Anand to take part at Candidates in Russia

Chennai: Viswanathan Anand has thrown his hat into the Candidates ring. Contrary to the opinion of many pundits, the chess ace from Chennai has decided to take part in the Candidates tournament that will decide the challenger for reigning champion Magnus Carlsen in the year-end’s world championship.

Fide has put out the list of players for the Candidates tournament, which will be played at Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, from March 13. The other players in the fray are: Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, world cup 2013 winner), Dmitry Andreikin (Rus, world cup 2013 finalist), Veselin Topalov (Bul, GP 2012-13 winner), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Aze, GP 2012-13 runner-up), Levon Aronian (Arm, rating list 2012-13), Sergey Karjakin (Rus, rating list 2012-13) and Peter Svidler (Rus, host nominee). The pairing will be announced by February second week.