World Championship Starts In Mexico City Today
By Arvind Aaron

Having a plus head-to-head score with all his seven rivals, World No.1 Viswanathan Anand should be considered a favourite in the World Chess Championship starting at Mexico City on Sep 13.

The event runs until October 1, 2007 and can be followed on www.chessmexico.com This event which will be staged at the Sheraton is naturally Mexico's biggest chess event to date.

One part of the Linares Tournament is being played in Mexico and this has led to development of chess interest in this part of America.

The event is a 8-player double all-play-all. The winner will be the one with the most points. In case there is a tie on points, September 30 is reserved for tie-breaks. Vladimir Kramnik of Russia who won the Reunification Match against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria at Elista last year is the current champion. Anand is the second oldest player in this contest after Boris Gelfand of Israel.

Expect plenty of opening preparation on the tables. Kramnik has been taking plenty of rest after winning the Dortmund Chess Meeting on July 1. Anand has played several varieties of chess and is the most experienced and tipped to win. He is a former world champion and won the event in Tehran 2000.

Garry Kasparov in a political interview to DNA of Mumbai also refers Anand as favourite in the Mexico City World Championship. The difference between now and then is that Anand is playing the Sicilian Najdorf as black. The prize fund is Rs.5.33 Crores (Rs.1.30 million USD).

The eight players: Viswanathan Anand (Ind, 2792), Vladimir Kramnik (Rus, 2769), Alexander Morozevich (Rus, 2757), Peter Leko (Hun, 2751), Levon Aronian (Arm, 2750), Peter Svidler (Rus, 2735), Boris Gelfand (Isr, 2733), Alexander Grischuk (Rus, 2726).