In the fifth round of the FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025, 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster Pranav Anand faced off against world number one Magnus Carlsen. Anand, who entered the tournament with a rating of 2393, delivered a strong performance overall, scoring 12 out of 19 points and achieving a tournament rating of 2739. The encounter provided valuable insights for the young player, who annotated the game and shared his experiences.
The FIDE World Blitz Championship 2025 featured a highly competitive field, where Pranav Anand demonstrated his potential by securing impressive victories over established grandmasters including Amin Bassem, Robert Hovhannisyan, Richard Rapport, and Murzin Volodar. These wins contributed to his solid 12/19 score, placing him 25th in the final standings and boosting his performance rating to 2739—well above his pre-tournament FIDE rating of 2393.
The highlight for Anand came in round five, when he was paired against Magnus Carlsen, the five-time world champion renowned for his dominance in rapid and blitz formats. Anand described the anticipation leading up to the game: “I think it was me, Pranesh, Bharath and a few others eagerly waiting for the pairings of the next round. I had seen that Magnus had drawn a game before and being half a point ahead of him, I felt I finally had good chances to play against him. Upon seeing the pairing, I was very happy and wanted to give my best, aiming for a more tactical fight, as I felt that's the only place I would have a chance to maybe trick him. It was a truly unforgettable experience and I am confident that in the future I will get more chances to play against him over the board.”
Carlsen, playing White, opened with the Sicilian Defense countered by 3.Bc4, a line that surprised Anand. “This was a surprise. I had faced this line a lot in the World Rapid and Blitz. Notably, Levon and Rapport played this against me,” Anand noted. As Black, Anand relied on instinct for key decisions, such as pushing for a b5 break. He explained the challenges: “I felt going for the b5 break was the way to play with Rb8 next... It felt quite difficult to play Black in a very short time control game as White's idea was very simple to try to break with d4 followed by developing the pieces.”
Midway through, after 20…Bg5, Anand gained counterplay, but Carlsen's precise 21.Ng3! neutralized threats, preventing a knight maneuver to f4. Anand admitted missing this move and opting for Nf4 instead: “This was a very difficult decision for me to take, whether to play this or Bxc1 and retreat the bishop back. Both the ideas are similar in nature but Bxc1 is stronger as white has to spend a tempo to re-route the knight back from h5 to g3.”
Carlsen's superior play shone through thereafter. Anand reflected: “From here on, Magnus really showed his class and why he is the best in the world. The next moves were all very strong and also tough to meet for me over the board. I remember having a few seconds time advantage on him, but that was the only thing I was ahead on, as here the position is already pretty bad for me.” A critical tactical sequence culminated in 31.Nf7+, where Carlsen swiftly calculated a checkmate line: 31. Rxa5 Rxa5 32. Nf7+ Kg8 33. Qd8+ Kxf7 followed by Qd7+.
Anand concluded positively: “It was a great fight and a true honour to play him.” He thanked sponsors 24/7, WACA, Chola Chess, and HPCL for their support.
