« Back to article | Print this article |
The battle lines for the much-awaited November 9-28 World Chess Championship match between World No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway and defending champion Viswanathan Anand in Chennai are drawn.
The match will be a battle between five-time World champion Anand's wealth of experience and challenger Carlsen's ability to play in any position.
The colour for the 12 games will be known at the draw of lots, which will be done during the inauguration ceremony.
The player who gets white in Games 1, 3 and 5 will get white in Games eight, 10 and 12.
Thus, one player will get white in Games 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11.
Each player will play six white and six black games.
The match will be a best-of-12 games tussle. The formal inauguration will be on November 7, by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
The first game is scheduled for November 9.
The match is being sponsored by the Government of Tamil Nadu, which has allocated a record budget of Rs 29 crore.
Given the statistics, Anand holds the advantage. The two have played 29 games so far in the Classical format, with Anand winning six and Carlsen clinching three, with the remaining 20 ending in draws.