Anand readies to take on Kramnik

India's world chess champion Viswanathan Anand embarks on a new challenge this week, as he takes on the BrainGames world champion Vladimir Kramnik in a 10-game rapid clash in the German city of Mainz, a quiet enclave about 25 km away from the bustling metro that is Frankfurt.

"I am looking forward to this big event, as this is a new and interesting addition to the calendar," said Anand.

In a match widely seen as a clash between two world champions, Anand and Kramnik will play each other two times a day, for five successive days, under the rules governing rapid chess. Each player gets 25 minutes per game, with a further 10 seconds being added by the Fischer clock for each move made.

Anand, sponsored by IT giant NIIT, thus gets a chance to answer questions about his ability to combat Kramnik, who dethroned Garry Kasparov in the parallel BrainGames world championship in London last year.

Two months after that event, Anand went on to win the official FIDE world championship title, played in New Delhi and Teheran, with neither Kramnik nor Kasparov participating.

Anand and Kramnik will go head to head at the Rhheingoldhalle, at the Hilton Mainz, on the banks of the historic river Rhine. Anand, who has been preparing for this event from his Spanish home, is a popular figure here. A member of the Frankfurt Chess Club which, till last year, used to host this Chess Classic event, Anand is almost virtually assured of 'home' support.

"This is a great event and the match is significant because both players are strong," said Anand. "But I don't want to say too much more about it." His reference, in the second part of the statement, was to various proposals to conduct a unification match between the two world champions.

For the moment, Anand and Kramnik are both content to coexist. "If an opportunity comes for another match, we will see. Right now this match is the focus," said Anand.

Anand has had a good run so far this year, finishing second in the strong Wijk Aan Zee Super Grandmaster event in January, then winning the rapid event in Mirabal, Spain. He then played in the Advanced Chess tourn ament in Leon, Spain, where players were allowed the use of computers, and dominated the field to emerge champion.

He then won the classical event in Mexico, beating out the likes of Nigel Short, Alexander Khalifman and Gilberto Hernandez of Mexico.

In Mainz, Anand will be back to doing what he does best -- namely, quick chess. Last year, Anand won the World Cup for Blitz in Warsaw, then the World Cup in China and the Advanced Chess event in Leon before completing the year with a win in the FIDE world championships -- a feat likened by many to winning the grand slam in chess.

Before taking on Kramnik, Anand will play an exhibition bout against 40 players, 20 of whom are local German celebrities whose names will be disclosed late tonight. The other 20 places have been given to the highest bidders following an auction.

Though Anand versus Kramnik is the main attraction, the Mainz event features others: a special Random Fischer match between Peter Leko and Michael Adams, a man versus machine exhibition wherein Leko and Adams will play pocket computers, and an Open tournament featuring some very strong players.