A ballot box

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office.^[1] Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated since the 17th century.^[1] Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government. This process is also used in many other private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.

The universal use of elections as a tool for selecting representatives in modern democracies is in contrast with the practice in the democratic archetype, ancient Athens. As the Elections were considered an oligarchic institution and most political offices were filled using sortition, also known as allotment, by which officeholders were chosen by lot.

Electoral reform describes the process of introducing fair electoral systems where they are not in place, or improving the fairness or effectiveness of existing systems. Psephology is the study of results and other statistics relating to elections (especially with a view to predicting future results).

To elect means "to choose or make a decision"^[2] and so sometimes other forms of ballot such as referendums are referred to as elections, especially in the United States.

History[link]

Roman coin depicting election

Elections were used as early in history as ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and throughout the Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope.^[1] In ancient India, around 920 AD, in Tamil Nadu, Palm leaves were used for village assembly elections. The palm leaves with candidate names, will be put inside a mud pot, for counting. This was called Kudavolai system.^[3][4][5] Elections were also used to select rajas by the gana. Ancient Arabs also used election to choose their caliph, Uthman and Ali, in the early medieval Rashidun Caliphate;^[6] and to select the Pala king Gopala in early medieval Bengal.^[7] The modern "election", which consists of public elections of government officials, didn't emerge until the beginning of the 17th century when the idea of representative government took hold in North America and Europe.^[1]

Questions of suffrage, especially suffrage for minority groups, have dominated the history of elections. Males, the dominate cultural group in North America and Europe, often dominated the electorate and continue to do so in many countries.^[1] Early elections in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States were dominated by landed or ruling class males.^[1] However, by 1920 all Western European and North American democracies had universal male suffrage (except Switzerland) and many countries began to consider women's suffrage.^[1] Despite legally mandated universal suffrage for males, political barriers were sometimes erected to prevent fair access to elections (See Civil Rights movement).^[1]

Characteristics[link]

Suffrage[link]

The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections. The electorate does not generally include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those judged mentally incompetent from voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting.

Historically, other groups of people have also been excluded from voting. For instance, the democracy of ancient Athens did not allow women, foreigners, or slaves to vote, and the original United States Constitution left the topic of suffrage to the states; usually only white male property owners were able to vote. Much of the history of elections involves the effort to promote suffrage for excluded groups. The women's suffrage movement gave women in many countries the right to vote, and securing the right to vote freely was a major goal of the American civil rights movement. Extending voting rights to excluded groups (such as convicted felons, members of certain minorities, and the economically disadvantaged) continues to be a goal of voting rights advocates.

Suffrage is typically only for citizens of the country, though further limits may be imposed. However, in the European Union, one can vote in municipal elections if one lives in the municipality and is an EU citizen; the nationality of the country of residence is not required.

Campaigners working on posters in Milan, Italy, 2004

In some countries, voting is required by law; if an eligible voter does not cast a vote, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as a small fine.

Nomination[link]

A representative democracy requires a procedure to govern nomination for political office. In many cases, nomination for office is mediated through preselection processes in organized political parties.^[8]

Non-partisan systems tend to differ from partisan systems as concerns nominations. In a direct democracy, one type of non-partisan democracy, any eligible person can be nominated. In some non-partisan representative systems no nominations (or campaigning, electioneering, etc.) take place at all, with voters free to choose any person at the time of voting—with some possible exceptions such as through a minimum age requirement—in the jurisdiction. In such cases, it is not required (or even possible) that the members of the electorate be familiar with all of the eligible persons, though such systems may involve indirect elections at larger geographic levels to ensure that some first-hand familiarity among potential electees can exist at these levels (i.e., among the elected delegates).

As far as partisan systems, in some countries, only members of a particular political party can be nominated. Or, an eligible person can be nominated through a petition; thus allowing him or her to be listed on a something.

