Published on: Oct 13, 2025 08:05 am IST
Garry Kasparov defeated Viswanathan Anand in an exhibition chess event, at St Louis.
30 years after beating Viswanathan Anand in the 1995 World Chess C’ship in New York, Garry Kasparov reigned supreme once again in an exhibition event (Clutch Chess: The Legends) at St Louis. The arch-rivals faced each other in 12 rapid and blitz games over three days in the freestyle format. The Russian GM came out on top, sealing a 13-11 victory.

The event was played under a cascading points system. On Day 1, wins got one point, day 2 had two and day 3 gave three. Kasparov completed a convincing victory, with two games left and Anand won those remaining fixtures.
Speaking after his win to St Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel, Kasparov brutally claimed that the ghosts of the past visited’ Anand during their face-off.
“He had some psychological discomfort. It didn’t go well for him from day one and I think it’s just that his score against me historically is bad and somehow, probably just the ghosts of the past visited him during the game,” he said.
Kasparov also felt that he ‘was extremely lucky in many games but Anand’s approach worked in the Russian’s favour. “(Overall) it was a very difficult fight and I think that I was extremely lucky in many games. There were few moments where the tables could have turned. I actually played a few good games. It’s probably those I have not won. I would have preferred to lose game one (of day 2) or just to force a draw which I could do easily. I would rather win game two on day 2. So it’s probably a fair balance. Of course I just totally relaxed today after game two (winning the event).
“I’m not a professional player. I had very little expectations before the match. I was quite surprised to find myself in this situation. When I won the match it was just somehow just total relaxation. In the depths of my mind I thought it’s not fair. I tried (to win the last two games). It’s not that I just lost on purpose.
“I think I was more resilient than he expected. In time trouble, to my great surprise, I did better. But again luck is luck. I tried to make sure that luck would be with me,” he added.
