Anand - Kasimdzhanov Rapid Match

The reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand will play a rapid match against the 17th World Champion, and currently his second, Rustam Kasimdzhanov. The event is set to take place in March in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, immediately after the traditional Georgi Agzamov memorial.

Chess Strategy - Step by Step with Rustam Kasimdzhanov

Anand: Rating is just numbers

In the end, rating is just numbers. If you keep playing in tournaments the numbers go up and down. You can’t try and hold on to them. It is nice to go over 2800 again, but it is more important to win tournaments...

...I think my first game (with black pieces) against Alexei Shirov was good. The funny thing was I saw the rook-sacrifice five minutes before the game. I had finished my preparation but was not completely satisfied so I just checked this variation and then went straight for the game and was able to use it. The white win against Shirov was also good as I was able to guess exactly where he would go in the Sveshnikov.
The other black wins against Peter Leko and Carlsen were also exciting. The game against Leko was a complete turnaround. White was much better, but a few imprecise moves at the time control turned the game completely and my pawns were all very close to the enemy king. Against Carlsen, I was able to find this move (Rook h6). Magnus had somehow missed that and he said that it occurred to him during the game. The position was in black’s favour and some accurate play in the end turned the game in my favour...

...Magnus has had an excellent year and we are only in March. He belongs to the young brigade but has been able to break away. He will be in the top-5 and his rating should be close to 2766 (on April 1, 2008). This, by any yardstick, is just fabulous. For a 17-year-old to achieve that it is really extraordinary. He not only plays amongst the top players but has started winning tournaments. In both Corus and Linares, he showed his tactical skills. In many games he was able to turn the situation around 180 degrees. He keeps his calm in tough situations and strikes back effortlessly. In Corus, he was just unstoppable and in Linares he always came back after a loss much stronger. If you see in Linares, he beat Topalov 2-0...

Read the entire interview with Rakesh Rao (for SportStar)

Viswanathan Anand about India's new sense of identity

In 2007, as we complete 60 years of Independence as Indians, we seem to have got a new sense of identity. Not just the kind of identity that comes from having Aloo Tikki burgers or Bollywood pop but a true sense of being a country. As we add to an impressive list of billionaires and top class corporates, Indians are extremely proud of seeing the Indian Tricolour fly high.

For me personally, becoming World No. 1 meant that it was not a first for me but a first for my country. Recently I was with the mayor of a picturesque German town. She mentioned that they were now keen to have Indian tourists rather than Japanese. This was an eye-opener. She said Indians came, stayed at the best hotels and spent on fine food and wine. They were not keen on mass tourism in crowded buses. This is a paradigm shift. India is now seen not as a country with a future but a country where the purse strings are beginning to open and the purse itself is bulging.

Full article in India Times