Skip to main content
    Viswanathan Anand
    2016. Photo: Wolfgang Jekel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    15THWorld chess champion

    Viswanathan Anand

    Viswanathan Anand was world champion 2007–2013, for 6 years. He won the title in 2007 by winning the championship tournament in Mexico City, ahead of Vladimir Kramnik.

    Born
    11 December 1969 (age 56) · Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India
    Learned chess
    Taught to play chess at age six by his mother, further honing skills in Manila
    Profiles
    FIDE World Chess MuseumFIDE ratingsWikipediaChessmetrics
    6 years
    World champion
    4 of 7
    Title events won or kept
    2817
    Peak FIDE rating, Mar 2011
    2809
    On today's scale: 14th of 18

    Every title event

    YearOpponentScoreResultGamesWhere
    1995Garry Kasparov10½–7½Lost+1 −4 =13New York City
    2007Tournament (2nd: Vladimir Kramnik)–Won–Mexico City
    2008Vladimir Kramnik6½–4½Won+3 −1 =7Bonn
    2010Veselin Topalov6½–5½Won+3 −2 =7Sofia
    2012Boris Gelfand6–6 / 2½–1½Won+1 −1 =10tiebreak +1 −0 =3Moscow
    2013Magnus Carlsen6½–3½Lost+0 −3 =7Chennai
    2014Magnus Carlsen6½–4½Lost+1 −3 =7Sochi

    Across 6 title matches, Anand won 9 games, lost 14 and drew 51: a score of 46.6% of the points.

    Scores are listed winner first; a dash means the match wasn't played or was a tournament. Games are won, lost and drawn (+ − =) from Anand's side, counted from chessgames.com and shown only where they add up to the official score. Source: Wikipedia, List of World Chess Championships.

    Honours

    4
    World championship titles

    2007, 2008, 2010, 2012

    2
    Candidates wins

    1995, 2014

    2
    FIDE World Cup

    2000†, 2002†

    2
    World rapid titles

    2003, 2017

    1
    World blitz titles

    2000†

    3
    National championships

    1986, 1987, 1988

    1
    World junior title

    1987

    6
    Chess Oscars

    1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008

    Each year links to its source. † Held before FIDE's official series (blitz events of 1970, 1988 and 2000; the 2000 and 2002 World Cups). World championship titles are title events won or kept. Olympiad board golds are the best score on a board. Most of these events didn't exist before the 1920s.

    Compare all 18 champions' honours

    Impact at home: India

    • HonoursBecame India's first grandmaster in 1988 source
    • HonoursThe first recipient of the Khel Ratna (1991–92), India's highest sporting honour source
    • HonoursAwarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2007, the first sportsperson to receive it source
    • GrowthHas played a significant role in popularising chess in India source
    • InstitutionsEarned the GM title by winning the Shakti Finance International in Coimbatore in 1987, at 18 source

    India had 16 grandmasters when Anand became world champion in 2007. By 2017 India had 50, and by October 2026, 96.

    Measure2007when he became champion2017ten years on2026October 2026
    Grandmasters165096
    In the world top 1003 Oct 2007 list6 Jan 2017 list13 Nov 2026 list

    India grandmasters, 1983–2026

    0204060801001990200020102020Anand becomes India's first GMFIDE world championAnand champion

    Move over the chart to see any year.

    Grandmasters by the year FIDE gave the title, from Wikipedia's list of all 2,162 grandmasters (October 2026). Top 100 from FIDE's rating lists (OlimpBase to 2001, then FIDE); FIDE's lists begin in 1971. These numbers show what happened around each champion, not what he caused: many things grow a country's chess.

    Rivalries

    Kasparov v AnandTitle event 1995

    30 wins52 draws · 94 games12 wins

    Karpov v AnandTitle event 1998

    12 wins49 draws · 92 games31 wins

    Kramnik v AnandTitle events 2007, 2008

    32 wins144 draws · 208 games32 wins

    Anand v CarlsenTitle events 2013, 2014

    20 wins82 draws · 143 games41 wins

    How strong was Anand?

    His highest official rating was 2817, on FIDE's Mar 2011 list, as world No. 1: 3rd of the 8 champions from Fischer on, whose peaks fall on FIDE's lists.

