Either outcome of Anand-Carlsen World Championship duel will be tinged with wistfulness

Magnus Carlsen

CHESS FAN FORUM:

The excitement of the Carlsen versus Anand World Chess Championship has suddenly given way to dread. What happened to the joy?

Suddenly, the thought of either Viswanathan Anand or Magnus Carlsen losing is unbearable. It’s breaking my heart.

One is ice, the other is fire. One holds chess traditions aloft and the other brings hope of glorious human achievements even in the face of onslaught by machines. I cannot imagine either losing.

If Anand loses the title, I will spend the night tossing and many painful nights after that as well. If Carlsen loses, the charm of the chess adventure will lose its sparkle… for a while at least.

Is that because I belong neither to Norway or India? Would it be easier otherwise? Did chess fans ever find it so difficult to take sides? But this could not be about nationalities, or cold wars, or even about like-ability and definitely this cannot be just about comparing Anand and Carlsen’s chess talent. So, whom do you support? How do you choose? There are no blacks and whites between Anand and Carlsen, just both in the same shades of grey.The online polls (on this site and around the world) consistently peg Carlsen as the would-be winner.

The only time Anand led in the poll was when Carlsen drew his games with Hikaru Nakamura at the Sinquefield Chess Cup. The poll curve bounced right back in Carlsen’s favour once the World No. 1 wrapped off the title win in Saint Louis. Some Grandmasters do feel Anand could win, but this number is pretty small.

… and now, one of them has to kill

Suddenly, everything feels so sadistic… like gladiators in violent confrontations entertaining a Roman audience?

My friends tell me it’s no big deal. This happens in sports all the time. Someone has to win, someone has to lose. They wouldn’t know. This is not sport. This is chess.

Some say, Anand had his chances. He became a draw-ts world champion, so it should be Carlsen. Some say, Carlsen knows no opening theory, he trivialises chess, so Anand should retain the title. Some say Carlsen will save chess from dying. Others say, Anand should win one more time…

Anand and Carlsen are friendly with each other. In this rivalry, they have come even closer… and, it’s breaking my heart.

It’s sadistic. Like Orson Scott Card in Ender’s Game:

In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.And then, in that very moment when i love them… I destroy them…Or, maybe it is not sadistic…Like a Wiki description would say: Irrespective of their origin, gladiators offered spectators an example of Rome’s martial ethics and, in fighting or dying well, they could inspire admiration and popular acclaim.

Salute to two of the finest chess gladiators of our times – Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. In fighting or losing well, they will both inspire chess lovers’ admiration for all time to come.- A Chess Fan

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P.S. Lyrics Breaking my HeartI’m on the floorCounting one minute moreNoone to break the silence

Staring into the nightAll alone but that’s alrightIt’s the feeling deep inside I don’t like

Chorus:There is no excuse my friendFor breaking my heartBreaking my heart againThis is where our journey endsYour breaking my heart again

Here in my bedCounting the words you’ve saidThey linger in the shadows

Coming home late at nightDrunk again but that’s alrightIt’s the look in your eyes I don’t like

Chorus:There is no excuse my friendFor breaking my heartBreaking my heart again…