Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen turned back the clock for a now-rare showdown in the heart of London as the Global Chess League clash between their sides, Ganges Grandmasters and Alpine SG Pipers, ended with a victory for Carlsen’s team.
The two former world champions played out a 48-move draw at Friend’s House but not before both of Anand’s rooks took turns to harass Carlsen’s king. Carlsen’s monarch, though, slid around the canvas of 64 squares evading Anand’s overtures. The new format being debuted at this year’s Global Chess League mandates that there will be no increments in games, meaning both players have just 20 minutes on the clock, no matter how many moves the game lasts. The evaluation bar for the game probably had the quietest night of its life, barely needing to spike in anyone’s favour as the two legends crossed swords.
“This was not the best one (in terms of preparation) because I didn’t know which colour I had until 30 minutes before the game. I’ve not had time to warm up because this is just the first game in the league,” Anand told The Indian Express after the draw.
Nothing to separate the 🐐’s!#TheNextMove #TechMGCL #GGvSG@GangesGMs | @AlpineSGPipers | @MagnusCarlsen | @vishy64theking pic.twitter.com/c23ORg3zev
— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 3, 2024
“I don’t think it’s relevant how much two players have played in the past because you keep moving as a player and his style and openings have changed a lot more in the last few years. So have mine. We have played so many games together that I don’t sit back and reflect a lot on those.”
Over the last few years, games between the duo have seen Carlsen taking 17 ½ points from 18 games in a lopsided head-to-head record.
The game saw a Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack after Carlsen, playing with black pieces, opted for the Sicilian Defence, one of the most aggressive responses to the King’s Pawn opening, which has been Anand’s insignia as a player for decades now.
Anand, in turn, tried to push the Norwegian, who had defeated him in two World Championship battles – the last of which came a decade back.
The two legends shared honours but Carlsen’s team won the contest 11-6, with Richard Rapport taking down Parham Maghsoodloo while former world champion Hou Yifan defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu.
Anand versus Carlsen has become a rare occurrence at chess events in recent years as the Indian has reduced his playing engagements. They last played each other at the Casablanca Chess tournament where Carlsen won in just 10 moves in an event played in a unique format called the Casablanca chess variant. The players were playing the historical game between Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Chigorin from the 1889 World Chess Championship battle in Havana.
“He’s still the best player in the world, by far. Now he only plays in faster formats, with one or two exceptions. For me, it was an event I really look forward to, because I don’t play too many events. And I really like this one. It’s one game a day, but you have to play fast. It’s got this buzz,” said Anand.
Carlsen and Anand had also faced off in the first edition of the Global Chess League in Dubai last year as icon players for their teams.
Earlier, the American Gambits team defeated upGrad Mumba Masters by an 11-6 margin.
Friends turn foes
The other highlight of the Ganges Grandmasters versus Alpine SG Pipers game was the clash between friends Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa, who have struck up a close friendship over the past few years.
They had to set aside that bond for a few hours as they faced off on the board where they played out a bloody draw that spanned 74 moves and ended with just two toothless kings left.
𝓟𝓻𝓪𝓰𝓰𝓷𝓪𝓷𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓱𝓪𝓪 🤜🤛 𝓐𝓻𝓳𝓾𝓷
As soon as the match began, friendship left the room 😅#TechMGCL #TheNextMove #GGvSG | @tech_mahindra | @MahindraRise | @AlpineSGPipers | @GangesGMs | @ArjunErigaisi | @rpraggnachess pic.twitter.com/vQzYxkudMA
— Tech Mahindra Global Chess League (@GCLlive) October 3, 2024
The no-increment rule almost played a role in the game between Pragg and Arjun as the former was down to just two minutes on the clock by the 41st move. At that stage, even though the position on the board looked like it was headed for a draw, the drama was on the clock. Even Carlsen and Anand, who had just agreed to a draw at that stage, stood around gawking at the drama unfolding in the Pragg-Arjun game. Eventually though, Pragg battled on for 32 more moves, playing them in just under two minutes to force a draw.
The two players left the playing hall together chatting away merrily after their clash.