Electoral systems[link]

Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that convert the vote into political decision. The first step is to tally the votes, for which various vote counting systems and ballot types are used. Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally. Most systems can be categorized as either proportional or majoritarian. Among the former are party-list proportional representation and additional member system. Among the latter are First Past the Post (FPP) (relative majority) and absolute majority. Many countries have growing electoral reform movements, which advocate systems such as approval voting, single transferable vote, instant runoff voting or a Condorcet method; these methods are also gaining popularity for lesser elections in some countries where more important elections still use more traditional counting methods.

While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception. The secret ballot is a relatively modern development, but it is now considered crucial in most free and fair elections, as it limits the effectiveness of intimidation.

Scheduling[link]

The nature of democracy is that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek their mandate to continue in office. For that reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals. In the United States, elections are held between every three and six years in most states, with exceptions such as the U.S. House of Representatives, which stands for election every two years. There is a variety of schedules, for example presidents: the President of Ireland is elected every seven years, the President of Russia and the President of Finland every six years, the President of France every five years, President of United States every four years.

Pre-determined or fixed election dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability. However, they tend to greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving the legislature (parliamentary system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at time when dissolution is inconvenient (e.g. when war breaks out). Other states (e.g., the United Kingdom) only set maximum time in office, and the executive decides exactly when within that limit it will actually go to the polls. In practice, this means the government remains in power for close to its full term, and choose an election date it calculates to be in its best interests (unless something special happens, such as a motion of no-confidence). This calculation depends on a number of variables, such as its performance in opinion polls and the size of its majority.

Elections are usually held on one day. There are also advance polls and absentee voting, which have a more flexible schedule. In Europe, a substantial proportion of votes are cast in advance voting.

Election campaigns[link]

When elections are called, politicians and their supporters attempt to influence policy by competing directly for the votes of constituents in what are called campaigns. Supporters for a campaign can be either formally organized or loosely affiliated, and frequently utilize campaign advertising. It is common for political scientists to attempt to predict elections via Political Forecasting methods.

Difficulties with elections[link]

In many countries with weak rule of law, the most common reason why elections do not meet international standards of being "free and fair" is interference from the incumbent government. Dictators may use the powers of the executive (police, martial law, censorship, physical implementation of the election mechanism, etc.) to remain in power despite popular opinion in favor of removal. Members of a particular faction in a legislature may use the power of the majority or supermajority (passing criminal laws, defining the electoral mechanisms including eligibility and district boundaries) to prevent the balance of power in the body from shifting to a rival faction due to an election.

Non-governmental entities can also interfere with elections, through physical force, verbal intimidation, or fraud, which can result in improper casting or counting of votes. Monitoring for and minimizing electoral fraud is also an ongoing task in countries with strong traditions of free and fair elections. Problems that prevent an election from being "free and fair" take various forms:

Lack of open political debate or an informed electorate

The electorate may be poorly informed about issues or candidates due to lack of freedom of the press, lack of objectivity in the press due to state or corporate control, or lack of access to news and political media. Freedom of speech may be curtailed by the state, favoring certain viewpoints or state propaganda.

Unfair rules

This can include Gerrymandering, exclusion of opposition candidates from eligibility for office, and manipulating thresholds for electoral success are some of the ways the structure of an election can be changed to favor a specific faction or candidate.

Interference with campaigns

Those in power may arrest or assassinate candidates, suppress or even criminalize campaigning, close campaign headquarters, harass or beat campaign workers, or intimidate voters with violence.

Tampering with the election mechanism

This can include confusing or misleading voters about how to vote, violation of the secret ballot, ballot stuffing, tampering with voting machines, destruction of legitimately cast ballots, voter suppression, voter registration fraud, failure to validate voter residency, fraudulent tabulation of results, and use of physical force or verbal intimation at polling places.

