Anand geared up for second straight title

Viswanathan Anand: Born on December 11, 1969, Anand is one of the greatest talents in chess. In his younger days, the moves used to flow so rapidly that even the best in the world were not able to keep pace with him.

Once branded as the `lightening kid’, Anand hogged limelight in 1987 when he won the World Juniors. The same year he became a Grandmaster but the big break came in 1991 when he won the Reggio Emmilia tournament ahead of Kasparov and Karpov.

Since then, he has been consistent at top level and has elevated himself to the second position in international rating list.

Alexei Shirov: Shirov was born on July 4, 1972 in Latvia. Once referred to as `a talented amateur’ by Kasparov, Shirov has proved to the world that he is not an easy fish anymore.

It used to be `fire on the board’ when Shirov was young and he won quite a few accolades for his enterprising chess. The golden years started in 1991 when he won the Biel International tournament ahead of a strong field and since then he has made rapid strides to the top.

In the just concluded Sarajavo tournament, Shirov tied for the second place behind Kasparov.

Judit Polgar: The best woman player of the world for past many years, Judit was born on July 23, 1976. The youngest of the three chess playing sisters, Judit does not play in women individual events and has an excellent track record in the men’s section.

She crossed the 2600 rating barrier in 1994 and has never looked back since. Recently, she won the Jafpa Classic tournament in Indonesia ahead of Karpov.

Miguel Illescas: Illescas was born on December 3, 1965, and is the oldest competitor in the tournament. He is consistently playing in the top level tournaments for past five years and has done well to maintain a rating of around 2650 points.

Spain’s best player after Shirov, Illescas, is known for his attacking style and never-say-die approach.