Anand brutally snubs Carlsen as he plays ‘pick your favourite’ World Chess Champion

India's greatest chess player, Viswanathan Anand, tried the trending 'pick your favourite' game to reveal his favourite World Champion. FIDE, the international chess federation, played an impromptu game with the five-time World Champion, asking him to choose from a set of icons, past and present.

The final result might not be a big surprise considering it was the late American superstar Bobby Fischer, a favourite of many top-level players. However, the one-minute game revealed much about Vishy's current feelings about certain players, especially World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, who is widely regarded as the strongest player ever.

How did it go?
The start was straightforward: Capablanca or Alekhine. Cuban icon Jose Raul Capablanca was the third world champion and one of the finest endgame players of all time. Russian Alexander Alekhine had a long reign till the late 1930s, succeeding Capablanca. Anand chose Capablanca.

The next option was Boris Spassky, and Anand went with the former Soviet star, who passed away on February 27 this year. Spassky played Fischer in the most famous world championship match in 1972. But Spassky was soon out of the race because the next option was the maverick, Fischer.

Anatoly Karpov stood little chance before Fischer. But Garry Kasparov, the most successful world champion of all-time, forced Vishy into a deep think. "I never thought of that before," Vishy said, but eventually said goodbye to Garry. Next up was Vladimir Kramnik, the Russian with whom Vishy played the 2008 World Chess Championship and won. Vishy thought briefly, but went along with Fischer.

Carlsen? No way
Magnus Carlsen was the next one, but Vishy didn't even flinch. The response was blitzed out: Fischer. Norwegian superstar Carlsen had upset Vishy and other higher-ups in FIDE by calling them 'not grown-ups' following a spat with the world body over his forfeiture from the World Rapid Chess Championship last December.

One might wonder if Vishy was still upset about that because, with five world titles, Carlsen is a modern-day great. Carlsen defeated Anand twice in world championships and famously chose not to defend his title in 2023, claiming he lacks motivation. Carlsen has not bothered to compete for the last two world championships that saw Ding Liren and Gukesh become champions. So some might say Carlsen deserved a long hard think from Vishy.

Nevertheless, after Carlsen was removed from the equation, Ding Liren followed suit. D Gukesh, the current favourite and India's second world champion, brought a smile on Vishy's face, but he went with Fischer. The last choice was between Fischer and himself. "Well, right now, I have to say Fischer," he blushed.