Though Anand has been one of the finest players of his time, and one of the best of all-time, he was also caught in the time period, which saw two of the game’s greatest stars in Karpov, who even while being on the downside was a force to reckon with, and Kasparov, who reached his peak in this period. In the latter stages, there also emerged Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. And the next lot with the likes of Lev Aronian, Magnus Carlsen and Teimour Radjabov are all ready to have their time in the sun. But it is a tribute to Anand that he has stayed the route and finally reached the very top.
Long back, Ian Rogers once told this writer that when Anand become the World champion and No 1 in the world, he would be the first nicest No 1. Time to tell Ian he had good insight even then, more than a dozen years ago.
The Financial Express
1 comment:
Anand has long been my favourite player and it's nice to see him at no.1 at last. It just goes to show that nice guys can come first!
The next target is the undisputed WCC title, but given the chaotic state of world chess politics I think that may never happen...
Post a Comment