Viswanathan Anand facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Viswanathan Anand
Anand in 2016
Deputy President of International Chess Federation (FIDE)
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 August 2022
President	Arkady Dvorkovich
Personal details
Born	Anand Viswanathan (1969-12-11) 11 December 1969 (age 55) Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Spouse	Aruna Anand ​ (m. 1996)​
Children	Anand Akhil (son)
Occupation	Chess grandmaster
Awards	Full list
Chess career Viswanathan Anand Country India Title Grandmaster (1988) World Champion 2000–2002 (FIDE) 2007–2013 (Undisputed) FIDE rating 2753 (July 2025) Peak rating 2817 (March 2011) Peak ranking No. 1 (April 2007)

Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He is one of the greatest chess players of all time. Anand has won the World Chess Championship five times. He also won the World Rapid Chess Championship twice and the Chess World Cup twice.

In 1988, Anand became the first grandmaster from India. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can get. He has one of the highest FIDE ratings ever. In 2022, he was chosen as the Deputy President of FIDE, the world chess organization.

Anand won the 2000 FIDE World Chess Championship by beating Alexei Shirov. He held this title until 2002. In 2007, he became the undisputed world champion. He successfully defended his title three times. He won against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010, and Boris Gelfand in 2012. In 2013, he lost his title to Magnus Carlsen. He also lost a rematch to Carlsen in 2014.

In 2006, Anand became only the fourth player to reach an Elo rating of 2800. He was the world's number one player for 21 months. This is the sixth-longest time anyone has held that spot.

When he was young, Anand was known for playing chess very quickly. People called him the "Lightning Kid." He is now considered one of the best rapid chess players of his time. He won the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in 2003 and 2017. He also won the World Blitz Cup in 2000.

Anand received the Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92. This is India's highest award for sports. In 2007, he received the Padma Vibhushan. This is India's second-highest civilian award. He was the first sportsperson to get this honor.

Early Life

Viswanathan Anand was born on 11 December 1969. His birthplace was Mayiladuthurai, in Tamil Nadu, India. He later moved to Chennai and grew up there. His father, Viswanathan Iyer, worked for the Southern Railways. His mother, Sushila, loved chess and taught Anand the game.

Anand is the youngest of three children. He has an older sister and an older brother. His brother, Shivakumar, works as a manager in India. His sister, Anuradha, is a professor in the United States.

Anand started learning chess from his mother when he was six. He learned more about the game in Manila, Philippines. He lived there with his parents from 1978 to the 1980s. His father worked as a consultant for the Philippine National Railways.

Anand went to Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai. He later earned a degree in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.

Personal Life

Anand married Aruna in 1996. Their son, Anand Akhil, was born on 9 April 2011.

Anand is a Hindu. He has said that visiting temples helps him feel calm and happy. He believes his daily prayers help him focus better during chess games.

In 2010, Anand joined the board of directors for Olympic Gold Quest. This group helps support India's best athletes. In December 2010, he was a special guest at Gujarat University. There, 20,486 players set a new world record for playing chess at the same time.

Anand enjoys reading, swimming, and listening to music. He is known for being a humble person. He focuses on his game rather than playing mind games. This has made him popular in the chess world. Even his rivals, like Kasparov, Kramnik, and Carlsen, have helped him prepare for championships. He is sometimes called the "Tiger of Madras."

In 2010, Anand was the only sportsperson invited to a dinner hosted by India's Prime Minister for the US President.

Anand's mother passed away in 2015 at age 79. His father passed away in 2021 at age 92.

Early Chess Career

Anand quickly became famous in Indian chess. In 1983, at age 14, he won the sub-junior championship. He won all nine of his games. In 1984, he won the Asian Junior Chess Championship. This earned him an International Master (IM) title. He then played for the Indian national team at the 26th Chess Olympiad.

In 1985, at age 15, he became the youngest Indian International Master. He won the Asian Junior Championship again that year. At 16, he became the national chess champion. He won this title two more times. He was known for playing very fast games, called blitz chess.

In 1987, he became the first Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship. In 1988, at age 18, he became India's first grandmaster. He achieved this by winning the Shakti Finance International chess tournament in Coimbatore. He was awarded the Padma Shri at 18.