    That month the best other player was Magnus Carlsen, at 2815: Anand was 2 points clear. The top 10 averaged 2785; on today's scale (FIDE's Nov 2026 top 10 average 2777) his peak is about 2809, 14th of the 18 champions. How this is worked out.

    Chessmetrics also ranks him 8th of all time on three-year average (2822, 1997-Jan to 1999-Dec). Source.

    250026002700280029001988199219962000200420082012201620202024Peak 2817 · Mar 2011
    FIDE standard rating on each list where Viswanathan Anand was in the world top 100 (lists were published once or twice a year until 2000), and FIDE's own monthly record from April 2003. Sources: OlimpBase, FIDE.
    Every month as a table
    FIDE listRating
    Nov 20262739
    Oct 20262739
    Sep 20262739
    Aug 20262739
    Jul 20262739
    Jun 20262739
    May 20262739
    Apr 20262743
    Mar 20262743
    Feb 20262743
    Jan 20262743
    Dec 20252743
    Nov 20252743
    Oct 20252743
    Sep 20252743
    Aug 20252743
    Jul 20252743
    Jun 20252743
    May 20252743
    Apr 20252743
    Mar 20252743
    Feb 20252750
    Jan 20252750
    Dec 20242750
    Nov 20242750
    Oct 20242751
    Sep 20242751
    Aug 20242751
    Jul 20242751
    Jun 20242751
    May 20242751
    Apr 20242751
    Mar 20242751
    Feb 20242748
    Jan 20242748
    Dec 20232748
    Nov 20232748
    Oct 20232754
    Sep 20232754
    Aug 20232754
    Jul 20232754
    Jun 20232754
    May 20232754
    Apr 20232754
    Mar 20232754
    Feb 20232754
    Jan 20232754
    Dec 20222754
    Nov 20222754
    Oct 20222756
    Sep 20222756
    Aug 20222756
    Jul 20222756
    Jun 20222751
    May 20222751
    Apr 20222751
    Mar 20222751
    Feb 20222751
    Jan 20222751
    Dec 20212751
    Nov 20212751
    Oct 20212753
    Sep 20212753
    Aug 20212753
    Jul 20212753
    Jun 20212753
    May 20212753
    Apr 20212753
    Mar 20212753
    Feb 20212753
    Jan 20212753
    Dec 20202753
    Nov 20202753
    Oct 20202753
    Sep 20202753
    Aug 20202753
    Jul 20202753
    Jun 20202753
    May 20202753
    Apr 20202753
    Mar 20202753
    Feb 20202755
    Jan 20202758
    Dec 20192757
    Nov 20192757
    Oct 20192765
    Sep 20192765
    Aug 20192756
    Jul 20192764
    Jun 20192767
    May 20192774
    Apr 20192774
    Mar 20192779
    Feb 20192779
    Jan 20192773
    Dec 20182773
    Nov 20182773
    Oct 20182771
    Sep 20182771
    Aug 20182768
    Jul 20182768
    Jun 20182759
    May 20182760
    Apr 20182776
    Mar 20182776
    Feb 20182779
    Jan 20182767
    Dec 20172782
    Nov 20172782
    Oct 20172783
    Sep 20172794
    Aug 20172783
    Jul 20172783
    Jun 20172786
    May 20172786
    Apr 20172786
    Mar 20172786
    Feb 20172786
    Jan 20172786
    Dec 20162779
    Nov 20162779
    Oct 20162776
    Sep 20162776
    Aug 20162770
    Jul 20162770
    Jun 20162770
    May 20162770
    Apr 20162770
    Mar 20162762
    Feb 20162784
    Jan 20162784
    Dec 20152796
    Nov 20152803
    Oct 20152803
    Sep 20152816
    Aug 20152816
    Jul 20152816
    Jun 20152804
    May 20152804
    Apr 20152791
    Mar 20152791
    Feb 20152797
    Jan 20152797
    Dec 20142793
    Nov 20142792
    Oct 20142785
    Sep 20142785
    Aug 20142785
    Jul 20142785
    Jun 20142785
    May 20142785
    Apr 20142785
    Mar 20142770
    Feb 20142773
    Jan 20142773
    Dec 20132773
    Nov 20132775
    Oct 20132775
    Sep 20132775
    Aug 20132775
    Jul 20132775
    Jun 20132786
    May 20132783
    Apr 20132783
    Mar 20132784
    Feb 20132780
    Jan 20132772
    Dec 20122775
    Nov 20122775
    Oct 20122780
    Sep 20122780
    Aug 20122780
    Jul 20122780
    May 20122791
    Mar 20122799
    Jan 20122799
    Nov 20112811
    Sep 20112817
    Jul 20112817
    May 20112817
    Mar 20112817
    Jan 20112810
    Nov 20102804
    Sep 20102800
    Jul 20102800
    May 20102789
    Mar 20102787
    Jan 20102790
    Nov 20092788
    Sep 20092788
    Jul 20092788
    Apr 20092783
    Jan 20092791
    Oct 20082783
    Jul 20082798
    Apr 20082803
    Jan 20082799
    Oct 20072801
    Jul 20072792
    Apr 20072786
    Jan 20072779
    Oct 20062779
    Jul 20062779
    Apr 20062803
    Jan 20062792
    Oct 20052788
    Jul 20052788
    Apr 20052785
    Jan 20052786
    Oct 20042781
    Jul 20042782
    Apr 20042774
    Jan 20042766
    Oct 20032766
    Jul 20032774
    Apr 20032764
    Jan 20032753
    Oct 20022755
    Jul 20022755
    Apr 20022752
    Jan 20022757
    Oct 20012770
    Jul 20012794
    Apr 20012794
    Jan 20012790
    Oct 20002774
    Jul 20002762
    Jan 20002769
    Jul 19992771
    Jan 19992781
    Jul 19982795
    Jan 19982770
    Jul 19972765
    Jan 19972765
    Jul 19962750
    Jan 19962725
    Jul 19952725
    Jan 19952715
    Jul 19942720
    Jan 19942715
    Jul 19932725
    Jan 19932710
    Jul 19922690
    Jan 19922670
    Jul 19912650
    Jan 19912635
    Jul 19902610
    Jan 19902555
    Jul 19892555
    Jul 19882555
    Jan 19882520

