World chess champion Viswanathan Anand will get to defend his crown in India.
World chess champion Viswanathan Anand will get to defend his crown in India. His title clash with Boris Gelfand of Israel will be held in Chennai in April-May next year. The Tamil Nadu government has agreed to sponsor the event.
On Wednesday, a joint delegation of World Chess Federation (FIDE) and All India Chess Federation (AICF) met state chief minister J Jayalalitha and formally clinched a deal. FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov was also present at the meeting.
Jayalalitha promised the delegations that the Tamil Nadu government will take care of the expenses of the tournament. The prize money for the event is Rs11 crore and the total expenditure could be around Rs20 crore.
The bidding for the World Championship is open up to July 31. Only in the unlikely event of a higher bid from another country, India could lose the championship match. The Russian chess federation has made a bid but the Indian bid is reportedly higher.
“The World Championship coming back to India is a big boost to chess in the country. It will be a tremendous advantage for Anand as well,” RM Dongre, AICF treasurer, told DNA. The World Championship was last held in India in December 2000.
Anand, a four-time defending champion, has a plus score against Gelfand. The Israeli GM won the right to challenge the Indian after winning the recent Candidates tournament featuring the likes of Veselin Topalov, Gata Kamsky, and Vladimir Kramnik.
Anand (42), who recently shifted his base to Chennai, is ranked No 2 in the world with a career-high Elo rating of 2817. Gelfand (43) is ranked much below the world champion at No 12 with a rating of 2746.
Anand said he is happy at the prospect of playing at home. “I’m happy that the CM has taken a personal interest in this initiative. I’m definitely happy at the prospect of playing in front of my home crowd. Nevertheless, it will be a very tough challenge,” he told this paper.
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