploits of their son.

"Soon after last night's press conference in Bonn was over, Anand called me and said 'Amma .... finaly it is over. I shall talk to you leisurely tomorrow'," Susheela said.

She was so engrossed in her son's game that she took her dinner well into the wee hours of today.

"I had my dinner only at 3.00 am in the early hours on Thursday," she said.

"It is a unique victory. Anand has showed his excellent ways of gaining control with solid play with black pieces. This reflects on his maturity, particularly from the period from 1995 till now. From 1995, Anand's graph has gone up in the same way as what Gary Kasparov was doing in his days," Viswanathan said.

"We watched each and every game of Anand on-line. We liked the fifth and ninth game the most amongst the eleven games. The manner in which Anand raised his game for a deserving win in the fifth was a reflection of his natural instincts. He is such a professional player," Viswanathan said.

"Of late, Anand has shown greater felicity in playing with black pieces as was seen in this eleven-game championship. This also will help Anand to maintain his rhythm in the coming tournaments," he added.

On the ninth game which he drew with Kramnik, Anand's parents said, "It was too difficult a situation. At one stage, we felt that he had a chance to win but it was a difficult decision to resign from the game. But we admire his qualities to have maintained the advantage. On such decisions to agree for a draw, we subscribe to his views."

Divulging that even Anand kept them in dark about his selection of seconds to assist him, Viswanathana and Susheela said, "He kept his selection very secretive. He never divulged to us the names. But, we feel that the rumour floated in the world chess circles that Anand has signed up with Magnus Carlson (rated number five in the world now) was a good one as it might have put pressure on Kramnik."

"We are happy that he has retained the title, which is a difficult proposition and it is a strong point in Anand's career," they said.

Asked to compare an Olympic gold medal with that of World Chess Championship title, considering that the game is not part of the Olympics, Susheela said, "I do not know and I do not want to compare in that way. But Anand is a unique person. To me, he is the best in the world not only in sports world but also as a person."

CM congratulates Anand for winning World title

Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday congratulated Viswanathan Anand for winning his third World Chess Championship title in
Germany.

An official release quoted the chief minister as saying that Anand has brought laurels to India and Tamil Nadu, his native state, and recalled the two earlier instances in Iran in 2000 and Mexico in 2007 where he had won the titles.

President, Speaker congratulate Anand

President Pratibha Devsingh Patil on Thursday congratulated Visawanathan Anand for winning the World Chess Championship title in Bonn, Ger
many.

In her message, Patil said she is "delighted to learn about the victory and that Anand's consistent performance throughout his long and successful career is testimony to his hard work and dedication towards the challenging game of chess."

The President also wished Anand more success in the future. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee also congratulated Anand for his feat at the World meet.

Advani congratulates Anand for World Chess title

Leader of the Opposition LK Adivani on Wednesday congratulated Viswanathan Anand for winning the World Chess Championship yet again.


"Viswanathan Anand has made the country proud once again by winning the world championship. I congratulate him on this achievement," Advani said.

"Anand is an icon of the country and nothing less then the excellence and talent of the young generation personified", he said. The BJP's prime ministerial candidate wished good luck for Anand's future career and said that he is an inspiration for the countrymen and the young people in particular.

Advani said that three times world championship winner inspires the youth to excel in whatever they do and be a world champion.

Viswanathan Anand retained the world title with a 24-move draw against Russian Vladimir Kramnik in the penultimate game of the 12-game World Chess Championship final in Bonn, Germany on Wednesday.

The Indian, playing with white pieces, took an unbeatable 6.5-4.5 lead to retain the title.

Anand: The 'Lord of the Rings'

World Champion Viswanathan Anand was born on December 11, 1969 in Chennai. His father Vishwanathan is a retired general manager, Southern Railways.

'Vishy' as he is called by friends, developed the love for playing chess due to the constant inspiration of his mother Susheela, who taught him the game when Anand was six-years of age.

Anand pursued his schooling from Don Bosco school and finished graduation in B Com from Loyola College in Chennai. Jawaharlal Technology University conferred him the Honorary Doctorate degree at the age of 18.

The World Chess Champion started playing tennis in his childhood. And thanks to his dislike for the coaching camps in his school, Vishy left tennis and started playing chess. Anand also likes reading, swimming and listening to music.

