Anand, Viswanathan

Viswanathan Anand, India's first grandmaster, became the fifteenth World Champion in 2007 and successfully defended the title three times, reigning until 2013. Known as the "Tiger of Madras" for his dazzling speed of play, Anand's versatile style combined rapid calculation with deep positional understanding. He almost single-handedly transformed India into a chess superpower, inspiring an entire generation of Indian grandmasters.