Will Carlsen be Anand’s second?

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.