Thirty years after their famous 1995 World Chess Championship clash in New York, Garry Kasparov once again got the better of Viswanathan Anand. While, this time, in an exhibition event in St Louis titled Clutch Chess: The Legends.
The two legends faced each other in 12 rapid and blitz games over three days. Kasparov won the contest 13–11 under a special points system. Through the system, wins on the first day were worth one point, the second day two points, and the final day three points.
Kasparov secured victory with two games remaining, though Anand finished strong by winning both of the last games.
While talking about the event, Kasparov stated, ‘Anand was not in his fine mental state during the three-day event.’ While speaking in an interview with St Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel, the Russian stated, “He had some psychological discomfort. It didn’t go well for him from day one, and I think it’s just that his score against me historically is bad, and somehow, probably just the ghosts of the past visited him during the game.”
However, when the interviewers pointed out that Kasparov had previously sealed the 1995 World Chess Championship exactly on 10th October, he merely stated he was not aware of it.
Kasparov admitted he was lucky in parts of the match. In one game, Anand lost on time despite having the upper hand, prompting Kasparov to apologise, saying he didn’t want to win that way. Reflecting later, the Russian legend remarked that he “deserved to be punished” for that game — a rare moment of humility between two great rivals.
“(Overall) it was a very difficult fight, and I think that I was extremely lucky in many games. There were few moments where the tables could have turned. I actually played a few good games. It’s probably those I have not won. I would have preferred to lose game one (of day 2) or just to force a draw, which I could do easily. I would rather win game two on day 2. So it’s probably a fair balance. Of course I just totally relaxed today after game two (winning the event),” Kasparov claimed to Grandmaster Maurice Ashley in the interview.
Kasparov further stated, “I’m not a professional player. I had very few expectations before the match. I was quite surprised to find myself in this situation. When I won the match, it was just somehow just total relaxation. In the depths of my mind I thought, ‘It’s not fair.’ I tried (to win the last two games). It’s not that I just lost on purpose.”
The Russian GM credited his luck for the win, stating, “I think I was more resilient than he expected. In times of trouble, to my great surprise, I did better. But again, luck is luck. I tried to make sure that luck would be with me.”
