This August, will Anand beat Kasparov?

by Sagar Shah - 06/07/2017

Garry Kasparov has decided to come out from his chess retirement and fight it out against some of the best players in the world at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017 from 14th to 19th of August 2017. It will also reignite the rivalry between two of the best players that the game has ever seen - Kasparov and Anand. How will the 13th World Champion fare at this event. Will he beat everyone to death, or be crushed himself? If you think you know the answer, take part in our contest and win Master Class Vol.07 on Garry Kasparov.

World Champion at the age of 22! Garry Kasparov became the 13th World Chess Champion in 1985.

Just have a look at the table given below. You will see quite a few big names in the world of chess like Nakamura, Caruana, Aronian, Karjakin, Anand etc. Scroll to the bottom of that same table and you will find the name of one of the most charismatic chess players of all times - Garry Kasparov!

2017 Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz Field
Title	Name	URS Ranking	*FIDE Rating	Age	Federation
GM	Hikaru Nakamura	2	2796	29	U.S.
GM	Fabiano Caruana	7	2752	24	U.S.
GM	Levon Aronian	8	2797	36	Armenia
GM	Sergey Karjakin	10	2773	26	Russia
GM	Viswanathan Anand	12	2789	47	India
GM	Ian Nepomniachtchi	13	2819	26	Russia
GM	David Navara	Wildcard	2737	32	Czech Republic
GM	Le Quang Liem	Wildcard	2747	26	Vietnam
GM	Lenier Dominguez	Wildcard	2796	33	Cuba
GM	Garry Kasparov	Wildcard	N/A	54	Russia
*FIDE Rapid Rating, June 2017

Yes, you read that right, Garry Kasparov will be coming out of retirement to fight against some of the best players in the world at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017.

How will Kasparov fare against the best players in the world is the question on everyone's mind right now!

22 years ago Kasparov and Anand faced off against each other at the World Championship Match in 1995 in New York

And now 22 years later they will be back on the board fighting against each other!

From all the 78 games that they have played in different formats Anand has 8 wins, Kasparov has 27, and 43 draws.

This will be Anand's opportunity to pull back three wins and take his tally up to 11. The tournament will be held in the same format just like Paris and Leuven leg of the Grand Chess Tour where nine rounds of rapid will be followed by 18 rounds of blitz.

The Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz will take place from the 14th to the 18th of August 2017. On 19th we will have the Ultimate Moves with Rex and Randy Sinquefield.

On 19th of August we will witness Ultimate Moves, a fun and exciting event!

The Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz is preceded by the 2017 Sinquefield Cup where Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So would also be playing. This will be held from the 2nd to the 12th of August 2017.

2017 Sinquefield Cup Field
Title	Name	URS Ranking	*FIDE Rating	Age	Federation
GM	Magnus Carlsen	1	2832	26	Norway
GM	Hikaru Nakamura	2	2785	29	U.S.
GM	Wesley So	3	2812	23	U.S.
GM	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	6	2796	26	France
GM	Fabiano Caruana	7	2808	24	U.S.
GM	Levon Aronian	8	2793	36	Armenia
GM	Sergey Karjakin	10	2781	26	Russia
GM	Viswanathan Anand	12	2786	47	India
GM	Ian Nepomniachtchi	13	2732	26	Russia
GM	Peter Svidler	Wildcard	2756	40	Russia
*FIDE Classical Rating, June 2017

This will be a classical event. After a day's break we will see the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz with Garry Kasparov in action.

Talking about his return to competitive chess, Kasparov said, "It's a thrill to officially be returning to the game, and certainly not something I would have anticipated more than a decade after my retirement. Coming back to the board in Saint Louis is truly an honor – I wouldn't want to commemorate this moment anywhere else."

Ready to see if I remember how to move the pieces! Will I be able to announce my re-retirement afterward if not?! https://t.co/2fh531rDRP pic.twitter.com/40mSRTczzR
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) July 5, 2017

Kasparov DVD prize:

Kasparov's return to competitive chess is a moment to be celebrated. And we offer you the Master Class Vol.07 as a prize! All you have to do is answer two questions correctly.

ChessBase has the master class volume 7 on Kasparov. Grandmasters like Marin, Rogozenco, Mueller dissect Kasparov's play on the DVD and tell you all about his famous victories, playing style and much more.

We are offering this as a prize to the person who gives the right answer to the following two questions:

1. Out of ten what will be the final placing of Garry Kasparov?

2. What will be the individual score between Kasparov and Anand in the one rapid and two blitz games that they will play against each other.

You need to leave your answer below in the comments section in the following format:

1. Eighth place

2. 3-0 in favour of Vishy Anand.

In case more than one person gets the right answer, a lucky draw will be held and the winner will be determined. The last date for submitting your entry is 31st July.

In case you cannot wait until the 20th of August for the winner to be revealed, you can buy the Master Class on Garry Kasparov from the ChessBase India shop from here.