World champion Viswanathan Anand [ Images ] will start his campaign with black pieces against defending champion Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine in the first round of the Corus Chess tournament.
The 14-player round robin event has some of the best names of the game including Vladimir Kramnik [ Images ] of Russia [ Images ], Levon Aronian of Armenia and World number one Magnus Carlsen [ Images ] of Norway.
Five times winner Anand will be eyeing his sixth title on one of his favourite hunting grounds and will also use this opportunity as a much-needed practice before the World championship clash with Veselin Topalov [ Images ] of Bulgaria slated for April this year.
Topalov is giving this year's tournament a miss.
Apart from the big guns in group A, there are two more important events -- B and C group -- to be organized simultaneously.
Grandmasters P Harikrishna and world's second youngest Grandmaster ever Parimarjan Negi will be seen in action in the tough B group while in the C group the Indian challenge will be headed by former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta and reigning world junior girls' champion Soumya Swaminathan.
Anand drew the number-14 in the drawing of lots, which means that the Indian ace will get seven black and six white games during the 13-rounds long tournament.
this
Users
Comment
article