Anand married Aruna in 1996. Both Anand and Aruna are fluent in Spanish; Anand also speaks German and French. In the early years of their marriage, Aruna called Anand 'Lord of the Rings' because he kept losing his wedding ring.

Gary Kasparov hails Anand's triumph

Former world champion Gary Kasparov of Russia on Thursday hailed Viswanathan Anand's triumph over Russian Vladimir Kramnik to retain the W
orld Championship title in Bonn, Germany, saying it would not be easy for the younger generation to push the Indian aside.

"A great result for Anand and for chess. Vishy deserved the win in every way and I'm very happy for him. It will not be easy for the younger generation to push him aside," Kasparov said.

The former great said while Anand played consistently, Kramnik showed decline in strength and had some work to do.

"It was a very well-played match by Vishy. Except for the loss of concentration in the 10th game he played consistently and managed to enforce his style. This result ends the illusion that Kramnik is a great match player," he was quoted as saying by Chessbase.

Analyzing the performances of the two players, Kasparov, who lost to Kramnik in 2000 in London, said Anand was well prepared to counter his opponent who appeared "overly defensive".

"Anand out-prepared Kramnik completely. In this way it reminded me of my match with Kramnik in London 2000. Like I was then, Kramnik may have been very well prepared for this match, but we never saw it. I didn't expect the Berlin and ended up fighting on Kramnik's preferred terrain," he said.

"(In this match) Kramnik did not expect tough, sharp challenges with white, and this was the key for Anand. He kicked some sand in Kramnik's face and hit his weakness, his conservative approach to the game itself. Suddenly Kramnik had to fight in these sharp positions and he wasn't able to do it.

"London was a unique occurrence and I still stand with Leonid Yudasin as the only players Kramnik has ever beaten in a match! Kramnik now has some work to do."

Anand is undisputed king of world

The dispute is over. Viswanathan Anand is world chess champion without a shadow of a doubt. The Indian overcame a spirited challenge from Challenger Vladimir Kramnik of Russia leans back before his first move with the black stones in the 11th game against defending Chess World Champion Viswanathan Anand in Bonn on October 29, 2008.
Vladimir Kramnik of Russia by drawing Game 11 of the 12-game series in Bonn on Wednesday to put at rest questions about his ability to perform against quality opposition in match-play.


A 6.5-4.5 win in the series against Kramnik gave him the world title for the third time, his first in match-play.

When he won the world title in Tehran (2000) and Mexico (2007) in tournaments, he had not got the credit he deserved. On the first occasion, Kasparov was still active, winning in classical chess. In 2007, Kramnik had already become a champion having beaten Kasparov in 2000 and subsequently other contenders as well in match-play.

Even when Kramnik finished behind Anand in the 2007 world championship, Kramnik had challenged Anand to beat him in the 2008 unification match to be acknowledged as the real world champion. "I have lent Anand the title temporarily," he had declared then.

Anand's retort was over the board and not through words. He planned his assault perfectly, prepared well for the match in Bonn and won in style. He would probably regain his No 1 world ranking soon, though his Bonn victory would not give him more than 12 or 15 points. More significantly, he has added a new dimension to his chess and can claim he is currently the best all-round player at the moment.

Anand clinches it with 24 moves draw

A brilliant move to shift his opening back to the King-pawn gave Viswanathan Anand the much-needed breakthrough. With his 24-move draw in the 11th game in the World Chess Championship match against Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn on Wednesday, Anand sealed his position as the undisputed champion. Anand won the 12-game match 6.5-4.5.

Anand took out his trusted opening move at the right time. The Indian opened with the King-pawn after shielding it for his five white games in the current series. Kramnik avoided the Petroff and went for the Sicilian in an effort to get a decision in the game which was so crucial for him to stay alive in the match. Kramnik employed the Najdorf variation, which he has not played at top level chess for a long time.

It may be recalled that Anand had found success against the Najdorf of Kasparov in New York (1995) and on that day the famous Argentinian Grandmaster (Miguel Najdorf) was present at the World Trade Centre to comment on Anand’s victory over Kasparov.

