Happy Birthday Viswanathan Anand: The greatest sportsman who created a revolution

Viswanathan Anand joined an elite bunch of players when he became the first Grandmaster from India. However, it was in 1991 that Viswanathan Anand showed that he could beat the big boys on the world stage. In 1991 Reggio Emilia, Viswanathan Anand defeated Garry Kasparov and also topped the tournament ahead of Anatoly Karpov. By getting the better of two legends of chess, this wonderkid was making heads turn and the world's attention was on India. In 1995, Viswanathan Anand got a chance to play in the World Chess Championships against Garry Kasparov at the iconic World Trade Centre in New York. Against all the odds, Anand won the fifth game and was leading 5-4. However, Kasparov resorted to dirty tactics, which included slamming the door which resulted in Anand's loss of concentration. The tactic worked and Kasparov managed to win the remaining games to deny Anand his first world championship. (Image credit: Twitter)

However, Anand would go on and create history in 2002 when he defeated Alexei Shirov in Tehran by 3.5-0-5 to win his first world chess championship. It was a fitting moment for Viswanathan Anand and it fulfilled years of pain and heartache. Viswanathan Anand was now the world chess champion and finally, India had someone on the world stage who could conquer any obstacle. (Image credit: Twitter)

Viswanathan Anand's remarkable journey continued as he won the World Cup in 2002 and also became the undisputed world champion in 2007 and 2008. When he won the Round Robin tournament in Mexico in 2007 as well as beating Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Viswanathan Anand had achieved greatness beyond anybody's measure. Viswanathan Anand became the first and only champion to have won the world championship in three different formats. He also secured the world number one ranking and he also briefly went past 2800 ELO points. Now, the benchmark of 2800 ELO points is like having an average of over 100 in Tests for a cricketer.

In 2010, Viswanathan Anand was faced with his greatest challenge not from the opponent but from the elements of nature. When the Iceland volcano erupted, flight services were thrown out of gear. Anand, in order to reach Bulgaria, took a 40-hour road-trip where he watched the Lord of the Rings trology along the way. When he reached Sofia, he requested a postponement but the officials flatly refused. Despite everything being against Anand, he won the world championship for the fourth time by beating Vaselin Topalov. (Image credit: Twitter)

In 2012, Viswanathan Anand became the world champion for the fifth time when he defeated Boris Gelfand in Moscow and it cemented his spot as one of the greatest in the world. Viswanathan Anand was already the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award while he also has won the Arjuna and Padma Vibhushan. In addition to many titles, Viswanathan Anand's fifth world title resulted in him being named 'Indian of the Year' by a prominent network. (Image credit: Twitter)

The emergence of Magnus Carlsen saw Anand losing his title in Chennai in 2013. Despite winning the right to face Carlsen again, he lost in 2014 in an even tougher fight. However, in 2017, Viswanathan Anand stunned the chess world when he won the World Rapid Chess title in Riyadh. Viswanathan Anand had shown the world that he can never be written off. After the Olympiad gold in 2020, Viswanathan Anand has sealed his reputation as one of the greatest in this business. It is because of his exploits that India has seen a revolution with chess and the number of people who want to participate. (Image credit: Twitter)