Viswanathan Anand
Notable Games

Viswanathan Anand

15 celebrated games · 1621 in the full archive
Player Index ◈ Biography 1621 CURATED GAMES

Notable Games

  • 1992 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsAnand, Viswanathan 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Neo-Modern Variation, Early Deviations 45 moves Linares m Game 1 of Anand's 1992 Linares match win over Ivanchuk (5–3) — a Richter-Rauzer Sicilian that turns into a long endgame, his active king (…Ke6, …Kd5) and rooks grinding down one of his fiercest rivals.
  • 1995.09.25 Anand, Viswanathan vsKasparov, Garry 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation 35 moves PCA-World-ch Kasparov-Anand +4-1=13 Game 9 of the 1995 PCA World Championship match in New York — after eight straight draws Anand draws first blood, a Scheveningen Sicilian squeeze (b4–b5, c4–c5) that queens a passed pawn against Kasparov.
  • 1996.01.21 Anand, Viswanathan vsGelfand, Boris 1-0 Sicilian Defense: Closed 25 moves Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee 1996 — a 25-move Closed Sicilian miniature: Anand sacrifices on g5 (17.Bxg5) and then a knight on e6 (21.Nxe6) to tear open the king of the man who would become his 2012 title challenger.
  • 1996.12.17 Anand, Viswanathan vsKarpov, Anatoly 1-0 Queen's Gambit Accepted: Rosenthal Variation 37 moves Las Palmas Las Palmas 1996 — against former World Champion Karpov's Queen's Gambit Accepted, Anand rips open the king with the Greek-gift 21.Bxh7+ and a rook lift, then hunts it down the board.
  • 1997.07.21 Anand, Viswanathan vsLautier, Joel 1-0 Scandinavian Defense: Main Line, Mieses Variation 25 moves Biel Credit Suisse Biel 1997 — a 25-move Scandinavian in which Anand meets …Bf5 with a g4–h4–h5 pawn-storm and the rook lift Rh3–e3, trapping Black's light-squared bishop and winning a piece.
  • 1998.03.07 Ivanchuk, Vassily vsAnand, Viswanathan 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Richter-Rauzer Variation, Classical Variation 27 moves Linares 15th Linares 1998 — a 27-move Richter-Rauzer brilliancy: Anand's Black counterattack detonates with the rook sacrifice 22…Rxc2! and drives Ivanchuk's king into a mating net.
  • 2003.08.07 Anand, Viswanathan vsBologan, Viktor 1-0 Caro-Kann Defense: Karpov Variation, Modern Main Line 36 moves Dortmund SuperGM 31st Dortmund 2003 — a Caro-Kann in which Anand immolates his pieces on the enemy king: 22.Rxe6! and 23.Be7+! drag Bologan's king into the open for a decisive attack.
  • 2006.01.14 Karjakin, Sergey vsAnand, Viswanathan 0-1 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack 37 moves Corus Corus (Wijk aan Zee) 2006 — a Najdorf English Attack hailed at the time as an Anand immortal: his queenside pawn-storm sacrifice (…b3, 19…Bb3) and a relentless queen-and-rook king hunt overwhelm the teenage Karjakin, even after 31.f8=N+.
  • 2006.05.14 Anand, Viswanathan vsPonomariov, Ruslan 1-0 Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation, Spassky Variation 56 moves Sofia MTel Masters 2nd MTel Masters, Sofia 2006 — against former FIDE World Champion Ponomariov, Anand trades queens early and wins a long Caro-Kann endgame by pure technique, his connected queenside passed pawns deciding.
  • 2007.03.04 Anand, Viswanathan vsCarlsen, Magnus 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Keres Defense 38 moves Morelia/Linares 24th Morelia/Linares 2007 — Anand outplays the sixteen-year-old Magnus Carlsen in a Closed Ruy Lopez, breaking through with Ne6 and f4–f5 and queening a passed e-pawn against the future World Champion.
  • 2008.10.17 Kramnik, Vladimir vsAnand, Viswanathan 0-1 Semi-Slav Defense: Meran Variation, Blumenfeld Variation 41 moves World-ch Anand-Kramnik +3-1=8 Game 3 of the 2008 World Championship match in Bonn — Anand's prepared Meran (14…Bb7, 17…Rg4) sacrifices two pawns for a ferocious attack with Black, the first of three wins in his title defence over Kramnik.
  • 2010.05.11 Topalov, Veselin vsAnand, Viswanathan 0-1 Queen's Gambit Declined: Lasker Defense 56 moves World-ch Anand-Topalov +3-2=7 Game 12, the final classical game of the 2010 World Championship match — needing only a draw to force tiebreaks, Topalov pressed for a win with White and overreached; Anand's Lasker-Defence counter (32…Qxe4+) won the game and retained the crown 6½–5½.
  • 2013.01.15 Aronian, Levon vsAnand, Viswanathan 0-1 Semi-Slav Defense: Chigorin Defense 23 moves Tata Steel-A 75th Tata Steel 2013 — "Anand's Immortal." With Black in a Semi-Slav he unleashes 16…Nde5!, then sacrifices with 17…Bxd4+ and the quiet 19…f5, leaving Aronian helpless; resignation came on move 23. Chess.com later ranked it among the greatest games ever played.
  • 2015.04.21 Anand, Viswanathan vsSo, Wesley 1-0 Ruy Lopez: Closed, Martinez Variation 45 moves Gashimov Memorial 2nd Gashimov Memorial 2015 — at forty-five Anand is still attacking: against Wesley So's Ruy Lopez he offers a knight for a kingside pawn-storm (14.f4, 16.g6!) and converts the sharp queen endgame.
  • 2018.01.15 Anand, Viswanathan vsCaruana, Fabiano 1-0 Petrov's Defense: Classical Attack, Staunton Variation 42 moves Tata Steel-A 80th Tata Steel 2018 — a sharp Petrov that Anand wins with an unrelenting kingside initiative, outplaying Fabiano Caruana months before Caruana would challenge Carlsen for the world title.
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