Anand to have Carlsen as a second for the World Championship with Topalov

Anand and Carlsen will be on the same team for WCC 2010 in Sofia

The World Champion Viswanathan Anand will have the Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen as second for the upcoming match with Topalov. The news was announced by Anand himself in an interview during the visit at the East Zone NIIT Mindchampions Academy — Chess Master. Anand shared, "Surya Sekhar Ganguly may be. I am not sure. Seconds are a very secretive thing. Even if I tell you that he will be one of my seconds, the rival camp will not believe me. But one thing is for sure, Magnus Carlsen (the world No. 2) will be one of the seconds."

The World Champion added, "There’s a fight for the No. 1 spot. I rate Carlsen very highly. He’s had a memorable second half in 2009 and has improved by leaps and bounds."

Replay Carlsen - Topalov games

Carlsen - Topalov 1:0 Linares '08
Topalov - Carlsen 0:1 Morelia '08
Carlsen - Topalov 0:1 Final Masters Bilbao
Topalov - Carlsen 1:0 Final Masters Bilbao
Carlsen - Topalov 1:0 Mtel Masters '09
Topalov - Carlsen 1/2-1/2 Mtel Masters '09
Carlsen - Topalov 1:0 Nanjing '09
Topalov - Carlsen 1/2-1/2 Nanjing '09

Danailov about Carlsen and the 2010 World Championship

In a recent interview Silvio Danailov commented, "Since Carlsen started working with Kasparov, he is progressing as expected. At this moment he has to deal with the psychological pressure to be only 9 points from the top. He is young and talanted, it is expected for him to become number 1 at some point."

Anand and Carlsen in 2010

In the first part of 2010 both Carlsen and Anand are playing Corus chess 2010 tournament. While Anand is preparing from now for the match with Topalov, Carlsen will concentrate on Corus and will have extensive training session with Kasparov. The young Norwegian commented on his blog, "Right now I really look forward to a quiet and peaceful Christmas vacation with family and friends. My first tournament next year starts in the middle of January in Holland, but before that I’ll have a training session with Kasparov just after New Year."

Being Anand's second can surely be one of the reasons why Carlsen did not confirm participation for Linares 2010.

Anand and Carlsen in a rapid game encounter in Mainz

Source of the most recent Anand interview: Indian Telegraph