Indian chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is celebrating his 47 birthday today.  His love for 64 squares started some 40 years ago and made him one of India’s most successful players. Anand is the most versatile world chess champion. He has won World Championships in classical matches, knockouts, rapids and blitz and dominated the advanced chess. So celebrating this achievements on this special day , let’s take a look to some of his interesting facts you must know.

#In 1984 at the age of 15, Anand became the youngest Indian to win the title of International Master (IM). In chess, IM is the level players normally attain before they become GMs.

#On November 07, 2010, when a dinner was hosted by the Indian government in honor of visiting U.S. President ‘Barack Obama,’ Anand was the only sportsperson to be invited.

# Anand remains the only chess player to win the championship title playing in all formats, such as match, tournaments and knockouts.

#Anand was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 1988 when he was just 18.

#He is the only the third chess player after Alexander Alekhine and Anatoly Karpov to have a minor planet named  4538 ‘Vishyanand ‘after him.

#He played against 40 chess wizards simultaneously and won against 39 of them at the International Congress of Mathematicians 2010 held in Hyderabad. 14 year old Srikar forced a draw from Anand.

#Anand is the brand ambassador for the educational institute ‘NIIT’ for the past 14 years.

#The eighth game of the 2012 world chess championship was won by Anand in 17 moves. The shortest game in championship history.

#While many people consider him as one of the greatest chess players in the world, Anand rates the late American chess prodigy Bobby Fishner as the best chess player of all time. Ironically, Viswanathan Anand doesn’t even feature in his own list of top 10 chess players

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