Masterful City of León chess: Anand will fight for his tenth victory in León | Chess

Among Viswanathan Anand’s numerous feats, in addition to being a five-time world champion, is winning the Magistral Ciudad de León rapid tournament nine times, one of the most prestigious in that category. The Indian is also an excellent case of longevity in the elite: 11th in the world at 54 years old. And from June 28 to 30 he will seek his tenth victory, in the thirty-seventh edition, presented this Thursday in Madrid. It will not be easy, because his rival in the semifinals might be his wonderful compatriot Arjun Erigaisi (10th in the rankings at age 20), the former world champion Véselin Topálov (Bulgarian) and the local idol, Jaime Santos, winner in 2023.

The quick game format is on the rise, and it also has the support of the number one of the world, the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, who also participated in León when he was a teenager. Topálov reinforced that idea during the presentation of the Magistral this Thursday in the newspaper’s editorial office. Brand: “I believe that the fast modality is going to become the most important in the near future. Classical chess will decline, and may only be seen in the World Championship cycle. Santos agreed: “Quick games are more suitable for live streaming over the Internet than classical chess, which can last six or seven hours, which seems excessive in today’s world.”

Despite the tremendous rise of the young Erigaisi, and the strength of Topálov and Santos, Anand is the favorite despite his age, although his reflexes are no longer those that earned him the nickname The Madras Rapid. His most recent performance was three games in the German League: victory over the Azerbaijani Nijat Abásov (qualified for the Candidates Tournament), and two draws with the American Hikaru Nakamura, 3rd in the world, and the German Matthias Bluebaum. Each round will consist of four games with 20 initial minutes for each player, plus a ten-second increment following each match. In case of a tie, blitz games, with five minutes plus three seconds.

The Magistral, directed by Marcelino Sión, maintains not only the format of the tournament but also the richness of its parallel activities. Previously, on May 4, the II Conference on Chess, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity will be held, organized by INCIBE. And the XI Chess and Finance Competition, sponsored by El Inversor Inquieto, is already underway. Topálov will give an exhibition of simultaneous games on June 27 at the University of León. The ninth edition of the International Open will be played (on the 29th and 30th) and the fourth of the International Relámpago (on the 30th). And a round table on the history of the tournament (on the 29th). As a background setting for all this, the giant boards, manufactured with recycled material by RMD, will be installed in several strategic places in León.

to weekly newsletter ‘Wonderful play’, by Leontxo García