After Kramnik’s ninth move, shifting his Queen to the centre of the board, Anand thought for more than 10 minutes for his 10th move. Anand chose to castle on the Queenside and prepared his pieces for a Kingside offensive. One of the interesting features of the unusual opening was that it was slowly executed and by the time both the players completed the first 15 moves, they had used up an hour each on their clock.

Then in a tactical shot, Anand broke open the King-file and combined his pieces effectively. Kramnik was fighting with his back to the wall as he had a poor pawn structure and his King was exposed to the attack from the white pieces. When Anand forced the exchange of Queens on move 23, Kramnik realised that he had nothing more than a draw in the position. After 24 moves, Anand had 36 minutes left to Kramnik’s 27 for the remaining 16 moves.

Chess players hail Anand’s success

Ages after India introduced the world to chaturanga**, the presumed ancestor of chess, grandmaster Viswanathan Anand became the first chess player to win the game's biggest crown in three different formats by retaining the world title with a 24-move draw against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the World Chess Championship final yesterday.
Chess lovers and players in Siliguri were ecstatic about this unique feat of the Indian maestro. “It is a dream come true,” said Mr Shyamal Chakravorty, a veteran chess player.
Mr Chakravorty, who played at the national level for many years, attributed Anand's success to his change of strategy in the final. “Unlike in his previous matches against Kramnik, Anand was more confrontational this time. He played in D-4 style, instead of E-4,” he said.
Noted chess player and coach Mr Somnath Bannerjee felt Anand's success was an outcome of the 38-year-old player's relentless effort and determination to raise his game to match the standard of Kramnik's play. “Kramnik is an exceptionally solid chess player. To defeat him you need to play a very compact game,” said the ace trainer, who described Anand's victory as the biggest achievement by a chess player in the history of the game.
Noted international chess player Sajal Basak of Siliguri said Anand's victory would not only inspire aspiring chess players in the region to do well at the international level but also encourage youngsters to take to chess in large numbers. The 27-year-old player said it was time to look beyond cricket and hoped Anand's achievement would increase both government and private assistance for individual sports.
But as another international player from the town Malyaban Sarkar felt, individual sports in India might continue to languish in neglect, as cricket was a huge source of revenue for all.
So, as we celebrate the victory of the new-age chaturanga wizard, let's spare a thought for the talented players in different disciplines in India who are crying for assistance and attention!

Anand claws back for draw, inches closer to title

Russian Vladimir Kramnik seemed to have finally woken up from his slumber to realise that he was just a loss away from losing the World Chess Championship title match.
The ninth game of the contest saw the Russian, playing with black pieces, not just take advantage for the first time here; he was almost on the verge of a dramatic win, before things took a turn and Viswanathan Anand clawed his way back with some stubborn defence. Kramnik began the match with a Slav defence and then attempted several variations, which appeared to be paying off. But Anand continued to go for sharp continuations and managed to earn a draw and take himself closer to the title.

From Anand’s perspective, the draw was not a bad result since he now has three games remaining to earn the half point and retain his title.

It was in the 19th move, Anand, suddenly realising that he was in a far inferior position with Kramnik’s bishops pairing giving the Russian an advantage, tried to manoeuvre his way out.

Victory charge: Anand stamps authority with 2nd win

World champion Viswanathan Anand scored his second victory in the World Chess Championship, again with black pieces, against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to extend his lead to two points.
If one thought Kramnik, playing with white pieces and trailing by a point would go on the offensive for the equaliser, they were quickly corrected. It was yet another Slav defense by the Indian ace in the fifth game and Kramnik went for what he had chosen in the third game, giving an idea that he had prepared something against the variation. However, Anand had other ideas and once again he was the one to come up with another surprise. If Kramnik thought he was going to deviate from the earlier game, he was proven wrong as Anand came up with a different idea on the 15th move.

Like in the third game, Kramnik yet again felt the heat and spent a lot of time on his clock. Anand got a good lead on the time while his position also remained intact. Kramnik went for unwarranted complications instead of trying to regain the momentum, which caused him dearly. The Russian was under pressure when Anand just improved the position of his pieces and maintained a fairly balanced position.

With the clock ticking away and not many options in sight, disaster struck the Russian on the 29th move. Going for a tactical move, Kramnik missed a fine retort that turned the tide decidedly in Anand’s favour. The Russian had started the combination with a piece sacrifice that boomeranged in quick time, and Anand ended the game with a clinical finish —sacrificing his last minor piece to ensure his central pawn’s march to glory. The game was over in 35 moves.

