Anand to lead rest of the World team against Armenia

Deepika, India
June 10 2004

New Delhi, June 9 (UNI) World number two Viswanathan Anand will lead
the Rest of the World side against an Armenian team in a chess series
to mark the 75th birth anniversary of the late Armenian world champion
Tigran Petrosian.

The matches are to be held in Moscow from the June 10 to 15.

The special event will be a six-player team tournament where each
player faces all the members of the opposing team.

Besides Anand, the World team is expected to include Michael Adams,
Peter Svidler, Loek Van Wely, Etienne Bacrot and Paco Vallejo.

A couple of years ago, Anand had led a World team to a win over Russia
in an epic match in Moscow.

The Armenian team includes World No 1 Garry Kasparov and will have
members who are either Armenian or have an Armenian connection.

The three Armenians in the six-man team are Vladimir Akopian, Smbat
Lputian and Rafael Vaganian while others are Kasparov, whose mother
is an Armenian, Hungarian Peter Leko whose wife is from Armenia
and Israeli Boris Gelfand, who was the most famous pupil of Tigran
Petrosian and learnt the game from the master between 1980-83.

Anand, who has arrived in Moscow, said,”It is a very interesting
event. I enjoyed the match between Russia and Rest of the World
and I hope this will be a similar pleasant experience. Playing in
Moscow is always a treat. I remember playing in the Kremlin in 2001
against Tkachiev and the crowd start clapping when I played Qb3. To
be recognised in the Russian heartland for your chess is a matter of
pride.” Anand, a gourmet, added, “I like Moscow as a city. Moreover,
I think Moscow has the best Sushi places.” Talking about Petrosyan,
Anand said, “Petrosyan had excellent defensive resources and was an
unique talent.” Born on June 17, 1929, Petrosyan died in 1984.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress