How Viswanathan Anand is putting age behind him in Moscow at the Candidates 2016 tournament

India’s chess supremo Viswanathan Anand may have recently been decried as past his prime but he still remains well in the hunt for a world title rematch with Magnus Carlsen, after a clinical win on Monday over former leader Levon Aronian in round nine of the Candidates 2016 tournament currently underway in Moscow.

At the age of 46, Anand finds himself battling much younger men for a World Championship rematch with the Superman of Chess, Magnus Carlsen, the best player to have ever lived if we go by the numbers. Anand and seven other Super Grand Masters are competing in the World Chess Candidates Tournament being held in Moscow – the heart of chess in many ways – to determine Carlsen’s challenger for the World Championship in New York in November.

An enduring legacy

After the completion of nine round-robin matches between the candidates, the Indian No. 1 joined Sergey Karjakin (26) at the top, leading by half with five games left to play. This is a situation Anand is familiar with, having shared his luminous career and world title with two of the greatest players of all time – Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen: both players of legendary careers and tremendous celebrity. Anand’s profile has been understated in comparison, even in his home country, where throughout his career, another Superman named Sachin Tendulkar has consumed much of sporting India’s imagination and aspirations, allowing space for few others.

Anand’s career in chess started well before Tendulkar’s in cricket, and continues well after the cricketer’s retirement. It is a testament of Anand’s endurance and skill. He is the oldest player at Moscow, and questions about age taking its toll on his ability to perform at his best have inevitably started doing the rounds. Although he is well matched with his competitors in Moscow, his current rating (2762) is well below his peak rating of 2817, and it has been below 2800 since 2011.

Passing of the mantle

After Anand’s first loss to Carlsen in 2013, there was a sense of finality about the Indian champion’s defeat to Carlsen again in 2014 at the World Chess Championship in Sochi, Russia. It felt like the mantle of chess had been truly passed onto the young grandmasters with the youngest World Champion of all time, being crowned after a resounding victory. Over 20 games held in two World Championship matches in 2013 and 2014, the Indian ace could only manage a solitary win.

Even as he lost to Sergey Karjakin (26) in the fourth round at Moscow, he also lost the India No. 1 spot for the first time in 30 years. It is a statistic that represents more than just the advance of chess in India for which Anand’s success is a prime inspiration.

Contrary to what it may seem, physical fitness has a lot to do with chess at the World Championship level. The players spend hours studying their opponents and themselves in preparation, and the mental fortitude required mandates a sound body. Longer tournaments – such as the current Candidates in Moscow, being played over three and 14 games in March – can be especially challenging physically and psychologically. Age also does not seem to be doing the Indian GM any favours.

Fighting the mounting odds

However, Anand seems to be determined to fight this battle against the mounting odds at the end of nine games. He has accumulated three wins, five draws and one comprehensive loss to the Russian, Sergey Karjakin, which set him back after his initial victory over Veselin Topalov (41) in round one. However, the Indian replied to that setback with an attacking masterpiece with the white pieces in Round 6 which destroyed local GM Peter Svidler (39) in just 24 moves, while drawing his other four games and following it up with another win with white against erstwhile leader, Levon Aronian.

Widely studied for his dynamic gameplay and his ability to finish off opponents quickly, at his peak, Anand had a reputation for crushing his opponents quickly with remarkably accurate tactical play, and his game with Svidler – featuring an exchange sacrifice on D4 followed by a bishop sacrifice on C1 – was reminiscent of what many have claimed to be just the kind of tactical sharpness that seems to be diminishing in Anand’s games, and was absent even in his win against Topalov. By contrast, in his win over Svidler, the clinical precision of the master’s gameplay was more energetic and confident – the old Anand was out addressing the odds, starting with regaining his India No. 1 spot back and looking geared up for much more in the tournament. Sure enough, his clinical precision in never losing the advantage to Aronian has sealed any doubt that Anand is seriously here to play.

If he were to win the tournament and face Carlsen again, it will put him in easily the most lopsided of the many World Championship matches of his career, for all the odds are working against the Grand Master in this match. Carlsen towers over his competitors in rating (2876), he enjoys a psychological edge over Anand after back to back WC victories and he has age on his side at only 25. With these dynamics of the old versus the new and the superhuman versus an ageing, wily veteran, the clash would set up the most storied World Championship in Chess since the Karpov-Kasparov epic in Lyon over two decades ago. Additionally, it could be Anand’s last chance to reclaim his title from the demigod of Chess.

Anand has shown to his critics – much like Tendulkar did his late in his career by rediscovering a purple-patch – that the old underdog is far from finished. He is known for giving his best in the worst situations, like his World Championship match with Anatoly Karpov where he was described as being “brought in a coffin” to face the fresh World Champion in a controversial match format in 1998. Anand managed to tie with Karpov at 3-3, producing a stunning result against all the odds. He brings big-tournament experience with him, which may well prove to be the decider in a tournament so closely fought.

Anand has grappled with the superhumans of chess his entire career, and he may be facing the biggest of them yet in Carlsen if he wins in Moscow. And even if he does not bring down the demigod like the caped crusader does in the Dark Knight comic-book epic, no one deserves a chess metaphor for themselves more than Vishwanathan Anand.