Strongest in the world, at the moment

By Rakesh Rao

NEW DELHI, AUG. 2. "You know what it means to beat Kramnik. This guy hardly ever loses.'' The words from Viswanathan Anand aptly reflect what it means to him to score over the second strongest Russian in world chess. On Sunday, Anand did precisely that to win the elite Dortmund Chess Meeting title and reinforce the belief that he is indeed the strongest in tournament play.

A quick recap of Anand's performances in the year so far gives a fair idea of his remarkable consistency. After retaining the crown at Wijk aan Zee (where Kramnik tied for the sixth spot), Anand skipped the `big' one at Linares and went on to win the rapid title in the Amber Melody tournament in Monaco. In June, Anand spearheaded the Rest of the World team to an 18.5-17.5 victory over Gary Kasparov-led Armenia.

After his undefeated display in the classical form of the game as well as playoffs in rapid and blitz at Dortmund, Anand is surely in the middle of another glorious year of his glittering career.

Since the events in Wijk aan Zee and Dortmund are considered equivalent of `Grand Slam' events in tennis or `majors' in golf, the magnitude of Anand's superlative show is not difficult to gauge. Strictly on current form,

Anand is undoubtedly the strongest in the world. Quite significantly, Kramnik who won the prestigious Linares tournament, ahead of Kasparov, had this to say minutes after claiming the title,

"For me, it is much more difficult to play Anand or Peter Leko than Kasparov. If Kasparov played so many matches as we did, his Elo (world ranking points) would not be so high."

While Anand continues the form that saw him win his third Chess Oscar, for last year's performance, Kasparov's lone outing in Linares was hugely disappointing by his own lofty standards. He came joint second, with Leko, but won just one match in the event that too, with white pieces against lastman Francisco Vallejo.

Complete player

Experts all over the world acknowledge Anand's all-round skills. Whether in tournaments, matches, rapid or blitz, Anand comes across as a complete player. At Dortmund, where for the first time a league-cum-knock out format was adopted, Anand was at ease. It is important to note that Anand scored over three other potential champions in the fray. He took care of Peter Svidler in their classical clash in the league, beat Peter Leko in the blitz playoff and overpowered Kramnik in the final rapid face-off.

World title-holder in 2000, twice winner of the World Cup and the reigning World rapid champion, Anand has proved superior to every challenge thrown at him. In fact, he was the first to state that computers could be beaten and proved his point in 1997 by winning against six computers 4-2, that too, in a simultaneous display. Following year, Anand defeated Fritz5, the World open computer champion, 1.5-0.5 and silenced those who swore by the capabilities of the machine when pitted against human brain.

In 2001, when Mainz hosted the "Duel of the Champions" featuring Anand and Kramnik (who inflicted a rare defeat on Kasparov in match-play), the `Tiger of Madras' came out stronger 6.5-5.5, winning the blitz playoff 1.5-0.5 for the coveted title. Since then, Anand has defended the crown against Ruslan Ponomariov and Judit Polgar. This week, Anand faces Alexie Shirov at Mainz.

Anand has come a long way since earning the label of `lightning kid.' Today, as a 34-year-old, Anand sees much more on the board but does not bother too look far beyond the game on hand. For years, Anand's challengers, backed by a team of seconds, have tried to look for vulnerable areas in his game. So far, none seem to have succeeded.

Magic barrier

Next goal facing Anand is crossing the magic barrier of 2800 rating points. "I am really motivated to touch 2800 (his present rating is 2774 while his best is 2797)," says the champion. In the process, he is sure to end all arguments over who is the greatest of them all, at the moment.