See also[link]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Arrow, Kenneth J. 1963. Social Choice and Individual Values. 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Benoit, Jean-Pierre and Lewis A. Kornhauser. 1994. "Social Choice in a Representative Democracy." American Political Science Review 88.1: 185-192.
• Corrado Maria, Daclon. 2004. US elections and war on terrorism – Interview with professor Massimo Teodori Analisi Difesa, n. 50
• Farquharson, Robin. 1969. A Theory of Voting. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Mueller, Dennis C. 1996. Constitutional Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Owen, Bernard, 2002. "Le système électoral et son effet sur la représentation parlementaire des partis: le cas européen.", LGDJ;
• Riker, William. 1980. Liberalism Against Populism: A Confrontation Between the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
• Ware, Alan. 1987. Citizens, Parties and the State. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

External links[link]

Look up election in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• PARLINE database on national parliaments. Results for all parliamentary elections since 1966
• ElectionGuide.org — Worldwide Coverage of National-level Elections
• parties-and-elections.de: Database for all European elections since 1945
• ACE Electoral Knowledge Network — electoral encyclopedia and related resources from a consortium of electoral agencies and organizations.
• Angus Reid Global Monitor: Election Tracker
• IDEA's Table of Electoral Systems Worldwide
• European Election Law Association (Eurela)
• List of Local Elected Offices in the United States

Viswanathan Anand
Full name	Viswanathan Anand
Country	India
Born	(1969-12-11) 11 December 1969 (age 42) Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Title	Grandmaster (1988)
World Champion	2000–2002 (FIDE) 2007–present (Undisputed)
FIDE rating	2791 (May 2012) (No. 4 in the May 2012 FIDE World Rankings)
Peak rating	2817 (May 2011)

Viswanathan Anand (Tamil: விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த், IPA: [ʋiʃʋəˈn̪aːt̪ən ˈaːnən̪d̪]; born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and the current World Chess Champion. Anand has won the World Chess Championship five times^[1] (2000, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012), and has been the undisputed World Champion since 2007. Anand became India's first grandmaster in 1988.^[2] He was also the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honor. In 2007, he was awarded India's second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award in Indian history.

He held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the world title was split. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. He then successfully defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2010 against Veselin Topalov and in the World Chess Championship 2012^[3] against Boris Gelfand. As the reigning champion, he will face the winner of the upcoming Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2013.

Anand is one of 6 players in history to break the 2800 mark on the FIDE rating list, and in April 2007 at the age of 37, he became the world number one for the first time. He was at the top of the world rankings five out of six times, from April 2007 to July 2008, holding the number-one ranking for a total of 15 months. In October 2008, he dropped out of the world top three ranking for the first time since July 1996. Anand regained the world number one ranking in 1 November 2010, having defeated the reigning world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in the Bilbao Masters, but had to concede the top spot back to Carlsen in July 2011.

Anand has been described by Lubomir Kavalek as the most versatile world champion ever, since Anand is the only player to have won the world chess championships in many formats including Tournament, Match, Rapid, and Knockout chess.^[4] In an interview in 2011, Vladimir Kramnik (ex-World Champion 2000 to 2007) said about Anand: "I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess"; and "I think that in terms of play Anand is in no way weaker than Kasparov but he's simply a little lazy, relaxed and only focuses on matches. In the last 5–6 years he's made a qualitative leap that's made it possible to consider him one of the great chess players".^[5]

Early life[link]

Anand was born on 11 December 1969 in Mayiladuthurai, a small town in Tamil Nadu, India in a Tamil Brahmin family. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Chennai, (formerly Madras), where he grew up.^[6] His father, Viswanathan Iyer, is a retired General Manager of Southern Railways, and his mother Susheela, housewife and chess/film/club aficionado and an influential socialite. He has an elder brother, Shivakumar who is a manager at Crompton Greaves in India and an elder sister Anuradha who is a professor at the University of Michigan.^[7][8] Anand is 11 years younger than his sister and 13 years younger than his brother.

He was taught to play chess by his mother and a close family friend named Deepa Ramakrishnan. He described his start in chess in a conversation with Susan Polgar:

I started when I was six. My mother taught me how to play. In fact, my mother used to do a lot for my chess. We moved to the Philippines shortly afterward. I joined the club in India and we moved to the Philippines for a year. And there they had a TV program that was on in the afternoon, one to two or something like that, when I was in school. So she would write down all the games that they showed and the puzzles, and in the evening we solved them together.