Anand at the Manila 1992 Olympiad, aged 22

In the 1993 World Chess Championship, Anand reached the Candidates Tournament. He won his first match but lost to Anatoly Karpov.

In 1995, Anand played for the PCA World Chess Championship against Garry Kasparov. The match was held at the World Trade Center in New York City. The first eight games were draws. Anand won game nine, but then lost four of the next five games. He lost the match 10½–7½.

In 1998, Anand won a knockout tournament to face Karpov for the FIDE world title. Karpov was given a big advantage because he was already in the final. Despite this, Anand tied the regular match 3–3. However, Karpov won the rapid playoff 2–0.

Other Achievements

Anand has won the Mainz Chess Classic 11 times. In 2008, he beat Carlsen to win his 11th title there. He is the first player to win five titles at the Corus chess tournament. He also won the three biggest supertournaments of his time: Corus, Linares, and Dortmund.

Anand has a great record at the Melody Amber Tournament. This event has both blindfold and rapid chess games. He won the overall title five times and the rapid section nine times. He is the only player to win both the blindfold and rapid sections in the same year, which he did twice.

Anand is also known as the world's best Advanced Chess player. In this type of chess, players can use a computer to help them. Anand won three straight Advanced Chess tournaments in Spain.

His book, My Best Games of Chess, was published in 1998. He won the Linares chess tournament in 2007 and 2008. In March 2007, he became the world's number one player on the FIDE rating list.

World Chess Championships

1995 World Championship

In 1995, Anand faced Garry Kasparov for the world championship in a match held at the World Trade Center.

In 1993, Anand qualified for the 1994 Candidates' Tournament. He won matches against Michael Adams and Oleg Romanishin. He then beat Gata Kamsky to earn a match against the champion, Kasparov.

The championship match was held in New York City in 1995. It started with eight draws in a row. Anand won game nine, but then lost four of the next five games. He lost the match 10½–7½. Kasparov said that Anand's preparation was good, but his mental approach to such a long match was not.

World Chess Championship Match 1995

	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Total
Garry Kasparov (Russia)	2795	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	1	½	1	1	½	½	½	½	10½
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2725	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	0	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	½	7½

1998 World Championship

The 1998 world championship was a new type of tournament. It was a knockout event with many players. The defending champion, Karpov, was placed directly into the final match. This gave him a big advantage in rest and preparation. Many top players, including Kasparov, did not play because of this.

Anand won the knockout tournament, beating Adams in the final. He then immediately faced Karpov for the FIDE world title. Anand had little time to prepare. He described it as being "brought in a coffin" to play Karpov. The regular match ended in a 3–3 tie. In the rapid playoff, Karpov won 2–0 and kept his title. Anand felt the tournament format was unfair.

World Chess Championship Match 1998

	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	R1	R2	Points
Anatoly Karpov (Russia)	2745	1	0	½	1	½	0	1	1	5
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2765	0	1	½	0	½	1	0	0	3

2000 World Championship

The FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 was a knockout tournament. It was held in India and Iran. Anand was the top player in the event. He had won the Chess World Cup 2000 earlier.

Anand played very well in front of his home crowd in India. He won his early matches easily. In the quarterfinals, he beat the defending champion, Alexander Khalifman. In the semifinals, he beat Adams.

The final match was against Alexei Shirov. Anand won Game 2 and Game 3. He then won Game 4 to seal the victory. Anand went through the entire tournament without losing a single game. He became the first world champion from East Asia. He was also the first world champion from outside the former Soviet Union since Bobby Fischer. Anand received a large cash prize and the Padma Bhushan award.

World Chess Championship Match 2000

	Rating	1	2	3	4	Points
Alexei Shirov (Spain)	2746	½	0	0	0	½
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2762	½	1	1	1	3½

2007 World Championship

Anand in 2007

The World Chess Championship 2007 was a tournament with eight players. It was held in Mexico City. Anand was the world's top-ranked player. He was a favorite to win, along with Kramnik.

