Anand close to another milestone

Vishwanathan Anand, the first Indian to win the World chess championships, could well be in the threshold of yet another major milestone in his life.

The 31-year-old Super Grandmaster, who divides his time between his hometown Madras and Spain, could become only the second player in history to cross the Elo rating of 2800. The next rating list will be released in January and it could see him touch 2800.

His performance in the last six months, over which the ratings will be calculated, has been phenomenal. He won the World Cup in Shenyang against top class opposition in which only Kasparov and Kramnik were missing. Then his triumph in New Delhi and Teheran could get him some more Elo points and help him break a major barrier.

In world chess only Garry Kasparov has been rated above 2800. His rating reached as high as 2849. Vladimir Kramnik's rating could also have been close to 2800 after his win over Kasparov in the Braingames Championships, but since the FIDE did not recognise the match, it may not be considered for purposes of rating. Kramnik has been around 2790 of late.

Anand, currently rated 2774, is expected to gain at least 15 Elo points from Shenyang and another 15 from the New Delhi and Teheran victories. His success in Teheran was really astounding, as he beat Alexei Shirov 3.5-0.5, which means he scored 87.5 per cent against a player of only slightly less strength. Shirov was rated at 2746.

Anand was the first Indian to cross a rating of 2500, back in 1987, and in 1990, he crossed 2600. In 1992, he became only the eighth player in history to go over 2700. At one stage, Anand was within five points of the 2800 mark. That was in 1995, when he had done very well against the strongest players in the PCA and FIDE cycles.

In India, there are three other players -- Krishnan Sasikiran, Abhijit Kunte and Pentyala Harikrishna -- who could come close to, or cross the 2600 mark. At least, Sasikiran and Kunte could be past that mark when the next list comes out in January. Elo ratings points assigned to a player which measures his or her playing strength. The system was devised by Professor Elo and it was accepted by the World body, FIDE, in 1970.

A beginner in competition may be rated around 1400 while a strong club player is deemed to be in the region of 1800. An International Master is rated 2400 and a Grandmaster about 2500. Only a handful of players are rated over 2600 and even fewer above 2700. In fact there are less than 10 players above 2700. Thus far Kasparov is the only player in history to go over 2800.

UNI