HOST: All India Chess Federation
DESCRIPTION:
*     India’s five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will face World No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the in the 12-game contest.
*     The formal inauguration of the FIDE World Championship will be done on November 7 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
*     The first game is scheduled for November 9.
*     Security has been beefed up at the venue and the 435 square metre pillar-free ballroom at ground floor of the hotel has been beautifully decorated.
*     Games will be held in a glass enclosure -- 35 ft by 15 ft glass partition to a height of 11 ft.
*     There would be a separate enclosure for relaxation and refreshments area for the players and they would also have separate washrooms.

SPONSOR & PRIZE FUND:
*     The sponsor of the tournament is the Government of Tamil Nadu which has allocated a record budget of Rs 29 crores.
*     The prize fund will be about Rs 14 crores and the winner will get 60 per cent and the loser 40 per cent.

RULES OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP:
*     The colour for the 12 games would be known at the draw of lots which would be done by Jayalalithaa during the inauguration ceremony.
*     The player who gets white in games 1, 3 and 5 will get white in games 8, 10 and 12.
*     So, one player will get white in games 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11.
*     Each player will play six white and six black games.
*     The first player to reach 6.5 points wins the match.
*     Although the game lasts about six hours, it can go longer as there is an increment of 30 seconds per move.

PLAYERS’ ENTOURAGE:
*     Anand, his wife Aruna and son Akhil and his team members, who will be assisting the Indian wizard, have checked in at Hotel Hyatt Regency, the venue of the championship.
*     The entourage for young challenger Carlsen consisted of his father Henrik and mother Sigrun and three sisters – Ellen, Ingrid and Signe and his team members, including manager Espen Agdestein.
*     A chef -- Magnus Forssell -- accompanied Carlsen and he will oversee the Norwegian`s food requirements.

PAST RECORDS:
*     In the last world championship match in Moscow 2012, Anand had defeated Gelfand 6-6, 2.5-1.5 via tie-break.
*     Carlsen (8.5/14) qualified after winning Candidates Tournament against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in London earlier this year.
*     On head to head contest, the two players have not faced each other in a classical knock out match.
*     They have faced each other in tournament games and not matches.
*     Overall, from 2005 until now, out of 62 games, Anand has won 15 times while Carlsen was victorious on 11 occasions with 36 being drawn.
*     In classical chess alone, from 29 games, Anand has won six times, Carlsen was victorious on three occasions, while 20 matches were drawn.
*     The break up reveals that Anand has won more games with black in classical chess.
*     It also could mean that Carlsen pushes hard with white.
*     The 33-29 lead from the 62 games for Anand is only marginal.
*     Opening is Anand`s forte.
*     Middlegame and ending will be Carlsen`s strength.
*     The longer the games are played each day, Carlsen`s energy levels should start to offer him a mild edge, experts say.
*     Incidentally, FIDE statistics say Carlsen is the number one-ranked player for the most -- 29 times.
*     Carlsen is 2870 in ELO ratings and Anand will be 2775 in the November 2013 ratings.

GARY KASPAROV TO BE PRESENT:
*     Former world champion Gary Kasparov of Russia will be present during the World championship match at Chennai on November 11 and 12.
*     Anand had been criticized by Kasparov during the championship`s sixth match wherein the Russian was one of the guests.
*     "What I think with Vishy is that he has lost motivation," Kasparov had said during the match.
*     "Kasparov lost his match in 2000 (to Kramnik) and retired in 2005. Then since 2011, he has been trying to make me retire too. He is perhaps missing the attention he used to get as the World champion," Anand had retorted after the match.
*     Interestingly, there are wide speculations that Kasparov has also worked for Carlsen for the match against Anand.
*     According to a recent article by Grandmaster Nigel Short, Kasparov and Carlsen have joined hands again and teamed up for the match against Anand.