    The road to the title

    1. 1983

      Sub-Junior Championship[1]

      First place scoring 9/9

      Dominated the sub-junior championship with a perfect score at age 14.

    2. 1986

      National Championship of India[1]

      National champion at 16

      He won the title two more times

    3. 1987-08

      World Junior Chess Championship[1]

      World Junior Champion

      The first Indian to win it

    4. 1988

      FIDE Grandmaster Title[1]

      GM title

      India's first grandmaster

    5. 1991

      World Championship Candidates Match (Madras)[1]

      Defeated Alexey Dreev 4½–1½

      His first match win in a world championship cycle

    6. 1991-12

      Reggio Emilia Chess Tournament[1]

      First place

      Won the 1991–92 Reggio Emilia tournament

    7. 1995-10

      World Chess Championship 1995 (New York)[1]

      Challenger to Kasparov, at the World Trade Center

      After eight opening draws, then a record, he won game 9 with an exchange sacrifice

    8. 2000-12

      FIDE World Chess Championship 2000[1]

      Beat Alexei Shirov in a six-game final

      Won the FIDE world title, which he held until 2002

    9. 2006-04

      FIDE Rating Milestone[1]

      Passed 2800 Elo rating

      The fourth player ever to pass 2800 on the FIDE list

    10. 2007-04

      FIDE World Ranking[1]

      Reached World No. 1

      He held No. 1 for 21 months, the sixth-longest period on record

    11. 2007-09

      World Chess Championship 2007 (Mexico City)[1]

      Won the world championship tournament

      Became undisputed world champion, then defended the title in matches against Kramnik (2008), Topalov (2010) and Gelfand (2012)

    What Anand changed about chess

    • popularityIn 2007 he became the first sportsperson to receive the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award.[1]
    • strategyOften considered the greatest rapid chess player of all time.[1]
    • organisationElected FIDE Deputy President in August 2022, and briefly served as Acting President.[1]

    Achievements

    • 2007–2013Undisputed world champion 2007–2013: won the 2007 tournament, then defended against Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand[1]
    • 2000-12FIDE World Chess Champion[1]
    • 1988–2006First Grandmaster from India and fourth player to pass 2800[1]
    • World No. 1 for 21 months, the sixth-longest period on record[1]
    • 2007Padma Vibhushan (2007), the first sportsperson to receive it[1]

    Famous games

    • Viswanathan Anand v Victor Bologan, FIDE World Championship 2000 · 1-0[1]

      In an apparently worse position, Anand found an intuitive sacrifice that led to a winning attack.

