Anand to play first on-board game in Croatia Grand Chess Tour

After a hiatus of nearly 15 months, Indian Grandmaster (GM) Viswanathan Anand will play his first over-the-board chess game in the Croatia Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz tournament in Zagreb on Tuesday.

The tournament will feature 10 elite GMs competing over nine rounds of rapid and 18 rounds of blitz chess. In rapid chess, each player with get 25 minutes to complete the game with 10 second increment time added after each move. In blitz game, players will get five minutes for the game with two seconds increment time added after each move.

The added attraction in the blitz section is the presence of chess legend and former World Champion Garry Kasparov, who enters as a wildcard player invited by the organisers.

Anand and Kasparov have waged many memorable battles including the PCA World Championships final on the 107th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York in September-October 1995.
Anand will be participating in both Rapid and Blitz competition in Croatia.

Anand is in Croatia for the last few days, getting acclimatised and fulfilling the regulations related to COVID-19 protocols. The rapid section will be played from July 7 to 9 while the blitz games will be held on July 10 and 11.