And the winner of Fritz 15 is....!
When Vishy Anand was playing at the Candidates 2016, we set up a page where chess fans could send their wishes to the Indian champion. We received 67 wishes from people all over India, a few even from foreigners. The best entry would get a Vishy Anand signed copy of Fritz 15. It was a difficult choice as many of the entries were well-written and a lot of thought was put behind them. Finally we have the winner and also an annotated game by Anand himself!
Vishy Anand played some excellent chess at the Candidates 2016, scoring 7.5/14 and finishing third. He had great chances of winning the tournament until the eleventh round. Naturally, the interest of Indian fans in this event was very high. ChessBase India set up a page where you could send your wishes and messages to the great Indian champion. We added an interesting flavor to it – the best message would win a signed copy of Fritz 15 by Vishy Anand! The response was great and we received 67 messages filled with love, motivation, quotes, poetic rhymes and what not!
ChessBase India thanks each one of them for the love and support they have showered on Vishy.
The task to find the winner was entrusted to IM Venkatachalam Saravanan. He is a prolific writer, a voracious reader, a great commentator and has been the judge for many such competitions.
He spent quite a lot of time going through each and every message. Finally he came up with the winning entry – Avathanshu Bhat from Mumbai. Here is what Saravanan has to say:
“The basic sincerity of the Indian chess fan in wishing one of the greatest sons of the country was overwhelming. These are indications of how much a sportsman is valued, and Vishy seems to belong right at the top, a place which he deserves.
Hence, it was quite a difficult task in picking out the best among so many hearty wishes. There were many simple and sincere ones, there were poems, and there were words of unbridled affection and goodwill, and the effort that went into all the words was heartening. So, Chessbase India should thank all the fans for sending their wishes to Vishy, which he is sure to appreciate.
Finally, my choice is the following by Mr.Avathanshu Bhat of Mumbai, for reliving a few of the best ever moments of Vishy over the chess board, including that rare gem of a flurry of sacrifices in a rapid game against Ivan Sokolov in 1992, thus indicating his loyalty and attention to his hero. Kudos!"
Bring back the astonishing win against Kramnik with black pieces(World Championship 2008),
Bring back the excellent exchange sacrifice against Kasparov(1995 World Championship),
Bring back the wicked Be3! move against Aronian(Tata Steel 2013)!
Best Wishes to you, Mr Vishy Anand and may the Force be with you!
Avathanshu Bhat
Mumbai"
We congratulate Avathanshu Bhat for winning a signed Fritz 15 DVD by Vishy Anand and request him to contact us at chessbaseindia@gmail.com to claim his prize.
We asked Saravanan to send us second and third best messages as well. They do not win any prize but their wishes are appreciated and are here for everyone to read:
2. Vivek Tonapi
Dear Vishy, You've been an inspiration to millions of Indian. After winning everything that is possible to be won you do not have to prove anything to anybody. You are a true gentleman and a real champion, my best wishes and prayers are with you. Wish you all the best and have a wonderful tournament.
Regards,
Vivek
3. Abhishek Das, Jamshedpur
जागो विश्वनाथ, जागो
एक बार फिर
जागो विश्वनाथ जागो
अपनी हर चाल से, अपने हर वार से
धरा के धुरंधरों को कर दो धाराशायी
देश की शान हो तुम
देश का ज्ञान हो तुम
देश का मान हो तुम
विश्वगुरु सा जयघोष भरो
विश्वनाथ हो, विश्व पर राज करो
अतएव,
जागो विश्वनाथ, जागो
एक बार फिर
अभिषेक दास,
उम्र-29 वर्ष
जमशेदपुर
Read the other 66 wishes and messages
Just in case, you were wondering about these four games mentioned by Avathanshu, we have them here so that you can play over them and enjoy the Vishy brilliance!
In order to enjoy the analysis on your laptop (not for mobile users), click on the magnifying glass on the right top corner of the chess board given below. Use the keyboard arrow keys or the ones given below the chess board to play over the moves.
