Anand deserved the title, says Kasparov

Anand

The visible and invisible "Seconds' were both at work, on and off the board, but there was one more invisible power player, the highest ever rated player on this planet who wanted to give tips to Anand and also wanted him to retain the title.

Frederic Friedel, the owner of one of the biggest Chess software giant ChessBase is one of those whom Anand publicly dedicated his title to, made a startling revealation that Garry Kasparov indeed was following each and every game of the Match and was very keen that Anand win it.

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Surprising that Anand and he had been bitter rivals at one stage of their career and had contested a PCA World Championship final in 1995 where Garry had beaten Anand.

Friedel further added: "Garry was calling me everyday after the Match and was literally clapping his hand and jumping with joy at Anand's achievement. Such great was his enthusiasm!’’

And I think the reason he did this was because basically he likes Anand a lot and admires his skill They had lot of battles on chess board and though Garry lead a very vigorous and aggressive lifestyle, politically, personally and professionally, he is after all a human being and genuinely likes Anand.

When quizzed whether he passed the tips on to Anand, Freidel replied in the negative but added 'since Anand and his team were working like a well oiled engine, he did not like to distract or disturb the balance.’

"However, I did not bother much because Kasaprov had telephonic conversation with Anand himself before the match and if at all he wanted any help to be delivered, he did it himself," added Friedel

Interestingly, this is Garry Kasparov's take on the match (courtesy Mig Greenguard): "It was a very well-played match by Vishy. Except for the loss of concentration in the tenth game he played consistently and managed to enforce his style. His choice to open with 1.d4 was excellent.’’

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``He reached playable positions with life in them, so he could make Kramnik work at the board. Anand outprepared Kramnik completely. Kramnik did not expect tough, sharp challenges with white, and this was the key for Anand. He kicked some sand in Kramnik's face and hit Kramnik's weakness: his conservative approach to the game itself.’’

``Suddenly Kramnik had to fight in these sharp positions and he wasn't able to do it. This result ends the illusion that Kramnik is a great match player. London was a unique occurrence and I still stand with Leonid Yudasin as the only players Kramnik has ever beaten in a match!’’

``Kramnik now has some work to do. His overly-defensive play seems to represent a general decline in strength. A great result for Anand and for chess. Vishy deserved the win in every way and I'm very happy for him. It will not be easy for the younger generation to push him aside."

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