Of course my mother and her family used to play some chess, and she used to play with her younger brother, so she had some background in chess, but she never went to a club or anything like that.

So we solved all these puzzles and sent in our answers together. And they gave the prize of a book to the winner. And over the course of many months, I won so many prizes. At one point they just said take all the books you want, but don't send in any more entries.^[9]

Anand was educated at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School,^[10] Egmore, Chennai and holds a degree of Bachelor of Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.

Personal life[link]

In August 2010, Anand joined the Board of Directors of Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation for promoting and supporting India's elite sportspersons and potential young talent.^[11][12][13] On 24 December 2010 Anand was guest of honour on the grounds of Gujarat university, Ahmedabad, where 20,486 players created a new world record of simultaneous chess play at single venue.^[14]

Briefly, Anand lived with his wife Aruna in Spain and they have one son.^[15]

His hobbies are reading, swimming, and listening to music. He is married to Aruna Anand and has a son born on 9 April 2011.^[16] Anand's son is named Akhil and in the Tamil tradition will be called "Anand Akhil" (no surname). The family is now based in Chennai, India.^[17][18]

Anand has been regarded as an unassuming person with a reputation for refraining from political and psychological ploys and instead focusing on his game.^[19] This has made him a well-liked figure throughout the chess world for two decades, evidenced by the fact that Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, and Magnus Carlsen, of whom the former two were rivals for the World Championship throughout Anand's career, each aided him in preparing for the World Chess Championship 2010.^[20][21] Anand is sometimes known as the "Tiger of Madras".^[22]

Anand was the only sportsperson to have been invited for the dinner hosted by the Indian PM Manmohan Singh for US President Barack Obama on 7 November 2010.^[23]

Honorary doctorate[link]

Anand was denied an honorary doctorate from University of Hyderabad because of confusion over his citizenship status, however later Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development apologised and said "There is no issue on the matter as Anand has agreed to accept the degree at a convenient time depending on his availability".^[24] According to The Hindu Anand finally declined to accept the doctorate.

Chess career[link]

Early career[link]

Anand's rise in the Indian chess world was meteoric. National level success came early for him when he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship with a score of 9/9 in 1983 at the age of fourteen. He became the youngest Indian to win the title of International Master at the age of fifteen, in 1984. At the age of sixteen he became the national chess champion and won that title two more times. He played games at blitz speed. In 1987, he became the first Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship. In 1988, at the age of eighteen, he became India's first Grandmaster by winning Shakti Finance International chess tournament held in Coimbatore, India. He was awarded Padma Shri at the age of 18.

Anand at the Manila 1992 Olympiad, age 22

"Vishy", as he is sometimes called by his friends, burst upon the upper echelons of the chess scene in the early 1990s, winning such tournaments as Reggio Emilia 1991 (ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov). Playing at such a high level did not slow him down, and he continued to play games at blitz speed.

In the World Chess Championship 1993 cycle Anand qualified for his first Candidates Tournament, winning his first match but narrowly losing his quarter-final match to Anatoly Karpov.^[25]

In 1994–95 Anand and Gata Kamsky dominated the qualifying cycles for the rival FIDE and PCA world championships. In the FIDE cycle (FIDE World Chess Championship 1996), Anand lost his quarter-final match to Kamsky after leading early.^[26] Kamsky went on to lose the 1996 FIDE championship match against Karpov.

In the 1995 PCA cycle, Anand won matches against Oleg Romanishin and Michael Adams without a loss, then avenged his FIDE loss by defeating Gata Kamsky in the Candidates final.^[27] In 1995, he played the PCA World Chess Championship 1995 against Kasparov in New York City's World Trade Center. After an opening run of eight draws (a record for the opening of a world championship match), Anand won game nine with a powerful exchange sacrifice, but then lost four of the next five. He lost the match 10½–7½.