Anand started strong, winning against Levon Aronian in Round 2. He took the lead after winning against Peter Svidler and Alexander Grischuk. He kept his lead and won the championship in the final round. Anand did not lose a single game in the tournament. This was his second world chess championship. He also became the first undisputed world champion to win the title in a tournament format since 1948.

Rank	Player	Rating	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		Points	H2H	Wins	NS
1	Viswanathan Anand (IND)	2792			½	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	9
2	Vladimir Kramnik (RUS)	2769	½	½			½	½	1	½	½	½	1	0	1	½	½	½	8	1	3	54.50
3	Boris Gelfand (ISR)	2733	½	½	½	½			½	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	½	0	8	1	3	54.25
4	Peter Leko (HUN)	2751	½	½	½	0	½	½			½	½	1	½	½	0	1	½	7
5	Peter Svidler (RUS)	2735	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	½			½	0	½	½	1	½	6½
6	Alexander Morozevich (RUS)	2758	½	0	1	0	½	0	½	0	1	½			½	½	1	0	6	1	3
7	Levon Aronian (ARM)	2750	0	½	½	0	0	0	1	½	½	½	½	½			1	½	6	1	2
8	Alexander Grischuk (RUS)	2726	½	0	½	½	1	½	½	0	½	0	1	0	½	0			5½

2008 World Championship

Anand defended his title against Kramnik in the World Chess Championship 2008. The match was held in Bonn, Germany. Anand won by scoring 6½ points in 11 games. He won three of the first six games. After 11 games, Anand won the match 6½–4½. Kramnik offered a draw in the final game, and Anand accepted.

Kasparov praised Anand's win. He said Anand was very well prepared. In 2010, Anand donated his gold medal to a charity. The medal was auctioned to help children in need.

World Chess Championship Match 2008

	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Total
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2783	½	½	1	½	1	1	½	½	½	0	½	6½
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)	2772	½	½	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	1	½	4½

2010 World Championship

Before the World Chess Championship 2010 against Topalov, Anand faced a challenge. His flight was canceled due to a volcano ash cloud. He had to travel for 40 hours by road to reach Sofia, Bulgaria. The first game was delayed by one day.

Topalov won Game 1 with a sharp attack. Anand quickly responded by winning Game 2. He won Game 4 as well. After 11 games, the score was tied 5½–5½. Anand won Game 12 with the Black pieces. Topalov tried to force a win but made mistakes. Anand kept his world championship title.

World Chess Championship Match 2010

	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2787	0	1	½	1	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	1	6½
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)	2805	1	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	0	5½

2012 World Championship

Anand defended his title again in the World Chess Championship 2012. The match was in Moscow against Boris Gelfand. Anand lost Game 7, but then won Game 8 in only 17 moves. This was the shortest decisive game in World Chess Championship history. The match was tied 6–6 after the regular games. Anand won the rapid tiebreak 2½–1½ to keep his title. After the match, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with both Anand and Gelfand.

World Chess Championship Match 2012

	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points	13	14	15	16	Total
Viswanathan Anand (India)	2791	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	½	½	½	½	6	½	1	½	½	8½
Boris Gelfand (Israel)	2727	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	0	½	½	½	½	6	½	0	½	½	7½

2013 World Championship

Anand lost his title in the World Chess Championship 2013 in Chennai. His opponent was Magnus Carlsen. The first four games were drawn. Carlsen then won Games 5 and 6. After more draws, Carlsen won Game 9. On 22 November, Game 10 was drawn, making Carlsen the new world champion.

2014 World Championship

Anand won the Candidates Tournament in Russia. This earned him a rematch with Carlsen. He went through the tournament without losing a game. He faced Carlsen in Sochi, Russia, in November. Carlsen won the match 6½ to 4½.

FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion 2003

In October 2003, FIDE held the World Rapid Chess Championship. Players had 25 minutes for the game, plus 10 seconds per move. Anand won this event, beating Kramnik in the final. He won many other rapid and blitz events.

FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion 2017

Anand won the World Rapid Chess Championship again in 2017. He beat Vladimir Fedoseev in the final tiebreak. He won this tournament ahead of Carlsen. This was his first world championship win since losing the classical title in 2013.

