Anand is one of greatest players, I'm honoured to beat him, says Carlsen.
Chennai: Chess has got a new king and his name is Magnus Carlsen. The 23-year-old Norwegian wunderkind dethroned India's Viswanathan Anand, champion since 2007, on Friday after taking a 6.5-3.5 lead in the 12-game series here. Needing a win in the 10th round to keep his slim hopes alive, Anand could only hold the world no. 1 in 65 moves.
For the fans of the great Indian, it was a death of a dream. The supporters of Carlsen, though, would call the decisive result a culmination of a longheld dream. The Norwegian, the biggest sports star in the Nordic country, becomes the second youngest world champion in the history of the game after his onetime mentor, Garry Kasparov.
He holds the record for being the youngest world no.1 and the player with t the highest rating (2872). i Carlsen paid tributes to the Indian hero.
“Anand is one of the greatest play ers of all-time. I'm honoured to beat him,“ he said. According to Anand, his loss in the fifth game was a game changer. “After four successive draws, losing the fifth was a big blow. It was really the low point of the series. Full credit to Carlsen because he provoked mistakes from me,“ he said.
The five-time champion, who is singularly responsible for the chess boom in India, was contrite that he wasn't able to fulfill the wishes of his legion of fans. “I'm disappointed by my play here. I'm sorry,“ he added.
Experts anticipate a chess wave in Europe and the USA following the success of Carlsen, who is charismatic and wellrounded. The Norwegian's intuition to come up with innovative solutions at the board and his ability to play solid chess for long hours, one should say, clinched him the crown that matters most in world chess.
( Source : dc )
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