In the 1998 FIDE cycle, the reigning champion Karpov was granted direct seeding by FIDE into the final against the winner of the seven-round single elimination Candidates tournament. The psychological and physical advantage gained by Karpov from this decision caused significant controversy, leading to the withdrawal of future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik from the candidates tournament. Anand won the candidates tournament, defeating Michael Adams in the final, and immediately faced a well-rested Karpov for the championship. Despite this tremendous disadvantage for Anand, which he described as being "brought in a coffin" to play Karpov,^[19] Anand was able to draw the regular match 3–3, forcing a rapid playoff. However, the rapid playoff was won 2–0 by Karpov, allowing him to defend his FIDE championship.

World Chess Champion[link]

FIDE World Champion 2000[link]

After several near misses, Anand won the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000 for the first time after defeating Alexei Shirov 3½–0½ in the final match held at Tehran, thereby becoming the first Indian to win that title.

He failed to defend the title in 2002, losing in the semifinals to Vassily Ivanchuk. The 2002 FIDE world championship was ultimately won by Ruslan Ponomariov. Anand tied for second with Peter Svidler in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 with 8½ points out of 14 games, 1½ points behind the winner, Veselin Topalov.

World Champion 2007[link]

In September 2007 Anand became World Champion again by winning that year's FIDE World Championship Tournament held in Mexico City. He won the double round-robin tournament with a final score of 9 out of 14 points, a full point ahead of joint second place finishers Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand.

In 2000, when Anand won the FIDE World Championship, there was also the rival "Classical" World Championship, held by Kramnik. By 2007, the world championship had been reunified, so Anand's victory in Mexico City made him undisputed World Chess Champion. He became the first undisputed champion to win the title in a tournament, rather than in matchplay, since Mikhail Botvinnik in 1948.

In October 2007, Anand said he liked the double round robin championship format (as used in the 2007 championship in Mexico City), and that the right of Kramnik to automatically challenge for the title was "ridiculous".^[28]

World Champion 2008[link]

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Anand convincingly defended the title against Kramnik in the World Chess Championship 2008 held between 14–29 October in Bonn, Germany. The winner was to be the first to score 6½ points in the twelve-game match.^[29] Anand won by scoring 6½ points in 11 games, having won three of the first six games (two with the black pieces).^[30] After the tenth game, Anand led 6–4 and needed only a draw in either of the last two games to win the match. In the eleventh game, Kramnik played the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense. Once the players traded queens, Kramnik offered a draw after 24 moves since he had no winning chances in the endgame.^[31]

Anand vs. Kramnik, 2008 World Championship

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Final position of the match

Final Game
Anand (2783) – Kramnik (2772), Wch Bonn GER (11), 29.10.2008:
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qc7 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.f5 Qc5 10.Qd3 Nc6 11.Nb3 Qe5 12.0-0-0 exf5 13.Qe3 Bg7 14.Rd5 Qe7 15.Qg3 Rg8 16.Qf4 fxe4 17.Nxe4 f5 18.Nxd6+ Kf8 19.Nxc8 Rxc8 20.Kb1 Qe1+ 21.Nc1 Ne7 22.Qd2 Qxd2 23.Rxd2 Bh6 24.Rf2 Be3 ½–½^[32]

On his winning the championship his mother—and his first coach—said "To me, it was like the first chess match he won in a school tournament. It's just the same, only the degree has changed."^[33]

Responding to Anand's win, Garry Kasparov said "A great result for Anand and for chess. Vishy deserved the win in every way and I'm very happy for him. It will not be easy for the younger generation to push him aside... Anand out-prepared Kramnik completely. In this way it reminded me of my match with Kramnik in London 2000. Like I was then, Kramnik may have been very well prepared for this match, but we never saw it."^[34] In 2010 Anand donated his gold medal to the charitable organisation "The Foundation" to be auctioned off for the benefit of underprivileged children.^[35]