Later Chess Career

Anand continued to play in many top-level tournaments.

• In 2010, he won the World Chess Championship against Topalov.
• In 2011, he finished second at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
• In 2012, he defended his World Championship title against Gelfand.
• In 2013, he won the GRENKE Chess Classic.
• In 2014, he won the Candidates Tournament and the Bilbao Chess Masters Final. He also won the London Chess Classic.
• In 2015, he won the classical section of the Zurich Chess Challenge. He also finished second in the Norway Chess tournament.
• In 2016, he tied for second place in the Candidates Tournament. He also won the Leon Chess Masters Rapid Tournament.
• In 2017, he won the World Rapid Chess Championship. He also finished third in the World Blitz Chess Championship.
• In 2018, he won the Tal Memorial Rapid tournament. He also won the blitz part of the Tata Steel Chess India tournament.
• In 2019, he finished third at the Tata Steel Masters and the Gashimov Memorial.
• In 2020, he was part of the Indian team that won the online Chess Olympiad.
• In 2021, he won a match of No Castling Chess against Kramnik. He also finished second in the Croatia Grand Chess Tour.
• In 2022, he beat Magnus Carlsen in the Norway Chess Blitz. He also won the Rapid segment of the Warsaw Grand Chess Tour.
• In 2023, he finished fourth in the Levitov Chess Week Rapid event.
• In 2024, he won the Leon Masters for the 10th time.

Rating

In April 2007, Anand was ranked first in the world for the first time. He held the top spot for many months. He dropped to fifth in October 2008. In 2010, he aimed to regain the number one spot from Carlsen. He achieved this in November 2010. However, Carlsen soon overtook him again.

Assessment

Many chess experts praise Anand's skills. Lubomir Kavalek says Anand is the most versatile world champion ever. He is the only player to win the world championship in different formats. These include tournament, match, and knockout. He also won rapid chess titles.

Kramnik called Anand a "colossal talent." He said Anand is one of the greatest players in chess history. Kramnik also said Anand is as strong as Kasparov. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said Anand is "one of the strongest and greatest players of modern times." Alexander Grischuk said Anand was the strongest player he faced, after Kasparov.

Awards

The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting the Padma Vibhushan to Shri Viswanathan Anand, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in 2008

Anand has received many awards from India and other countries.

Indian National Honors

• Arjuna Award (1985): For outstanding Indian sportspersons.
• Padma Shri (1988): India's fourth-highest civilian award.
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (1991–1992): India's highest sporting honor.
• Padma Bhushan (2001): India's third-highest civilian award.
• Padma Vibhushan (2008): India's second-highest civilian award.

Other Honors

• Chess Oscar (1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008): Awarded to the best player of the year.
• Sportstar Best Sportsperson of the Year (1995).
• Sportstar Millennium Award (1998): For being the sportsperson of the millennium.
• "Global Strategist Award" (2011): For mastering different chess championship formats.
• "Indian sportsperson of the year" and "Indian of the year" awards (2012).
• Russian Order of Friendship (2014): For helping develop ties with Russia.
• Top country award at the Spanish embassy (2015): For bringing glory to India and Spain.
• 4538 Vishyanand: A minor planet named after him in 2015.

Charity

Anand took part in a charity chess event called "Checkmate COVID." He played with other Indian Grandmasters to support COVID-19 relief. They played online against 100 opponents. This event raised over $50,000. All the money went to Red Cross India and the "Checkmate COVID" initiative.

Notable Games

Anand has played many famous games. One example is his game against Bologan in the 2000 World Championship. Anand found a clever sacrifice that led to a winning attack.

Another famous game was against Levon Aronian in 2013. Anand made an amazing attack, giving up several pieces. This game is often called his "immortal game."

In 2006, Anand played against Sergey Karjakin. Anand sacrificed a bishop and a knight. He then used his rook and queen to create a checkmate attack.

Images for kids

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  Anand in 2016

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  Anand at the 1992 Manila Olympiad

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  Anand faced Garry Kasparov for the world championship in 1995

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  Anand in 2007

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  The President of India presenting the Padma Vibhushan to Viswanathan Anand in 2008