Viswanathan Anand Loses in World Championship but Good Year for Indian Chess

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New Delhi: In what turned out to be a bitter-sweet year for Indian chess, five-time winner Viswanathan Anand lost his bid to regain his title in the Sochi World Championship but Indian men's team clinched a historic bronze at 41st Olympiad.

After losing his World Championship crown at Chennai in 2013, this year saw Anand earn the right to challenge world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway again by winning the Candidates tournament at Khanty Mansiysk, Russia in March.

His grand comeback in the Candidates -- which has one of the strongest fields as eight of the world's elite compete -- reignited hopes of Anand clinching the World Championship title once more, and although the 45-year-old Indian took the fight to the Norwegian, it ended with a heart-break.

It was the 11th game, which put paid to Anand's hopes after he resigned on the 45 move to hand over a 6.5-4.5 victory to Carlsen. The Indian could win only the third game, while his younger rival registered victories in the second, sixth and 11th games.

However, besides the Sochi World Championship, it was a good year for Anand as he clinched the Bilbao Final Masters in September, before ending the season on a high with a victory at the London Chess Classic. Among other results, Anand won a bronze in world rapid chess, before finishing joint fifth in World Blitz, which was won by Carlsen at Dubai in June.