Anand vs Sokolov, Brussels 1992
[Site "Brussels"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "1992.07.??"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "BEL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1992.09.01"]
Nc5 9. Bf3 Be7 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 Qc7 12. Be3 Rb8 13. f4 Re8 14. e5 dxe5 15.
fxe5 Nfd7 16. Rxf7 Kxf7 17. Qh5+ Kf8 18. Rf1+ Nf6 19. exf6 Bxf6 20. Ndb5 axb5
21. Nxb5 Qd7 22. Qxh7 Qe7 23. Rxf6+ Qxf6 24. Bxc5+ Re7 25. Qh8+ Kf7 26. Nd6+
1-0
Kramnik vs Anand, Bonn 2008
[Site "Bonn"]
[Date "2008.10.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D49"]
[WhiteElo "2772"]
[BlackElo "2783"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2008.10.14"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2008.11.13"]
a6 9. e4 c5 10. e5 cxd4 11. Nxb5 axb5 12. exf6 gxf6 13. O-O Qb6 14. Qe2 Bb7 15.
Bxb5 Rg8 16. Bf4 Bd6 17. Bg3 f5 18. Rfc1 f4 19. Bh4 Be7 20. a4 Bxh4 21. Nxh4
Ke7 22. Ra3 Rac8 23. Rxc8 Rxc8 24. Ra1 Qc5 25. Qg4 Qe5 26. Nf3 Qf6 27. Re1 Rc5
28. b4 Rc3 29. Nxd4 Qxd4 30. Rd1 Nf6 31. Rxd4 Nxg4 32. Rd7+ Kf6 33. Rxb7 Rc1+
34. Bf1 Ne3 35. fxe3 fxe3 0-1
Aronian vs Anand, Wijk Aan Zee 2013
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2013.01.15"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2802"]
[BlackElo "2772"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2013.01.12"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "20"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.14"]
Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Qc2 Bb7 11. a3 Rc8 12. Ng5 c5 13. Nxh7 Ng4 14. f4 cxd4 15.
exd4 Bc5 16. Be2 Nde5 17. Bxg4 Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Nxg4 19. Nxf8 f5 20. Ng6 Qf6 21.
h3 Qxg6 22. Qe2 Qh5 23. Qd3 Be3 0-1
Anand vs Kasparov, New York, 1995
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1995.09.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2725"]
[BlackElo "2795"]
[Annotator "Anand,V"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1995.09.11"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "18"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.12.01"]
consecutive - still belongs to Karpov vs Kasparov from Moscow 1984. Anyway the
next six games had five decisive results!} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 {Neither player wanted to blink first.} e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a4
Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bf3 {Our discussion of the
Scheveningen Variation continues into my fifth White. I had tried 12.Qd2 in
the first game and then 12.Bd3 3 times. But Garry had managed to find a
solution to 12.Bd3 so it was time to switch.} Bd7 {He had played 13...Rb8
consistently in the matches against Karpov, but then switched to this move
against Van der Wiel in Amsterdam (Optiebeurs) 1987.} 13. Nb3 Na5 14. Nxa5 Qxa5
15. Qd3 Rad8 16. Rfd1 $1 {A recommendation of Van der Wiel. Almost all the
interesting games in this line were played by Van der Wiel - against
Polugaevsky and against Kasparov himself and his notes were a good starting
point for my preparations.} (16. Qd2 Rc8 {Van der Wiel-Kasparov Optiebeurs 1988
}) (16. g4 {Van der Wiel-Polugaevsky Haninge 1989}) 16... Bc6 (16... e5 17. f5)
17. b4 Qc7 18. b5 Bd7 (18... axb5 $2 19. axb5 Bd7 20. Na4 $16) 19. Rab1 $1 $146
{I was surprised to discover later that this move was an improvement over 19.
Ne2 (Kuijpers-de Boer). This is clearly stronger of course.} (19. Ne2 Rc8 20.
bxa6 bxa6 21. Qxa6 Ra8 22. Qd3 Rxa4 23. Rxa4 Bxa4 24. Nc3 Bc6 25. Nb5 Bxb5 26.
Qxb5 Rb8 27. Qa4 Rc8 28. Rd2 Nd7 29. Qd4 Rb8 30. g3 Nb6 31. Be2 Qc6 {1/2-1/2,
Cuijpers-DeBoer, 1988}) 19... axb5 (19... Rc8 20. e5 dxe5 21. fxe5 Qxe5 (21...