World Champion 2010[link]

Prior to the World Chess Championship 2010 match with Veselin Topalov, Anand, who had booked on the flight Frankfurt-Sofia on 16 April, was stranded due to the cancellation of all flights following the volcano ash cloud from Eyjafjallajökull. Anand asked for a three day postponement, which the Bulgarian organisers refused on 19 April. Anand eventually reached Sofia on 20 April, after an exhausting 40-hour road journey.^[36] Consequently, the first game was delayed by one day.^[37]

The match consisted of 12 games. After 11 games the score was tied at 5½–5½. Anand won game 12 on the Black side of a Queen's Gambit Declined to win the match and retain the World Championship. In game 12, after Topalov's dubious 31st and 32nd moves, Anand was able to achieve a strong attack against Topalov's relatively exposed king. Topalov subsequently resigned.

World Champion 2012[link]

As a result of Anand's victory in the World Chess Championship 2010, he defended his title in the World Chess Championship 2012; the location of the event was Moscow. His opponent was Boris Gelfand, the winner of the 2011 Candidates Matches. The match was tied 6–6 after regular games with one win each. Anand won the rapid tie break 2.5–1.5 to win the match and retain his title.^[38]

FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion 2003[link]

In October 2003, the governing body of chess, FIDE, organised a rapid time control tournament in Cap d'Agde^[39][40] and billed it as the World Rapid Chess Championship. Each player had 25 minutes at the start of the game, with an additional ten seconds after each move. Anand won this event ahead of ten of the other top twelve players in the world, beating Kramnik in the final. His main recent titles in this category are at: Corsica (six years in a row from 1999 through 2005), Chess Classic (nine years in a row from 2000 through 2008), Leon 2005, Eurotel 2002, Fujitsu Giants 2002 and the Melody Amber (five times, and he won the rapid portion of Melody Amber seven times). In the Melody Amber 2007, Anand did not lose a single game in the rapid section, and scored 8½ /11, two more than the runners-up, for a performance rating in the rapid section of 2939.^[41] In most tournament time control games that Anand plays, he has more time left than his opponent at the end of the game. He lost on time in one game, to Gata Kamsky. Otherwise, he took advantage of the rule allowing players in time trouble to use dashes instead of the move notation during the last four minutes only once, in the game Anand versus Svidler at the MTel Masters 2006.^[42]

Other results[link]

Anand won three consecutive Advanced Chess tournaments in Leon, Spain, after Garry Kasparov introduced this form of chess in 1998, and is widely recognised as the world's best Advanced Chess player, where humans may consult a computer to aid in their calculation of variations.

Anand has won the Chess Oscar in 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008. The Chess Oscar is awarded to the year's best player according to a worldwide poll of leading chess critics, writers, and journalists conducted by the Russian chess magazine 64.^[43]

His game collection, My Best Games of Chess, was published in the year 1998 and was updated in 2001.

Anand's recent tournament successes include the Corus chess tournament in 2006 (tied with Veselin Topalov), Dortmund in 2004, and Linares in 2007 and 2008. He has won the annual event Monaco Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Championships in years 1994, 1997, 2003, 2005 and 2006. He is the only player to have won five titles of the Corus chess tournament. He is also the only player to win the blind and rapid sections of the Amber tournament in the same year (twice: in 1997 and 2005). He is the first player to have achieved victories in each of the three big chess supertournaments: Corus (1989, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006), Linares (1998, 2007, 2008), Dortmund (1996, 2000, 2004).

