Monday, April 02, 2007

Vishy Anand: The new number one ...

Viswanathan Anand is lonely at the top!

Yes, he achieved this remarkable feat in the new ELO Ranking list just released by FIDE. Obviously, the top 3 in the list, Vishy Anand and Kramnik/Topalov are more-or-less comparable in their prowess, but Vishy has made a point by beating the duo by 14 points!

He's been the most consistent player in the last decade, dare I say. He promised the world to be more cautious and yet creative while playing big tournaments and the results are quite fabulous. A master getting his reward. Winning a chess tournament (or a game for that matter) is a big deal. He corrected mistakes that he committed in Wijk-Aan-Zee and converted the 0's into 1's in other games to win his favorite Linares Tournament (after 9 years) by a full point.

The next goal for this remarkable player is to break the 2800 limit. I am sure he'll do it by playing fine chess in the months to come.

A great chess master's games are always memorable like the things of beauty that John Keats has said. Vishy's games are a resounding testament to that. His game collections like the one at chessgames.com are so exhilarating that I feel as if I have just heard a Mozart Symphony or a Lata Mangeshkar Melody. Art, isn't it?

I am very happy.

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