Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess player. He holds the title of chess grandmaster and is a former five-time World Chess Champion. Achieving the status of the first grandmaster from India in 1988, he boasts the eighth-highest peak FIDE rating in history. In 2022, he was elected as the deputy president of FIDE.
Wiki/Biography
Anand Viswanathan was born on Thursday, 11 December 1969 (age 54 years; as of 2023) in Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius.
A childhood image of Viswanathan Anand
Later, he moved to Chennai with his family, where he spent his childhood. He attended Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai. Anand began learning chess at the age of six, after he saw his elder siblings playing chess; he asked his mother to teach him how to play chess. Later, his father got a job as a consultant on a contractual basis for the Philippine National Railways. He gained a deep understanding of the game while living in Manila with his parents from 1978 to the 1980s.
A childhood image of Viswanathan Anand playing chess
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Loyola College in Chennai.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Viswanathan Anand with his wife, Aruna
Family
Viswanathan Anand hails from a Tamil Brahmin family in Tamil Nadu, India.
Parents & Siblings
His father, Krishnamurthy Viswanathan, was a retired general manager from Southern Railways, who died at the age of 92 on 15 April 2021 after a brief illness. His mother, Sushila, was a homemaker and chess enthusiast, who died at the age of 79 on 26 May 2015.
Viswanathan Anand with his parents
He has two elder siblings. His brother, Shivakumar, who is 13 years older than Anand, is a manager at Crompton Greaves in India.
Viswanathan Anand with his elder brother
His sister, Anuradha. who is 11 years older than him, is a professor at the University of Michigan in the USA.
Wife & Children
In 1996, he got married to Aruna. The couple was blessed with a son in 2011 named Anand Akhil.
A wedding day image of Viswanathan Anand and Aruna
Viswanathan Anand with Aruna
Viswanathan Anand with his son
Religion
He follows Hinduism. In an interview, he said that he finds solace and joy in visiting temples, appreciating the tranquillity they represent. He credited his daily prayers a ‘heightened state of mind’, acknowledging that it aids him in maintaining better focus when engaged in chess.
Address
No.4, 2nd Cross Street, Customs Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Pin – 600090)
Signature/Autograph
Career
Early Chess Career
At the age of 14, Anand achieved his initial success at the National level by winning the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship in 1983.
Viswanathan Anand at the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship in Goa in 1983
The following year, he became the youngest Indian to attain the title of International Master, and within another year, he secured the national chess champion title, a feat he repeated a couple more times. In 1985, at the age of 15, Anand became the youngest Indian to attain the title of International Master by winning the Asian Junior Championship for the second consecutive year, held in Hong Kong. A year later, at the age of 16, he became the national chess champion. In 1987, Anand made history by winning the World Junior Chess Championship, becoming the first Indian to achieve this feat. The following year, he further solidified his place in chess history by becoming India’s first Grandmaster, clinching the title at the Shakti Finance International chess tournament held in India.
World Chess Championships
Anand secured the 2000 FIDE World Chess Championship by defeating Alexei Shirov in a six-game match, a title he retained until 2002.
Viswanathan Anand after defeating Alexei Shirov at the 2000 FIDE World Chess Championship
In 2000, he became the first Indian World Chess Champion. He became the undisputed world champion in 2007 and successfully defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010, and Boris Gelfand in 2012.
Anand – Carlsen World Championship Match (2013)
In November 2013, Norwegian Magnus Carlsen won over Anand in the World Chess Championship held in Chennai. The initial four games ended in a tie, followed by Carlsen winning the fifth and sixth games. Games seven and eight resulted in draws. Carlsen later won the ninth game and drew the tenth and final game, ultimately claiming victory with a score of 6.5-3.5 (+3 =7).
Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship held in Chennai in 2013
World Championship Defense 2014
In 2014, Carlsen successfully retained his title as the World Chess Champion by defeating Anand with a score of 6½–4½ points.
FIDE Elo Rating
In April 2006, Anand achieved a FIDE rating surpassing the 2800 Elo mark, making him the fourth player to attain this milestone after Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, and Veselin Topalov. In March 2007, Anand emerged victorious in the Linares chess tournament, and there was widespread anticipation that he would be ranked as the world No. 1 in the FIDE Elo rating list for April 2007. However, in the initial list released, Anand was placed at No. 2 because the Linares result was not included. Subsequently, FIDE announced that the Linares tournament results would be included, ultimately elevating Anand to the number one position in the April 2007 list.
