The FIDE World Chess Championship rematch begins tomorrow in Sochi, a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. This second match has been scorned, coming as it does only a short time after the first match. This would not have been the case if another player had won the right to challenge the current World Chess Champion, Magnus Carlsen. Money for the rematch was difficult to find. This is a shame because the former World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, legitimately earned the chance to avenge his earlier in a feat that stunned the chess world. Those who believe this match will be another walkover for Magnus Carlsen will be sorely mistaken. This time the roles are reversed in that now it is Anand who comes into the match playing excellent chess, while Carlsen has had, shall we say, spotty results since garnering the crown. Vishy Anand has righted his ship, while the ship of Magnus Carlsen seems to be taking on water. Vishy has a changed attitude, and has gotten his groove back.
Absolutely no one, including Vishy it seems, expected the first challenge to the new reign of Magnus to come from the man just vanquished. This is what Magnus Carlsen had to say about the situation, “To start with, I did not expect him to win the Candidates. Initially, it was a bit surreal. It felt weird to know that I have to face Anand again.” (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/chess/I-have-psychological-edge-over-Anand-Magnus-Carlsen/articleshow/44990309.cms)
The change in Vishy is apparent not only in his play, but also in how he speaks of the return match. For example, there is this “…in a candid chat with Manisha Mohite shares his thoughts about the forthcoming clash in Sochi, Russia.”
Q. “Six WCC matches since 2007. Isn’t that a whole lot?”
A. “Really six in seven years, I didn’t realise it. Like I said, I really compete with myself. There have been times when you think you have had enough and always, after a few moments you realise: No, you always want more! Chess for me is something that I am fascinated with. I still realize that there are so many openings to learn from, to explore more. New variations to uncover, the ones that can blow the lid off, making months of work redundant. Still, when I start work on chess, I feel like a six year old with a chessboard, waiting at Tal Club to play Blitz.” (http://en.chessbase.com/post/anand-i-approach-sochi-with-positive-feelings)
To what can the dramatic change in Vishy be attributed? Dennis Monokroussos, writing in The Chess Mind blog, has this to say:
Peter Heine Nielsen: I’m Partly to Blame for Anand’s Failures
Monday, November 3, 2014 at 6:08PM
“Peter Heine Nielsen is a strong Danish grandmaster who for years was one of Viswanathan Anand’s seconds and is now in the Magnus Carlsen camp. In this article (below) he takes part of the blame for Anand’s decline over the past few years, though the nature of his supposed fault isn’t made entirely clear. Was it that he recommended sticking to the status quo (in terms of openings, general approach and/or style, etc.) to such an extent that it led to Anand’s stagnating as a player? Ultimately a mature player is responsible for his own results, but Anand can hope to have learned the right lessons over the past year while hoping that whatever it was that Nielsen did wrong, he has done wrong with Carlsen as well.” (http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2014/11/3/peter-heine-nielsen-im-partly-to-blame-for-anands-failures.html)
“Anand’s long-time second Peter Heine Nielsen, who worked with the Indian for close to a decade, and is now a part of Team Carlsen, says he is to blame partly for Anand’s failures. “Honestly, I very surprised when he qualified. I think he was surprised himself. He has this amazing ability to make a comeback, even when things go against him. Anand won his first two titles clearly. After that, it slowly started going downhill, something I may have also been one of the reasons for. We were doing things in a specific way, which worked out very well at the time, but then it cooled off,” says the Danish GM before tipping Anand for the title.” (From the aforementioned article, “I have psychological edge over Anand: Magnus Carlsen,” by Susan Ninan, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/chess/I-have-psychological-edge-over-Anand-Magnus-Carlsen/articleshow/44990309.cms)
Peter Heine Nielsen finds himself in a no win situation in that if Carlsen wins it will be said that he would have won without Nielsen, but if he loses, Nielsen can be blamed. The same can be said for Magnus.
It could be that Vishy has decided to accentuate the positive, elimanate the negative, and stop messing with Mr. Zwischenzug.
Make no mistake, this will be an emotional battle. I say this because after checking the biorhythms of the players I found the compatibility between the two to be an astounding 100% physically and 97% intellectually! In two of the three facets of biorhythms their charts show the same, so there can be no advantage. The emotional phase, the third facet of biorhythms, is quite different, with only a 5% compatibility. The main difference between the two combatants will be that Anand will be in a high emotional phase during the rematch, while Magnus will be in a low phase.
To help explain the possible meaning of this we have:
How to interpret the results from a biorhythm calculation
Emotional High:
Your emotions are keyed to their highest levels. This is the time when you will feel most outwardly directed to others, able to enjoy their company, as well as to give them support, encouragement, and understanding if needed. It is the optimum time for strengthening your relationships with your lover or friends. Your high emotions can also push you to great performances, especially in creative endeavors. On the other hand, depending upon circumstances and your personality, be aware of possible runaways, emotional outbursts or over-doing. Your high emotions could also lead you to impulsive, rash behavior.
Emotional Critical:
Either emotional exhaustion or euphoria is possible-from “the skids” (depression) to great heights (elation, outbursts). You may have a “let-down” or tired feeling, since exhaustion is often based on an imbalanced emotional state. You may also experience emotional “flair-ups” or extreme Agitation, anxiety, or frustration. In extreme cases, suicides or attempted suicides have occurred on or very close to emotional critical days.
Overexertion and exhaustion due to emotional stress are also potential dangers to health and can trigger a physical crisis such as a heart attack or a stroke. Be particularly alert to health side effects in the day’s activities. Give extra care and attention to situations where emotions play a key role: driving your automobile in heavy traffic; stress situations at work; dealing with family problems; disciplining and working with young children. In general, forced calmness and mental concentration on control of emotions is advised. Keep in mind the unique opportunity of an emotional critical day-by harnessing your emotional energies at this time you could develop and strengthen a model of emotional self-control and expression which is so important to overall happiness and well-being. This day could give you the opportunity to reach important breakthroughs in your emotional life, as well as present possible new avenues of creativity.
Emotional Low:
Your emotional state is relaxed or below normal. In situations where extreme calm or lack of emotions is required, this may be helpful. In other circumstances, your feelings, sensitivities, and awareness of your environment may be low. lt is a time when you may feel more inwardly directed, less able to extend yourself to others. You may even experience feelings of Depression or loneliness. In general, it is a time of passivity rather than engagement. (http://www.perbang.dk/orcapia.cms?aid=74)
When Mike Tyson won the Heavyweight championship of the world it was said he was “unbeatable.” No one is unbeatable. I am going on record to proclaim the next World Chess Champion will be Viswanathan Anand, who will become known as the Rocky of the chess world.
Armchair Warrior 