Kasparov Takes 5-Point Lead As Anand's Nightmare Continues
GM Viswanathan Anand had over a minute on his clock in a winning position but lost on time to GM Garry Kasparov as day two of the 2025 Clutch Chess Legends got off to the worst possible start for the Indian legend. Kasparov went on to dominate and won one more game when Anand blundered a piece on move 17. Kasparov leads 8.5-3.5, but the intrigue remains, since 12 points are still up for grabs on the final day.
Day three, featuring the final two rapid and blitz games, is on Friday, October 10, starting at 1 p.m. ET / 19:00 CEST / 10:30 p.m. IST.
Clutch Chess: The Legends, Day 2 Results
Kasparov came into day two of Clutch Chess: The Legends with a one-point lead, but Anand could easily have taken the lead after the first game of the day.
Game 5, Kasparov 1-0 Anand: Vishy Forgets His Clock
This was a curious game from the start, with 1.e4 e6!? catching Kasparov completely off-guard and sending him into a six-minute think.
For a long time after that, the game was slow and symmetrical, with Kasparov later lamenting:
I played symmetrical. I have to say this is my least favorite position. If you look at the statistics, that’s where I had the worst results—I hate it!
It looked as though we were heading for a quiet draw, but as time ran out Kasparov began to play for more. As he explained: "It was a dead draw, and then I can’t change my character, so I just decided...".
In fact his whole plan was deeply flawed, and he admitted he blundered with 29.f5?, which caused GM Yasser Seirawan to exclaim, "Garry is cruisin' for a bruisin'!"
Kasparov was expecting only 29...bxc5 and a lively struggle, but Anand's 29...Bxf5! 30.gxf5 bxc5 was much stronger.
Anand noted, "I couldn’t believe that he went for this f4-f5, because he’s clearly worse after that," and it seemed he was about to score a first win and take the lead in the match, but then, shortly afterward, disaster struck. Anand was contemplating two strong moves, one very close to winning, but he never got to make either:
The first game I saw at one point I had one minute, 26 seconds and then I don’t know, I should have looked at the clock again. I just completely forgot... then when the arbiter came it was the biggest shock.
A crazy moment, as Vishy Anand completely forgets his clock and loses on time in a winning position! https://t.co/TrMOxh0vQ0 pic.twitter.com/rhcATyS9ZN
— chess24 (@chess24com) October 9, 2025
That game, which could have changed the whole course of the day, has been analyzed by GM Dejan Bojkov below.
That was a tough blow for Anand to take, but the second game of the day was well-played by both players.
Game 6: Anand ½-½ Kasparov: "A Serious Game"
Kasparov called this "a serious game," explaining, "it was so dangerous for Black and I was proud... because he expected me to collapse after g4."
The 13th world champion even demonstrated how his successor was getting ready to celebrate!
8.g4!? was a brilliant, if slightly mistimed idea, but the game was full of blows and counterblows until it fizzled out into a roughly equal endgame.
The third game of the day would see another blow fall.
Game 7, Kasparov 1-0 Anand: Castling "Short" In Chess960
This clash ended abruptly with a painful blunder of a piece on move 17, after which Anand instantly resigned.
A nightmare day continues for Anand as he makes a 1-move blunder in a difficult positoin and resigns on move 18 — Kasparov has taken a 5-point lead! https://t.co/oZQS9PzjsF pic.twitter.com/i9UWoECbPY
— chess24 (@chess24com) October 9, 2025
On this occasion, however, both players felt it was more about what had gone before. Anand commented, "The third game, full credit to him, because he spotted 0-0. We’d been trying to castle long for a while, both of us... but after the bishops were taken suddenly he spotted that he could just castle short and I think after that I’m just much worse. It’s horrible!"
Kasparov had a eureka moment: "There’s something I’m missing, wow, wait one minute, I can go… typically you don’t want to do short castles when your queen is on h1, but here it’s h4, Qh2. It’s perfect! And Black is in trouble."
It felt as though the wheels had come off for Anand, and to say he stabilized in the final game of the day wouldn't be entirely accurate.
Game 8, Anand ½-½ Kasparov: Amnesty
Things could easily have gone from bad to worse for Anand, who admitted, "The last game I don’t even know what I was doing." Kasparov was rightly proud to find some clever moves early on to seize an advantage, but he didn't go all-out to win and allowed Anand to hold with a semi-convincing fortress. "I just saw that it's not fair to push," said Kasparov, adding, "After game one I feel guilty—I don't know why I deserve this kind of luck!"
After game one I feel guilty—I don't know why I deserve this kind of luck!
—Garry Kasparov
No pawns were harmed in the making of this game.
That meant the day ended with Kasparov leading by five points, but the match is still far from over. With the value of a win rising to three points on the final day, two wins in a row would see Anand take the lead. For that to happen, of course, he needs to win a first game. When asked about still having a chance he responded with a phrase that was not exactly a battle cry: "In theory, I get another chance tomorrow."
In theory, I get another chance tomorrow.
—Viswanathan Anand on his chances
Kasparov, meanwhile, will simply be hoping to keep his form going for one more day. When WGM Anastasiya Karlovich wished him luck, he responded, "Thank you very much, but I don’t think I need more luck—I’m happy with the luck I have now!"
How to watch?
You can watch the day's broadcast on the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube or Twitch channels. The games can also be reviewed from our dedicated events page.
The broadcast was hosted by GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley, WGM Anastasiya Karlovich, and James "Dash" Patterson.
The Saint Louis Chess Club is celebrating the opening of its new premises with two special Clutch Chess events. The first, The Legends, runs October 8-10 and features two former World Champions, Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand. They will battle it out in Chess960 (Fischer Random) over six 25+10 rapid and six 5+3 blitz games for $144,000, with escalating stakes—a win will be worth one point on day one, two points on day two, and three points on day three. Drawn games see prize money rolled over until the last two games, which could be for huge stakes.
Previous coverage:
Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.