Notable Wins
- 1986: Arab-Asian International Chess Championship
- 1987: Sakthi Finance Grandmasters Chess Tournament
- 1988: 5 Hoogovens Chess Tournament
- 1989: 2nd Asian Active Chess Championship, Hong Kong
- 1990: Gold Medal in Asian Zonal Championship
- 1990: Manchester Chess Festival, Manchester
- 1990: Triveni Super Grandmasters Tournament, Delhi Joint
- 1991: World Chess Championship, Brussels Quarter Finalist
- 1992: Reggio Emilia Chess Tournament, Reggio Emilia
- 1992: Goodrich Open International Tournament, Calcutta
- 1992: Alekhine Memorial, Moscow
- 1993: PCA Interzonal, Groningen
- 1994: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco
- 1994: World Championship Candidates Cycle, Linares
- 1994: PCA Grand Prix, Moscow
- 1995: PCA Candidates Final, Las Palmas
- 1996: Dortmunder Schachtage, Dortmund
- 1996: Credit Swiss Rapid Chess Grand Prix, Geneva
- 1996: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
- 1997: Torneo de Ajedrex, Dos Hermanes
- 1997: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco
- 1997: Aegon Man vs Computers Chess Event
- 1997: Chess Classic Rapid Tournament, Frankfurt
- 1997: Invesbanka Chess tournament, Belgrade
- 1997: Credit Suisse Classic Tournament, Biel
- 1997: Knock-Out Championship, Groningen
- 1998: FIDE World Chess Championship (Finalist)
- 1998: 60th Hoogoven’s Schaak Tornoi, Wijk Aan Zee
- 1998: Torneo International De Ajedrez, Linares
- 1998: Torneo Magitral Communidad De Madrid, Madrid
- 1998: Siemens Nixdorf Duell (Rapid), Frankfurt
- 1998: Fontys-Tilburg International Chess Tournament
- 1999: Wydra Memorial Chess (Rapid), Haifa
- 1999: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
- 2000: Wydra International Tournament (Rapid), Haifa
- 2000: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
- 2000: Fujitsu Siemens Giants Chess (Rapid), Frankfurt
- 2000: Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica
- 2000: Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Dortmund (Joint with Kramnik)
- 2000: FIDE World Cup, Shenyang
- 2000: FIDE World Chess Championships, Teheran and New Delhi
Viswanathan Anand after FIDE winning the World Chess Championship in 2000
- 2001: 2nd Torneo Magistral, Mexico
- 2001: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez, Leon
- 2001: Duel of the Champions (Rapid)
- 2001: FIDE World Chess Championship, Moscow (Semi-Finalist)
- 2001: Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica
- 2002: Eurotel World Chess Trophy, Prague
- 2002: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
- 2002: FIDE World Cup, Hyderabad
- 2002: Corsica Masters (Rapid), Corsica
- 2003: Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk Aan Zee
- 2003: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco
- 2003: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz beat Judith Polgar 5.0:3.0
- 2003: Corsica Masters, Bastia
- 2004: Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk Aan Zee
- 2004: Dortmunder Schachtage, Dortmund
- 2004: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz beat Alexei Shirov 4.5:2.5
- 2004: Corsica Masters, Bastia
- 2005: 18th Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess, Leon
- 2005: Chess Classic, Mainz
- 2005: FIDE World Chess Championship Tournament, San Luis (Runner-up to Topalov)
- 2006: Corus Chess Tournament, Wijk Aan Zee (Joint with Veselin Topalov)
- 2006: Melody Amber Tournament, Monaco (Joint with Alexander Morozevich)
- 2006: 19th Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess, Leon
- 2006: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
- 2006: Mikhail Tal Memorial Blitz Tournament, Moscow
- 2007: Morelia-Linares Super Grandmaster Tournament, Linares
- 2007: 20th Magistral Ciudad de Leon Chess, Leon beat Topalov
- 2007: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
- 2008: Morelia-Linares Super Grandmaster Tournament, Linares
- 2008: Chess Classic (Rapid), Mainz
- 2012: World Chess Championship in Moscow
Viswanathan Anand with the 2012 FIDE World Chess Championship trophy
Records
- Youngest Indian (at the age of 15) to win the Asian Junior Chess Championship with the title ‘International Master’ in Coimbatore.
- He won the national chess championship two times at the age of 16.
- First Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship in 1987.
- He received Padma Shri at the age of 18.
- India’s first Grandmaster, at the age of 18, won the Shakti Finance International chess tournament held in Coimbatore, India in 1988.
- He won the reunified ‘World Chess Championship’ in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
- First Indian to win the ‘FIDE World Chess Championship’ in Tehran in 2000 and 2007.
- Acquired the No.1 ranking in the ‘FIDE Elo Rating’ in April 2007.
- He won the ‘Chess Oscar’ international award in 1997, 1998, 2003, and 2004, 2007, and 2008.
- Became victorious in the ‘Advanced Chess’ tournament in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
- He won the 8th game of the 2012 World Chess Championship in just 17 moves and made it the shortest game in championship history.
