The World Chess Championship 2012 is being staged in the Tretyakov Gallery
in Moscow, between the current World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and
the winner of the Candidates tournament Boris Gelfand of Israel. The match is
over twelve games and lasts from May 11 to 30. The prize fund is US $2.55 million,
the winner getting $1.53 million (60%), the loser $1.02 million (40%).
Impressions of the World Championship in Moscow
By IM Venkatachalam Saravanan
You have arrived at the press center an hour before the start of the game.
You make small talk, you get your stuff out, plug in the connections, switch
on the notebook and settle down. As the time for the game approaches, about
fifteen minutes before the start, you go and wait for the players to arrive,
at the entrance to the State Tretyakov Gallery.

First Vishy arrives in a black Mercedes Benz
A fan of casual clothes, the World Champion is wearing a blue shirt and a pullover,
with his sponsor’s logo, NIIT, on it. As he crosses the entrance he receives
a small pat on the back – a gesture of good luck from his wife Aruna.

Then Boris arrives on foot, surrounded by enthusiastic supporters. They are
all walking towards you so fast you are unable to compose your photograph. For
a moment, you dread the Consiglioris and Caporegimes (a la Godfather)
and scurry out of the way. And then comes a fantastic moment, as he receives
high-voltage high-fives from all his supporters, before entering the building.
The gesture is heartening.

Next, you hurry to the auditorium to take your pictures where it all happens.
Or doesn’t. After six games of the World Championship many of my colleagues
in the press centre felt that, apart from some excitement in the first game
and a full-fledged fight in the third, nothing much had been actually happening,
really. Oh boy – the seventh and eighth games took the Mickey out of them…

Of course, for a chess fan, the place is as good as it can get. As you turn
back to leave the hall and take a last look, and it sinks in to you: the World
Chess Championship, a sure piece of history, is being acted out in front of
your eyes.

You return to the media room, where the action can be followed at close
quarters

And it is full of experts and personalities, who come in all their shapes and
sizes

One who made a big impression on me was Shifu
Mark Dvoretsky, whom I interviewed for Tamil TV. The station Puthiya
Thalaimurai (translation: "New Generation") has its own team at
Moscow, covering the event actively – probably, the only Tamil channel to do
it ever.

It was quite nostalgic to see the legendary Albert Kapengut (above with GM
Maxim Dlugy), who was the trainer of Gelfand during his formative years. He
had especially tense moments during the third game, when his former ward was
under real pressure.

Nigel Short remained … well truly Nigel Short (seen above chatting with Robert
Fontaine). I especially couldn’t help smiling when he commented – on the live
official broadcast, which was being heard by one and all – on a column written
by “the esteemed writer Raymond Keene”. The man’s great fun –if you are on the
right side of his humour!

And of course there was the legendary Jan Timman, with his characteristic
charm.
He was probably the most sought after expert commentator in the press centre.

Another charmer is Sergey Karjakin, the youngest GM in history

And then there was the day Vishy went back to 1.e4, and Boris played the Sveshnikov.
And lo! In walks The Man, Evgeny Sveshnikov himself!! Spooky. Makes you wonder
whatever would happen if these guys played the Alekhine?

This is the oldest living grandmaster, Yuri Averbakh. Can you see the
wisdom sparkling
in his eyes? I saw many of those pawn endings and rook endings there…
Peter Svidler had no time to talk, he was so engrossed in the game – of cricket!
Today people are awaiting a special guest in a special press conference. You
run to take your place and wait, talk to your neighbour, try to see around the
photographers and reporters settling down. Then, after half an hour, there is
the buzz, and He enters. You watch, mesmerized. After all, He was the
player of your generation!

When Garry Kasparov walks to the conference hall you realise something – this
is the first time that you are coming face to face with him, in real life. As
he starts talking, taking questions, you sit watching him, observing him…

He smiles spontaneously; he makes firm gestures with his hands as he describes
his points; he spreads his fingers, he putts them mildly on the table to drive
home his argument; he does a keyboard gesture on the table to describe searching
the Internet.

As the translator is doing his bit during the answers, he keeps nodding at
the questioner with a “do you see?!” expression – impatient for the translation
to finish. When the affable Mark Glukhovsky asks him if he wants his water to
be poured in a glass, he nods a very mild “no”. And when he is aroused on a
topic of his passion, he stares down the person or the whole crowd with the
intensity of his eyes. It was, simply, one of the greatest shows on earth…
Even if you are not in total agreement with some of the kind things he has
to say about the World Chess Championship and about Vishy Anand, you still have
to give it to the man. He comes to the State Tretyakov Gallery, and has
harsh words for Vladimir Putin. He comes to the FIDE World Chess Championship
and definitely had harsh words for Kirsan Ilyumzhinov – who is very much present
at the very venue! The whole of audience listens to him in complete silence,
and admiration…
But soon the business of watching the game and making your story – I do have
an everyday report at The Telegraph
India – takes precedence over everything. You shift your thoughts away,
concentrating on the chess. But again, when you are about to leave...

... you find Him on the ground floor café, giving a simultaneous exhibition.
He’s
enjoying himself, even chatting and smiling with the ten-year-olds!

But with the same intensity of play, the shake of the head, the gestures,
the eyes,
the quirks of the face, the smile…
Then you are reminded of the very first chess book you read from cover to cover,
as a teenager. Many times over: “The
Test of Time”. Brilliantly written. Especially those Meran Botvinnik Games.
A specific caption from that book, below a young Kasparov’s engaging image,
concentrated over the chessboard, with those sparkling eyes. The words of that
caption keep running through your mind, again and again: Restless, he seeks
the storm.
Abour the author: V. Saravanan
His full name is Venkatachalam Saravanan and is an International Master currently
rated 2401. He is 40 and lives in Chennai, Tamilnadu India. He has been playing
tournament chess since 1984, but this took a break in 2011, as his son Nandan
was born in October 2011. The last tournament he won was the First Saturday
GM in December 2010, which was also the last he participated in. His mother
tongue is Tamil, though he can reasonably understand and speak Hindi too, the
native common language of India. And of course English.
"Chess has given me a great number of friendships, which I cherish and
take time to nurture," says Saravanan (that in the
Tamil tradition is the name you address him by – Venkatachalam is
his father's name). "Apart from chess I have a deep love for literature
(Tamil and English) and music (Pop, Tamil/Hindi contemporary), and playing Badminton.
I love travelling – especially those road trips in South India. I would
like to try my hand at writing and reporting on chess."
Photos by V. Saravanan, Anastasya Karlovich, Alexey Yushenkov
Scoreboard
Players |
Rtng |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Tot. |
Perf. |
+/– |
Vishy Anand |
2791 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
4.0 |
2727 |
–7 |
Boris Gelfand |
2727 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
4.0 |
2791 |
+7 |
Remaining schedule
Days of play, with live commentators on Playchess.com.
Note that the games start at 15:00h local time = 13:00 CEST, 07 a.m. New York
or here
in your location.
Tues |
May 22 |
Rest day |
|
Wed |
May 23 |
Game 9 |
Daniel King |
Thur |
May 24 |
Game 10 |
Yannick Pelletier |
Fri |
May 25 |
Rest day |
|
Sat |
May 26 |
Game 11 |
Daniel King |
|
|
Sun |
May 27 |
Rest day |
|
Mon |
May 28 |
Game 12 |
Sam Collins |
Tues |
May 29 |
Rest day |
|
Wed |
May 30 |
Tiebreaks |
|
Thurs |
May 31 |
Closing |
|
|
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