The first day of the much-anticipated clash between two ex-world champions Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand at the Clutch Chess: The Legends event ended in favour of Russian grandmaster beating the Indian legend in one blitz game on Day 1 of their three day battle. Kasparov currently leads 2.5-1.5 against Anand with two days still left.
After two draws in rapid chess, Kasparov won the first blitz game when Anand overpressed. Anand almost levelled the score when he won a piece on move eight of the final game but Kasparov somehow escaped. Day 2 will feature two more rapid and blitz games as Anand looks to claw back the advantage.
What is the format?
The Anand vs Kasparov clash—titled Clutch Chess: The Legends is a twelve-game Chess960 (Fischer Random) match played with both rapid and blitz time controls. The match will be 12 games long. Four games will be played each day, regardless if the winner of the match has already been decided.
On the first day, a win shall be worth 1 point, a draw 0.5 point, and a loss 0 points. On the second day, a win shall be worth 2 points, a draw 1 point, and a loss 0 points. On the third day, a win shall be worth 3 points, a draw 1.5 points, and a loss 0 points.
Kasparov’s dig at Anand before event
Back in August, Before the match though, Kasparov had taken a light-hearted dig at the five-time world champion Anand, saying that he’ll give the Indian chess icon a chance to improve their head-to-head record.
“It’s entertaining. I think I should give Vishy a chance to improve our score!” Kasparov joked during the live broadcast of the fifth round of the Sinquefield Cup tournament on Saturday when asked about playing Anand. “He’s playing very good chess and he’s very much in chess, I am not. But I’ll enjoy it. Let’s see if I manage against Vishy even if my chess preparation is almost non-existent,” Kasparov added.
In the Classical format, Kasparov has a 15-3 winning record against Anand while 30 matches have been draws. However, in the most recent encounter in 2021, Anand had defeated Kasparov at the Croatia Rapid and Blitz in Zagreb.
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