Anand, Kramnik tied 1-1 after two games in world chess

Championships, the clash between two of the finest players of our time, defending champion Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, has begun to look very interesting, with the duo tied at 1-1 after two games. After a dry and dull opening game, the second, despite being a draw showed enough spark to whet the appetite for the fans in the 12-game championships.

NIIT-Brand ambassador Anand, pitted against Kramnik, whose preparation for this match includes a clash with computer, Deep Fritz, were engaged in contrasting first two games.

In the first, Kramnik with white was held to a tame draw by Anand but in the second the Indian surprised everyone by opening with the Queen’s Pawn when the King’s Pawn, his routine choice, had been expected by all.

Kramnik responded with the Nimzo-Indian and Anand took his opponent into some sharp lines but his plan was kept at bay as the Russian took the game into quieter positions.

Kramnik was quite successful in warding off all dangers and then attempted to take the initiative on move 16. But Anand forced the Russian to sacrifice a pawn in order to prevent the white bishops becoming active.

Kramnik fixed his pawn structure and then his knight was the best piece on the board.

Anand did not make progress but avoided a repetition of moves and shortly after, with his time running out for the Indian - he had less than Kramnik - the Indian star accepted Kramnik’s draw offer.

Kramnik plays white in Friday’s third game.

The match is being staged by Universal Event Promotion at the Art and Exhibition Hall of Germany in Bonn and match sponsors Evonik Industries have put up a 1.5 million Euro prize fund, which will be split irrespective of the result.

Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is 2007's Top Sportsman

In his triumph, he brought glory for India and made us proud and now he is CNN-IBN's chosen one for Indian of the Year 2007 in the Sports category.

Over the years, many chess grandmasters have become celebrities, even heroes, in their homelands. But probably, one inspired enough of his countrymen to take up the game, so much so that the country became a world chess power. He is undoubtedly, Mr Consistent, Viswanathan Anand.

Even after 20 years into the sport he made his own, the fire still burns for the current World Champion.

Anand's resume has nearly everything the world of chess has to offer. He is India's first Grandmaster who shocked the mighty Gary Kasparov. Anand won all of the world's regularly scheduled major tournaments at least once, and put the country's name firmly on the chess map.

However, the divisions in the sport robbed him of the recognition he deserved even when he won the World Chess Championship in 2000. But the master of rapid chess blitzed away, going on to bag the Chess Oscar consecutively in 2003 and 2004, and clocking the elusive 2800 ELO rating.

Mexico City was to be his chosen venue as he swept through the field to finally become the undisputed World Number 1 in April 2007. A proud nation gave him a hero’s welcome and now has chosen him as the sportsman of the year.

CNN-IBN jury member Geet Sethi explains why Viswanathan Anand made it to the top of the list .

"He's been around for almost 20 years and he's gradually and slowly persevered and come to the zenith of his profession. He won the world title in 2007.

"He exemplifies superb sportsman spirit. He exemplifies the spirit of India. Without a doubt, Viswanathan Anand is my choice," Sethi says.

And who would forget his epic duel with Kasparov for the world title? Anand lost but the world, and more so India, took notice.

Vishwanathan Anand held by Radjabov

World champion Vishwanathan Anand could not get the better of Teimour Radjabov's defence and settled for his second successive draw as second day of the Bilbao Grand Slam Final Chess tournament did not see a single result in any of the boards.

After two rounds, Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen continues to lead the field with four points, while Anand has two, following his back-to-back draws.

A new system of scoring is being tried on an experimental basis in this all-star event. A player gets three points for winning a game and one for a draw.

This system gives an edge to a player who scores a win and a loss, netting three points, over a player who scores two draws, which fetch him just two.

Anand played a solid system against the Sveshnikov variation of the Sicilian but failed to gain any advantage from the opening.

Radjabov was well prepared for the game and he made an interesting pawn sacrifice on the 12th move. Realising it would be too dangerous to try to keep the extra pawn, Anand returned it in order to complete his development but had to be content with an equal game.

Radjabov traded pieces and simplified the position. The players agreed to split the point in a dead drawn opposite colour bishop ending after 34 moves.