      Victor Bologan
      Viswanathan Anand

      Start position

      1. 1.
      2. 2.
      3. 3.
      4. 4.
      5. 5.
      6. 6.
      7. 7.
      8. 8.
      9. 9.
      10. 10.
      11. 11.
      12. 12.
      13. 13.
      14. 14.
      15. 15.
      16. 16.
      17. 17.
      18. 18.
      19. 19.
      20. 20.
      21. 21.
      22. 22.
      23. 23.
      24. 24.
      25. 25.
      26. 26.
      27. 27.
      28. 28.
      29. 29.
      30. 30.
      31. 31.
      32. 32.
      33. 33.
      34. 34.
      35. 35.
      36. 36.
      37. 37.
      38. 38.
      39. 39.
      40. 40.
      41. 41.
      42. 42.
      43. 1-0

      Arrow keys step through the moves; click any move to jump to it. Pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett (BSD licence).

      Game score: chessgames.com

    • Sergey Karjakin v Viswanathan Anand, Corus Chess Tournament 2006 · 0-1[1]

      After a theoretical opening, Anand used a Karjakin blunder to sacrifice a bishop and a knight, then attacked with just rook and queen.

      Viswanathan Anand
      Sergey Karjakin

      Start position

      1. 1.
      2. 2.
      3. 3.
      4. 4.
      5. 5.
      6. 6.
      7. 7.
      8. 8.
      9. 9.
      10. 10.
      11. 11.
      12. 12.
      13. 13.
      14. 14.
      15. 15.
      16. 16.
      17. 17.
      18. 18.
      19. 19.
      20. 20.
      21. 21.
      22. 22.
      23. 23.
      24. 24.
      25. 25.
      26. 26.
      27. 27.
      28. 28.
      29. 29.
      30. 30.
      31. 31.
      32. 32.
      33. 33.
      34. 34.
      35. 35.
      36. 36.
      37. 37.
      38. 0-1

      Arrow keys step through the moves; click any move to jump to it. Pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett (BSD licence).

      Game score: chessgames.com

    • Levon Aronian v Viswanathan Anand, Tata Steel Chess 2013 · 0-1[1]

      An attacking game with multiple piece sacrifices, widely considered his immortal game.

      Viswanathan Anand
      Levon Aronian

      Start position

      1. 1.
      2. 2.
      3. 3.
      4. 4.
      5. 5.
      6. 6.
      7. 7.
      8. 8.
      9. 9.
      10. 10.
      11. 11.
      12. 12.
      13. 13.
      14. 14.
      15. 15.
      16. 16.
      17. 17.
      18. 18.
      19. 19.
      20. 20.
      21. 21.
      22. 22.
      23. 23.
      24. 0-1

      Arrow keys step through the moves; click any move to jump to it. Pieces by Colin M. L. Burnett (BSD licence).

      Game score: en.wikipedia.org

    In his words

    "Being the undisputed world champion is a relief. We instituted a unified chess title, I am the absolute world champion."[2]
    "I learned to play fast without agonizing about strategy or overanalyzing individual moves"[2]
    "My dream is chess played in every school in India."[2]

    More on Viswanathan Anand

    Quick answers

    When was Viswanathan Anand world chess champion?

    2007–2013: 6 years. He won the title in 2007 by winning the championship tournament in Mexico City, ahead of Vladimir Kramnik.

    What was Viswanathan Anand's highest FIDE rating?

    2817, on FIDE's Mar 2011 list, when he was world No. 1. That is 3rd of the 8 champions from Fischer on.

    Sources

    1. [1] en.wikipedia.org: "he won the sub-junior championship with a score of 9/9 points in 1983, at age 14."
    2. [2] en.wikiquote.org: "Being the undisputed world champion is a relief. We instituted a unified chess title, I am the absolute world champion."