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- 1985: Arjuna Award for Outstanding Indian Sportsman in Chess
- 1987: Padma Shri, National Citizens Award, and Soviet Land Nehru Award
- 1991, 1992: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
- 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008: Chess Oscar
Viswanathan Anand with Chess Oscar
- 1998: Sportstar Millennium Award
- 1998: British Chess Federation ‘Book of the Year’ Award for his book ‘My Best Games of Chess’
- 2001: ‘Jameo de Oro’ the highest honour given by the Government of Lanzarote in Spain
- 2007: Padma Vibhushan
Viswanathan Anand receiving Padma Vibhushan from the former President of India Pratibha Patil
- 2011: ‘Global Strategist Award’ for mastering many formats of World Chess Championships by NASSCOM
- 2012: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa honoured Anand with a cheque of ₹2 crores for his achievement in winning the World Chess Championship for the fifth time.
- 2012: ‘Indian Sportsperson of the Year’ and ‘Indian of the Year’ Awards
Viswanathan Anand with Indian of the Year Award in 2012
- 2014: Russian Order of Friendship for the development of economic, scientific and cultural ties with Russia
- 2015: Top Country Award at the Spanish embassy, Delhi
Car Collection
He owns a BMW car and a Range Rover car.
Net Worth
In 2023, his net worth was estimated to be approximately $15 million; he earns mostly from tournament prizes and other endorsements.
Favourites
- Chess Player: Bobby Fischer
- Book: ‘Cosmos’ by Carl Sagan
- Food: Mullangi (radish) sambhar
Facts/Trivia
- Viswanathan Anand also goes by the name Vishy.
- He earned the name ‘Tiger of Madras’ for his major contribution to chess.
- He is also referred to as ‘the Lightning Kid’ due to his reputation for quick tactical calculations in chess.
- In 1998, he published a book titled ‘My Best Games of Chess.’
Cover of the book ‘My Best Games of Chess’
- When Viswanathan Anand won the 2010 World Chess Championship, reports indicated that Magnus Carlsen had assisted Anand in his preparation for the championship. It was also reported that Carlsen had aided Anand in preparing for the World Chess Championships in both 2007 and 2008.
- On 7 November 2010, during the visit of then-US President Barack Obama to India, Anand was the only sportsperson invited to the dinner hosted by the then-Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
- He is fluent in Tamil, English, German, French, and Spanish.
- In 2012, he was ranked 57th on the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list.
- He has endorsed many brands and educational institutes including Horlicks, NIIT, Parle Milk Shakti, Edify, Vodafone, Subway, and Crocin.
- In 2015, a minor planet discovered by Kenzo Suzuki of Japan in Toyota Observatory in 1988 was later officially named ‘(4538) Vishyanand’ in honour of Viswanathan Anand.
- In an interview, he revealed that intuition is one of his strongest attributes and relies on it a lot.
- Anand took part in a charity simul named ‘Checkmate COVID’ to support COVID-19 relief, joining fellow Indian Grandmasters Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Nihal Sarin, and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. These five Grandmasters played online against 100 opponents on the Chess.com platform. The time control for the games was set at 30 minutes with a 30-second increment, and the grandmasters had an additional 15 minutes on their clocks. This initiative raised over $50,000, and all the proceeds were donated to Red Cross India and the ‘Checkmate COVID’ initiative of the All India Chess Federation (AICF).
- Apart from his passion for chess, he has a keen interest in astronomy. His all-time favourite book on astronomy is written by Carl Sagan, an American author. He is also a huge history buff, and he finds fascination in the field of statistics.
- In an interview, Lubomir Kavalek, an international chess grandmaster, talked about Anand’s game, he said,
Vishy Anand is the most versatile world chess champion. After all, he won world championships in classical matches, knockouts, rapids and blitz and dominated the advanced chess in which players are able to consult the computers. In this respect, no other world champion comes even close.”
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
The best chef .two years in a row !Grandmasterchef! What can i say?To my wife .. Yes love that is a perfectly cooked salmon according to the judges!… One salmon a la Chennai coming right up!!Its a big climb from opening cereal boxes … pic.twitter.com/SuxaYNYyM6
— Viswanathan Anand (@vishy64theking) June 7, 2019
- In a 2023 interview, while talking about his daily life, he said,
Travel is still the dominant thing in my life, but now more often than not I’m travelling not to play chess tournaments, so that’s the new twist. Funnily enough, I’m spending more time at home as well. If your son simply has an assumption that in a few days, Appa will go again somewhere, and then for two weeks he realises wait, he’s not going anywhere… that’s a new relationship, almost. So that is nice. One of the things we do together very often is we play badminton. Maybe the one big thing for us will be to have some nice holidays again. We haven’t had them in a while, so just a chance for the family to get out together, catch up with school friends, and hang out. You know, as time goes on, you learn to appreciate every single moment, not only the special ones.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education