Viswanathan Anand will bid to become the first player in the long tradition of Wijk Aan Zee to win the Corus chess tournament five times. The four-time winner in 1989, 1998, 2003 and 2004 is also attempting a hat-trick of titles at Wijk Aan Zee, traditionally the first big chess event of each calendar year.
Anand, is coming off a brilliant 2004, during which he won the classical event in Dortmund, rapid events in Mainz, Sao Paulo and Corsica besides taking India to their best-ever finish, a sixth place at the Olympiad. About his 2004 season, Anand said, "I just won everything I played. That is an awesome feeling."
The Corus 2005 tournament will be held from January 14 to January 30 at the Dorpshuis De Moriaan in Wijk Aan Zee, a sea-side resort, about an hour's journey from Amsterdam.
"Being the first in the calendar year, Players are motivated to start the year on a good note. Coming after a good break, chess players tend to be better prepared and have studied a lot of theory and opening preparation," he added.
In this field, Anand will play the Cuban Gm Lazaro Bruzon for the first time, and the Cuban came in by winning last year's B group event.
In 2004, Anand and Kramnik played in Corus, Dortmund and Amber Rapid and Blind Chess. Anand defeated Kramnik in the finals in the rapid format at Dortmund.
"Kramnik and myself have played in nearly all-classical events. He is a very tough rival to beat," said Anand of his main rival.
The others in the fray include Peter Svidler, Alexander Morozevich, Michael Adams and Peter Leko. Incidentally, Leko defeated Anand in Armenia vs the World match, but Anand starts as the favourite whenever the two clash.
"In a classical event of this duration, energy levels will be important. Essentially the stamina should last till the last rounds," said Anand about pacing himself in Corus 2005.
Boasting of 14 of the world's best stars, the Corus Grandmasters tournament is now in its 67th edition. Chess legends like Max Euwe, Vassily Smyslov, Tigran Petrosian have all participated. In the current field, Anand is the only player to have won it more than once -- in fact he has won it four times.
Anand has one of the best records at Wijk Aan Zee, where he has won three times since 1996 and finished second on all other occasions. When Anand won the historic Corus Chess Tournament for the fourth time in 2004, he joined an exclusive club of players, which includes former World Chess Champion Max Euwe, Lajos Portisch, Viktor Kortchnoi.
Anand played his first Hoogovens Tournament (now known as Corus) in 1989 and he was invited as the World Junior Champion to play in Group A. He won it on his first attempt.
Interestingly, Anand's win against Bareev in 2004 was considered one of his best games of the year.
"This is one of the strongest Corus events. There is a very high average rating so I expect a very tough challenge, " said Anand on the eve of the tournament.
The field: Viswanathan Anand (2786); Veselin Topalov (2757 ); Vladimir Kramnik (2754); Peter Leko (2749); Alexander Morozevich (2741); Michael Adams (2741); Peter Svidler (2735); Judit Polgar (2728); Alexander Grischuk (2710); Ruslan Ponomariov (2700); Ivan Sokolov (2685); Loek van Wely (2679); Nigel Short (2674); Lazaro Bruzon (2652).