In 2007 he won the Grenkeleasing Rapid championship, which he won for the tenth time defeating Armenian GM Levon Aronian.^[44] Incidentally, just a few days before Aronian had defeated Anand in the Chess960 final.^[45]

In March 2007, Anand won the Linares chess tournament and it was widely believed that he would be ranked world No.1 in the FIDE Elo rating list for April 2007. However, Anand was placed No.2 in the initial list released because the Linares result was not included. FIDE subsequently announced that the Linares results would be included after all,^[46] making Anand number one in the April 2007 list.^[47]

Anand won the Mainz 2008 Supertournament Championship by defeating rising star Magnus Carlsen, earning his eleventh title in that event.^[48]

Rating[link]

In the April 2007 FIDE Elo rating list, Anand was ranked first in the world for the first time,^[49] and (as of July 2008^[update]) he held the number one spot in all ratings lists but one since then until July 2008, the exception being the January 2008 list, where he was rated No. 2 behind Vladimir Kramnik (equal rating, but Kramnik held the No. 1 spot due to more games played).^[50] He dropped to No. 5 in the October 2008 list, the first time he had been outside the top 3 since July 1996.^[51]

In 2010, Anand announced that he would expand his tournament schedule, beginning in late 2010, in an effort to regain the world number one ranking from Magnus Carlsen.^[52][53] He achieved that goal on 1 November 2010 list with a rating of 2804, two points ahead of Magnus Carlsen,^[54] but was once again overtaken by Carlsen in July 2011.

Notable tournament victories[link]

Awards[link]

Anand has received many national and international awards.

Indian national honours[link]

• Arjuna Award for Outstanding Indian Sportsman in Chess in 1985.
• Padma Shri – 1987.
• The inaugural Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour in the year 1991–1992.
• Padma Bhushan – Third highest civilian award awarded by Government of India in 2000.
• Padma Vibhushan – Second highest civilian award awarded by Government of India in 2007.

Other honours[link]

• National Citizens Award and Soviet Land Nehru Award in 1987
• British Chess Federation 'Book of the Year' Award in 1998 for his book My Best Games of Chess.^[57]
• Jameo de Oro the highest honour given by the Government of Lanzarote in Spain on 25 April 2001. The award is given to illustrious personalities with extraordinary achievements.
• Nilesh Murali and Rahul Desirazu Excellence in Chess Award (2004, 2007)
• Chess Oscar (1997, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008).
• Sportstar Millennium Award in 1998, from India's premier Sports magazine for being the sportperson of the millennium.
• 'Global Strategist Award' for Mastering many formats of World Chess Championships by NASSCOM in 2011.^[58]

Sample game[link]

Anand vs. Bologan, 2000 World Championship

	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h
8									8
7									7
6									6
5									5
4									4
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Position after move 36. Anand (White), in an apparently worse position, finds an intuitive sacrifice that leads to a winning attack.

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

On his way to winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2000, Anand (White) defeated Grandmaster Viktor Bologan (Black). Here are the moves (analysis by Grandmaster Ľubomír Ftáčnik):

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 c5 15. d5 c4 16. Bg5 Qc7 17. Nf5 Kh8 18. g4 Ng8 19. Qd2 Nc5 20. Be3 Bc8 21. Ng3 Rb8 22. Kg2 a5 23. a3 Ne7 24. Rh1 Ng6 25. g5! b4!?

Anand has a strong kingside attack, so Bologan seeks counterplay with the sacrifice of a pawn.

26. axb4 axb4 27. cxb4 Na6 28. Ra4 Nf4+ 29. Bxf4 exf4 30. Nh5 Qb6 31. Qxf4 Nxb4 32. Bb1 Rb7 33. Ra3 Rc7 34. Rd1 Na6 35. Nd4 Qxb2 36. Rg3 c3 (see diagram) 37. Nf6!! Re5

If 37...gxf6, 38. gxf6 h6 39. Rg1! Qd2! 40. Qh4 leaves White with an irresistible initiative.

