Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Anand’s Horrendous Blunder
Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess GM and former World Chess Champion. He was born on December, 11th 1966, and became the first GM from India in 1988. In April 2006, he became the fourth player in history to pass the 2800 ELO mark.
As a child, Anand was known for his rapid playing speed and earned the nickname “Lightning Kid”.
Anand’s chess career progressed quickly. He won the Indian sub-junior championship with a score of 9/9 points in 1983, at age 14. In 1984 Anand won the Asian Junior Championship earning his first IM norm. The same year, Anand made his debut with the Indian national team in the Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki winning his second IM norm.
Anand became World Champion in 2007 after winning the title in a tournament, rather than in match play, since Mikhail Botvinnik in 1948. He defended his title against Kramnik (2008), Topalov (2010) and Gelfand (2012). In 2014 Anand lost the title against Magnus Carlsen.
In 2022, Anand was elected the deputy president of FIDE.
Today’s game is one of the last games played by Anand. It took place in the prestigious Norway Chess 2022. The competition used a mixed format combining a double round-robin of classical games and an additional armageddon one in case of a draw.
The game presented today corresponds to the classical format when Anand played Mamedyarov in round 8. It features a typical Petroff, with both players settling down for some maneuvering. But in move 18, Anand started playing ambitiously and dangerously expanding on the kingside. And in move 22 it happened what is one of the biggest blunders of Anand’s career. He played his queen without noting that his opponent had a 2-move checkmate combination.
Without any doubt, a horrendous blunder!!
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