Who will win the 2013 world championship? Anand or Carlsen?

 i believe anand is mentally better prepared since carlsen is playing in his opponent playground.anand plays at home and matches are to his taste and he feels confident.in his matches with kramnik and gelfand he proved he has strong nerves carlsen isnot as good as anand in this part.

Anand 
Carlsen has little match practice,
Anand has home advantage.
6½ - 5½.

Carlsen is a tough fighter, and his consistency in playing good moves is not one to break down no matter who he plays or how long the game goes; indeed this is one of the big contributors to his #1 rating. I think Carlsen's nerves are fantastic, and better than Anand's, although his are quite strong as well. Though we know nothing of Carlsen's match play, his general characteristics will probably make him feel right at home in a match format, aside from opening preparation, although Carlsen's way of reaching positions he knows how to play and his wide repertoire may neutralize Anand's advantage there to some extent.

Carlsen will score 2-3 wins. 4 if he is truly dominant.

Anand   will get at most 2 wins.

It will  be close only if Carlsen is not fully prepared.

Can someone tell me what a second is... like bobby fischers second was william lombardy... what does that mean.

They help prepare their openings.

seconds help prepare for the WCC, during and before the matches start.

Long before chess engines were available, the job of a second was to help find, study, and analyze the games of the opponent.  They also helped to prepare an opening repertoire, anayzle adjourned games, etc.

Basically, they assited in any way they could.

I don't have a prediction who will win, but I think chess would get a bit more publicity if Carlsen won, so for that reason alone I'm rooting for him. 

I'm no expert on the subject, but as I understand it, preparation is much more important in match play than tournament play.  I think Carlsen will take the title someday, but not for a few years yet.  I think Anand's experience and preparation will allow him one last successful defense of his title before succumbing to the younger generation.

However, the only result that would really surprise me is if the match goes to rapid/blitz tiebreaks, and Carlsen wins.  I honestly think if Carlsen is going to win, he has to do it in the classical games.  Anand is too tough and too quick in rapid play ...

Blitz tiebreak would be an abomination for a WCC match

"Well, they're basically even, but x person is better at blitz so..."

I just don't think something like blitz should be factored in when it comes to something as huge as a world championship. Rapid is of course still fast, but at least it's somewhat longer, long enough for a tie-break to me. Blitz puts too much emphasis on split second reactions. It's cool of course to see how well two guys can play even with almost no time, but seems pretty out of place for something so serious as the world championship.

I don't know who will win but I'm pulling for the seasoned player! With Gelfand's win--this is the year of the old fogies!

Show that pup who's boss Anand! ;-)

Anand will win

Magnus Carlsen beat Vishwanathan Anand in the Tal Memorial about a week or 2 ago.

I'm inclined to think Carlsen will win, but it won't be easy.

Anand is a very strong player indeed. It will be a super hard match for both of them. Anand has the home turf advantage - the match will be held in India BUT

I do think that Carlsen is a tad bit stronger now. So, I think, Carlsen will win. There are of course things like adjusting to the local climate, food, and the chess fans who will be overwhelmigly supportive of Anand. It will be hard for Carlsen but, at the end of the day, he is younger and stronger and I think he will win the match.

Still, I wish best of luck to both players and hope to see both perform their best.

Experience. Support. Ability.

I wonder if people were using similar arguements to justify Spassky's chances in '72?

Would be funny to look that up.

Yeah, Carlsen may be th-- wait,  you said Anand?  No, I'm afraid you have it backwards.

Carlsen wins by 2 points is my prediction. Both the winner and loser would be happy with their prize money.