38. g6! fxg6 39. Nd7 Be7 40. Nxe5 dxe5 41. Qf7 h6 42. Qe8+ 1–0^[59]

White forces mate in 12 moves if the game were to continue, with 42... Bf8 43. Rf3 Qa3 44. Rxf8+ Qxf8 45. Qxf8+ Kh7 46. d6 exd4 47. Ba2 h5 48. dxc7 Nb4 49. Qg8+ Kh6 50. f4 g5 51. f5 g4 52. h4 Bxf5 53. exf5 Nxa2 54. Qh8#

See also[link]

• List of chess games between Anand and Kramnik

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Viswanathan Anand, My Best Games of Chess (Gambit, 2001 (new edition))

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Viswanathan Anand

• Viswanathan Anand player profile at ChessGames.com
• Viswanathan Anand on Twitter (Chessbase article on Anand's Twitter account)
• Anand wins World Championship 2010
• 500+ photos from the World Championship 2010
• Viswanathan Anand at CSA Celebrity Speakers
• Latest Videos of Viswanathan Anand
• Viswanathan Anand games at 365Chess.com
• Interview with Viswanathan Anand at LatestChess.com year 2007
• TIME: History of Chess, by Viswanathan Anand
• Startup Lessons from Viswanathan Anand
• Interview with CNN IBN, May 2008
• Interview at ChessBase
• Vishy Anand on lessons to board room from the board Economic Times
• "India Swoons Over Its Chess Champ, and Even the Game" New York Times 9 August 2010
• The game Anand-Bologan, Dortmund (7) 2003, with annotations by Boris Schipkov
• The game Anand-Topalov, World Chess Championship, Sofia (4) 2010, with annotations by Boris Schipkov
• Viswanathan Anand's Interview in Dec 2011 before London Chess Classic

Mary McCormack
Born	Mary Catherine McCormack (1969-02-08) February 8, 1969 (age 43) Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Michael Morris (2003–present; 3 children)

Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969) is an American actress. Known for her work in television, she has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series Murder One (1995–97), as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in The West Wing (2004–06) and as Mary Shannon in In Plain Sight (2008–12).

Her film roles include Private Parts (1997); Deep Impact (1998); True Crime (1999); High Heels and Low Lifes (2001); K-PAX (2001); Right at Your Door (2006) and 1408 (2007).

Personal life[link]

McCormack was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. She is the daughter of clinical therapist Norah and car dealership and ice cream parlor owner William McCormack.^[1] Her parents divorced in 1990.^{[citation needed]} She has a sister Bridget, a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School,^[2] and a brother William, an actor who has appeared in a recurring role as FBI agent Robert O'Connor on In Plain Sight.

McCormack graduated from The Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, New Jersey, in 1987 and went on to attend and graduate from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, majoring in English and painting.^{[citation needed]}

McCormack married Brothers & Sisters producer Michael Morris in July 2003. They have three daughters, Margaret (born 2004), Rose (born 2007), and Lillian (born 2011).^[3] McCormack is the godmother of In Plain Sight co-star Fred Weller's daughter.^[4]

Career[link]

McCormack began her acting career at age 12, performing in Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors.^{[citation needed]} She continued her stage work in musicals and finished an acting program at the William Esper Studio.^{[citation needed]} She has worked in New York theater productions, including The Atlantic Theater Company, Alice's 4th Floor and Naked Angels, where she appeared in Jon Robin Baitz's A Fair Country.^{[citation needed]}

McCormack portrayed Justine Appleton on Murder One (1995–1997) and also starred in the HBO series K Street, which aired for only ten episodes.^{[citation needed]} She starred in Howard Stern's movie Private Parts. In 2004, McCormack joined the cast of The West Wing as Deputy National Security Advisor and ex-CIA officer Kate Harper. Her character soon became a recurring role and remained throughout the last three seasons of the series until its finale.^{[citation needed]}

McCormack now stars in a television series broadcast on the USA Network, In Plain Sight. She plays Mary Shannon, a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office of the Federal Witness Security Program (WITSEC), more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program. On July 28, 2010, the show was renewed for its fourth and fifth seasons, to run in 2011 and 2012.^[5]

McCormack was nominated for the 2008 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for the role of Gretchen in the 2008 Broadway revival of Boeing Boeing.^[6]

Filmography[link]

Produced[link]

Theatre work[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mary McCormack at the Internet Movie Database
• Mary McCormack at the Internet Broadway Database