Nd5 22. Bxd5 exd5 23. Nxd5 Qxe5 24. Bf4 $16) 22. Bd4 Qc7 23. Bxf6 (23. b6 Qb8
24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Qxd7 Re7) 23... Bxf6 24. Qxd7 $16 {Because Black hasn't
exchanged the a-Ps yet, White will create dangerous passed pawns.}) 20. Nxb5 $1
(20. axb5 {Now this is less strong since the a-Ps are no longer there.} Rc8 (
20... Ra8) 21. Na4 Qxc2 22. Qxc2 (22. Nb6 Qxd3 23. Rxd3 Rc7 24. e5 dxe5 25.
fxe5 Nd5 26. Bxd5 exd5 27. Nxd5 Bf5 $1 28. Nxc7 Bxd3 29. Nxe8 (29. Rd1 Rd8)
29... Bxb1 30. Nd6 Bxd6 31. exd6 Bf5 $10) 22... Rxc2 23. Nb6 $44) 20... Bxb5 {
This surprised me since I was expecting 20...Qa5.} (20... Qa5 $1 21. Nxd6 {
Anything else allows Black to play Bc6 with a fine position.} Bxa4 22. Bb6 (
22. e5 Bxd6 23. exd6 Nd5 24. Bxd5 Rxd6 25. Qa3 Rxd5 26. Rxd5 exd5) 22... Rxd6
23. Bxa5 $1 (23. Qxd6 Bxd6 24. Bxa5 Bxf4 (24... Bxc2 $2 25. e5 $18) 25. Rxb7
Bxc2 26. Rd8 Rxd8 27. Bxd8 Bxe4 $1 (27... Nxe4 28. Bc7 g5 $1) 28. Rb4 Bxf3 29.
Rxf4 Bd5 30. Bxf6 gxf6 31. Rxf6 $10) 23... Rxd3 24. cxd3 Bxd1 $14 {White keeps
a slight advantage due to his ^^s and Black's weak b-P.}) 21. Qxb5 (21. Rxb5 $5
{Possibly even stronger than the game continuation.} Nd7 (21... Rc8 22. Rdb1
Qxc2 23. Qxc2 Rxc2 24. Rxb7 $16 d5 $140 $2 25. e5 $18) 22. Rdb1 Nc5 23. Qc4)
21... Ra8 22. c4 e5 23. Bb6 $1 {A fine move forcing Black's Q to go to c8.} (
23. fxe5 $2 dxe5 24. Bb6 Qc6 $1) 23... Qc8 (23... Qc6 {Now this fails because..
.} 24. Qxc6 bxc6 25. c5 $1 $16) 24. fxe5 dxe5 25. a5 Bf8 26. h3 Qe6 27. Rd5 $1
Nxd5 $4 {An inexplicable move. Black should just wait and make some useful
moves on the >>. White remains with the better position but has to find a way
to break through.} (27... h5 $5) 28. exd5 $18 {Now White just has to push his
pawns.} Qg6 29. c5 e4 30. Be2 Re5 (30... Be7 31. d6 (31. Qb3 e3) 31... Bf6 32.
d7 Rf8 {Black threatens Be5 with some chances, but...} 33. Bc7 $1) 31. Qd7 $1
Rg5 (31... Qg3 32. Qxb7 Rg5 33. Rg1 $18) 32. Rg1 $1 e3 33. d6 (33. Qxb7 Re8 34.
d6) 33... Rg3 34. Qxb7 Qe6 35. Kh2 $1 {This gave me my first win in a WC match
and my frist win against him (in a tournament game) after Reggio Emilia 1991.
I was ecstatic. Needless to say, the rest of the week was a cold shower.} (35.
Rf1 Rb8 $1 36. Qxb8 $140 Rxh3+ 37. Kg1 Qe5) (35. Rd1 $1 Rb8 36. Qd5 $18) (35.
Kh2 Re8 36. d7 $18 (36. Rf1 $18)) 1-0
If you would like to see such annotated games by Anand, you can purchase the Mega-Database 2016 which contains 267 games annotated by the five-time World Champion himself!
On the international website, Mega-Database 2016 costs Euros 159.90 which comes to Rs.12,000. However, on ChessBase India, you can buy it for Rs.4999/-. Send us an email at chessbaseindia@gmail.com if you are interested and we will let you know the procedure.