Garry Kasparov Makes A Pre-Move Against Viswanathan Anand, Video Goes Viral | Watch

Garry Kasparov made a pre-move in his match against Viswanathan Anand (Picture credit: Screengrab from X)

Russian chess Grand Master Garry Kasparov was spotted making a pre-move against Viswanathan Anand during their encounter at the Clutch Chess: Legends event on Wednesday, a clip of which has now gone viral on social media. The two legendary GMs are taking on each other in the Fischer Random format.

The Anand-Kasparov clash marks the first competitive encounter between the Indian and Russian GMs since 2021 and their first extended game against each other in 30 years.

The exhibition tournament will happen at the expanded Saint Louis Chess Club, Missouri from October 8 to 10.

At the Saint Louis Chess Club, Anand and Kasparov will face off in 12 Chess960 (Fischer Random) games, featuring rapid and blitz time controls and an innovative scoring system that increases the stakes each day.

In their first game, which eventually went in favour of Kasparov, he was spotted playing a pre-move, which looked like almost two consecutive moves from him. Watch the video here:

Kasparov clinched the first win of the match, outplaying Anand in a tense Rook endgame under severe time pressure. Heading into the second Blitz and final game of the day, Kasparov led 2-1 in the Clutch Chess: Legends showdown.

The three-day contest features four games each day, two rapid and two blitz. On Day 1, each victory is worth one point, on Day 2, wins are worth two points and on Day 3, each victory earns three points.

Anand and Kasparov faced off in the 1995 World Chess Championship final at New York’s World Trade Centre, with the latter emerging victorious 10.5–7.5.

The winner of the match will pocket USD 70,000 (over Rs 62 lakh), while the runner-up will take home USD 50,000 (over Rs 44 lakh).

If the 12-game match ends in a tie, the prize money will be split, giving each player USD 60,000 (over Rs 53 lakh). A bonus of USD 24,000 (over Rs 21 lakh) is up for grabs over the 12 games.