By Zaldy Dandan
Variety Editor

FIDE released its ratings list for April without including the results of the recently held Morelia/Linares Super-GM event, which left ex-world champ Veselin Topalov in the number one spot. This was greeted by protests from chess aficionados all over the world, including those in India, which has 1.1 billion people. FIDE relented, included Morelia/Linares and came out with a revised list.
At the top of the list, as expected, is India’s Viswanathan Anand, who, according to ChessBase, “becomes the sixth player to be ranked as the strongest player on the planet since FIDE started its ratings in 1970, with Bobby Fisher in first place.” The players who subsequently topped the list were Karpov, Kasparov, reigning world champ Kramnik and Topalov.
Anand, ChessBase noted, “is the first Asian player to achieve this extraordinary distinction and, political correctness be damned, the first non-white player to do so. Incidentally Anand becomes the world’s number one with a rating below his peak of 2803 in the April 2006 list, where he was a single point below Topalov and number two in the world.”
Here then are the world’s top 20 with their ratings and birthyears:
1) Anand, Viswanathan IND 2786 (1969)
2-3) Topalov, Veselin BUL 2772 (1975)
2-3) Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2772 (1975 )
4) Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2762 (1977)
5) Aronian, Levon ARM 2759 (1982)
6) Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2757 (1985)
7) Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2747 (1987)
8) Leko, Peter HUN 2738 (1979)
9) Svidler, Peter RUS 2736 (1976)
10) Adams, Michael ENG 2734 (1971)
11) Gelfand, Boris ISR 2733 (1968)
12) Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2729 (1969)
13) Polgar, Judit HUN 2727 (1976)
14) Navara, David CZE 2720 (1985)
15-16) Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 2717 (1983)
15-16) Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2717 (1983)
17) Bacrot, Etienne FRA 2709 (1983)
18) Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2708 (1983)
19) Kamsky, Gata USA 2705 (1974)
20) Shirov, Alexei ESP 2699 (1972)
Game of the week. In honor of the new numero uno, I present to you one of his wins in the recently held Amber blindfold/rapid tournament in Monaco as annotated by IM Jack Peters. Anand reigned in the rapid games, but Kramnik was supreme in blindfold which gave him a 2-point margin against the Indian superstar in the final standings.
White: GM Viswanathan Anand (India)
Black: GM Loek Van Wely (the Netherlands)
Sicilian Najdorf
Amber Blindfold, Monaco 2007
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be3 e5 7 Nb3 Be6 8 Qd2 Be7 9 f3 The English Attack against the Sicilian Defense. 0-0 10 0-0-0 Nbd7 11 g4 b5 A very popular position. The game usually continues 12 g5 Nh5 13 Nd5 or 12 g5 b4 13 Ne2 Ne8. 12 Rg1 Introduced by Anand a year ago against Morozevich, who obtained a good position by 12 ... b4 13 Nd5 Bxd5 14 exd5 a5 15 g5 Nh5. Perhaps Anand would vary with the untested 13 Na4 a5 14 Bb5 Rb8 15 Qe2. Nb6 Also logical. 13 Na5!? Qc7 14 g5 Nfd7 Not bad, although 14 ... Nh5 makes sense too. 15 Nd5 Bxd5 White welcomes 15 ... Nxd5 16 exd5 Bf5 17 Nc6 Rfe8 18 Bd3. 16 exd5 Nxd5!? Critical, as the safer 16 ... Rac8 17 Kb1 should favor White. 17 Qxd5 Qxa5 18 Bd3 Qc7? Black must pause for 18 ... g6. Then 19 h4 gives White fair compensation for the pawn. 19 g6! Nf6? Losing spectacularly. No better is 19 ... Rac8? 20 gxh7+ Kh8 21 Rxg7! Kxg7 (or 21 ... Nf6 22 Rg8+, exposing Black’s King) 22 Rg1+ Kh8 23 Bh6 Bf6 24 Qe4, when White threatens 25 Rg8+ and mate at h7. Black had to try 19 ... hxg6 20 Rxg6 Bf6 (not 20...Nf6? because 21 Bh6! Nxd5 22 Rxg7+ mates) 21 Rg3 Rfd8 or 21 ... Nb6 22 Qe4 Rfc8, evacuating his King to e7. 20 gxf7+ Kh8 21 Rxg7!! Kxg7 22 Rg1+ Kh8 23 Bh6 Black has no defense to the threat of 24 Bg7 mate. If 23 ... Nh5, then 24 Bxf8 Rxf8 25 Rg8+ mates at g8 instead. Ng4 24 Rxg4 Rxf7 Setting the trap 25 Qxf7?? Bg5+. 25 Qxa8+ and Black Resigns.
Puzzler.
White — pawns on g3, h4; Nb4, Qb8, Nf6, Kf7, Bg1
Black — pawns c3, c4, d7, e5, g6; Na5, Rc5; Bd1, Kf5; Nf8
White to play and mate in four moves.
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