‘Probably Ghosts Of Past Visited Him’, Says Garry Kasparov After Beating Vishy Anand

‘Probably ghosts of past visited him’, says Garry Kasparov after beating Vishy Anand (Image Source: IANS)

St Louis Chess Club: Garry Kasparov defeated Viswanathan Anand in the exhibition event, Clutch Chess: The Legends, held at St Louis. Over three days, Kasparov and Anand competed in 12 rapid and blitz games in a freestyle format, with Kasparov winning by a 13-11 score.

The event used a cascading points system—wins on Day 1 earned one point, Day 2 earned two, and Day 3 earned three—allowing Kasparov to secure his victory with two games remaining. Anand then won both of those last games.

In an interview with St Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel after the win, Kasparov mentioned that Anand experienced some “psychological discomfort” over the three days, as he said:

“He had some psychological discomfort. It didn’t go well for him from day one and I think it’s just that his score against me historically is bad and somehow, probably just the ghosts of the past visited him during the game.”

On the second day of Clutch Chess: The Legends, Viswanathan Anand, India's five-time world champion, had a clear advantage in the fifth game against Garry Kasparov. This game was played in rapid format. However, Anand appeared to lose track of his clock and ultimately lost on time.

Anand had more than a minute remaining on his clock in a winning position but lost on time to Kasparov, making day two of the 2025 Clutch Chess Legends the worst start for the Indian legend. Kasparov continued to dominate and secured another victory after Anand blundered a piece on move 17.

“It was a very difficult fight and I think that I was extremely lucky in many games. There were few moments where the tables could have turned. I actually played a few good games. It’s probably those I have not won. I would have preferred to lose game one (of day 2) or just to force a draw which I could do easily. I would rather win game two on day 2. So it’s probably a fair balance. Of course I just totally relaxed today after game two (winning the event),” Kasparov told grandmaster Maurice Ashley during the interview.

Kasparov defeated the five-time world champion exactly 30 years after winning against Anand in the 1995 World Chess Championship at New York’s World Trade Centre.

“It was a very difficult fight and I think that I was extremely lucky in many games. There were few moments where the tables could have turned. I actually played a few good games. It’s probably those I have not won. I would have preferred to lose game one (of day 2) or just to force a draw which I could do easily. I would rather win game two on day 2. So it’s probably a fair balance. Of course I just totally relaxed today after game two (winning the event),” Kasparov told grandmaster Maurice Ashley during the interview.

“I think I was more resilient than he expected. In time trouble, to my great surprise, I did better. But again luck is luck. I tried to make sure that luck would be with me,” he added.

Article Source: IANS