Will Carlsen be Anand’s second?
Dhananjay Khadilkar
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
04:00 IST
MUMBAI: Is Magnus Carlsen going to be Viswanathan Anand’s second in the Indian’s world championship match against Vladimir Kramnik?
Speculation is rife that the wonder boy of chess, who has overtaken Anand in the unofficial world rankings, will be assisting the Indian in the crucial match scheduled to start in Bonn, Germany, on Oct 7. The Norwegian further fuelled this speculation after he refused to give a definitive answer on this issue.
Both Anand and Carlsen are participating in the ongoing Grand Slam Chess Final in Bilbao, Spain. During a media interaction in Bilbao, despite being pointedly asked about the possibility of becoming Anand’s second, Carlsen desisted from saying anything. Carlsen’s refusal has been interpreted on the blogosphere as an affirmative reply.
Reacting to Carlsen’s comment, Fyrebyrd wrote that had it been false, Magnus could have simply said ‘It’s not true and got rid of the false rumour. “Why would he prefer not to answer? Most likely because it’s true,” he wrote.
The tie-up between the World No 1 and World No 2 doesn’t seem illogical. To start with both Anand and Carlsen have Danish Grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen as their second. As a result, both know each other pretty well. Also, Carlsen’s admiration for Anand is well-known. In fact, in an interview with DNA, Carlsen had named Anand as the toughest player to beat.
As far as Carlsen is concerned, it is a golden opportunity to be a part of the world championship match and understand the factors at play in a big moment. For someone, who is looked as a champion in waiting, it is an ideal breeding ground for the 17-year-old Grandmaster.
In fact, Kramnik had grabbed the same opportunity in 1995 when he became second to Garry Kasparov in the latter’s World Championship match against Anand. Not only did it help Kasparov in winning the world title, but the experience held Kramnik in good stead as he himself won the world championship five years later.
For Anand too, having Carlsen on his side is beneficial. The young GM has dominated the year and has been the strongest chess player in the world in 2008. His level of play has improved tremendously and in almost every tournament, he has notched a 2800 Elo performance.
Given the fact that Kramnik is a strong match player, Anand would need as much firepower with him as possible. And going by current form, there’s no one better than Carlsen to fill up the role.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/
Very possible. Best luck for Anand.
It’s not a problem for Kramnik, he is going to have Leko, as an answer to magnus.
…or Ivanchuck
It’s quite unlikely either Leko or Ivanchuk will help Kramnik in his world championship.
However, Morozevich may play that role. He has been good friends with Vladimir for more than 10 years, and his ideas are very original. Also, his record vs Anand is not as bad as one may think (check your DB).
Carlsen might could be Anand’s first! 🙂
un duo infernale
Leko is good friend of Anand and was his second if I remember well. So he is to be ruled out so is Svidler. Moro is real possibility. My gut feeling Ivanchuk woont do such job. Also Kramnik loves slaves so top players would help him but wont act as real seconds
Having Carlsen or Nielsen as a second in general is not too smart…Anand may eventually have to play Carlsen in a World’s Championship Match-Only to have Nielsen as Magnus’ second (giving away all of Anand’s secrets), or simply playing Carlsen who knows more about his ideas than Anand knows about Carlsen’s ! That sucks!
Now explain me why having Carlsen or Nielsen as a second would make sense!? (This I gotta hear!).
Anon @ 5:02, why would it not make sense anyway? As shown in the articale, Kramnik was Kasparov’s second, too. Carlsen ist just in great form this year, so he is a logical choice. Anand and he get along with each other – look at the pictures from Mainz – very well, so the only reason for Anand to be concerned would be if he eventually might have to face Carlsen as a contender in a few years’ time. Not too strong an argument to picking him as a second, I would say.
Well, I don’t think the case Kramnik becoming Kasparow’s second proved good for the latter. Yes, Kasparow won that match in 1995, but he would have done anyway and Kramnik defeated his boss 5 years later. In fact, that speaks more for anon 5:02. It’s exactly his point!
No, it’s not a valid point. If you battle for the title of world champion you want the strongest support you can get. And while your seconds will invariably learn from you during that time so will you yourself, i.e. the way of thinking, preference of positions, approach to problem solving, etc. Thus, it need not be a disadvantage. If Anand wanted to avoid all that he should ask some 2600- players to support him as these are most likely never to have a shot at the title. Most certainly not a better way forward, right?!
You don’t necessarily have to take your supposed challenger to get good help and to learn from. Morozovich e.g. would be as good a choice. This as far as your remark of ‘invalid point’, which for that reason is a strange exaggerated term.
However, in a way I also agree with you he might as well take Carlsen as second, because unlike Kasparow in 1995, Anand is far from certain to win his match!
Kramnik will beat Anand no matter who he picks as his second.