‘One mistake after the other’
Dhiman Sarkar , Hindustan Times
Chennai, November 16, 2013
On a day India had one god less, an icon was pushed closer to the brink than he has ever been. Viswanathan Anand found out on Saturday that being a sporting immortal at 40+ is looking like mission impossible.
Magnus Carlsen, who is still not 23, has showed over two days, in games five and six of this battle, that youth can eschew brashness for brilliance. With white and black, he has pushed the five-time world champion to the ropes in a manner that hasn’t happened since Anand again summited the Mt Everest of chess, in Mexico in September 2007.
That nicely coincided with the time a man, then not much older than Carlsen, gave India a high by winning the T20 World Cup. It’s a drug India can’t have enough of since.
Conquered champion
Anand had then dryly wondered about the kind of reception he would get at home, his arrival nearly coinciding with that of MS Dhoni’s team. Forget humour, if Anand smiled after the 67 move loss, the wan smile was of the conquered.
“This is a heavy blow. I won’t pretend otherwise…Magnus’ manoeuvre with the knight was quite good. Then I started wondering what to do. Then I thought with Qg4 with the major pieces, I could get a solid position. Then I don’t know … one mistake after the other. Well, there’s nothing to be done. You just go on,” said Anand.
Full article here.
Honorable world champion.