But India has more Anands in waiting
The old order has given way to the new. Twenty-two year old Magnus Carlsen is the new FIDE world chess champion after he comprehensively defeated title holder 42-year old Viswanathan Anand in the just concluded tournament in Chennai. Anand had tenaciously held on to the title in five consecutive earlier world championships. While Indians will be disappointed by the result, there is no reason for despair. Anand has not hanged his boots and he may well bounce back. But we have to see how he does that, and how soon. He has to now qualify through the Candidates match to challenge the Norwegian wizard for the 2014 title. For now, the Indian grandmaster has other things on his mind, beginning with how tamely he succumbed to Carlsen's brilliance. The tournament was over in 10 matches, with Anand going down in three of them. It's not just the loss but the many unforced errors that the Indian legend made in the process which will trouble him. Anand had built his reputation on keeping his cool in trying times, not just extricating himself from difficult positions on the chess board but also miraculously turning the tables on his opponents from what appeared to be a weak position. But none of those famed skills were evident against Carlsen. On the contrary, Anand fumbled even when he had the upper hand and allowed advantages to slip by. In short, he was simply out of form and seemed to buckle under pressure. All of this does not take away from Carlsen's magnificent performance. He was pitted against a vastly experienced player who had the advantage of a home crowd. After a few initial hiccups, the Norwegian wonder demonstrated why he is the world's highest rated player. The first win (in the fifth game) triggered the killer instinct in him and he followed it up with another crushing win (in the sixth) and then the third (in the ninth game) to virtually end Anand's reign. It was by then all but over for the Indian, since his opponent needed just a draw in the remaining games.
Anand must now contemplate whether it is time for him to drastically change his game. After all, things are quite different from what they were when he first triumphed in the world championship; this is his first championship loss since 2007. Chess legend Garry Kasparov had indicated on more than one occasion that Anand had lost not just the killer instinct but also the ability to do ‘something different'. Kasparov had even hinted that it was perhaps time for Anand to retire. Not everything that Kasparov has said needs to be taken seriously — after all, he has not been on the best of terms with Anand and had openly backed Carlsen. Still, he has a point when he says that the Indian grandmaster has to restructure his game to meet the challenges of the newly emerging talent.
Regardless of his defeat, Anand is not finished. Nor will the setback in any way hinder the emergence of fresh and strong players from the country on the international scene. India already has a strong line-up, with many youngsters making it to the elite club of high-ranking chess players. There are also many Anands waiting to be discovered, and they will have their say some day. But for now, the world belongs to Carlsen.