Vishy Anand will be crowned world chess champion this weekend barring a last-minute disaster. The Indian has led all the way in Mexico City and with only two rounds left, he had scored an unbeaten 8/12, a point ahead of his nearest rival, Israel's Boris Gelfand. In contrast the holder Vlad Kramnik has given a subdued performance with two wins, one loss and a large bunch of draws. Kramnik probably had an ambivalent attitude to the chess tournament, lacking the motivation to chase really hard. The rules now guarantee him a one-to-one series against the new chess champion in 2008, which means a lucrative match against Anand. Had Kramnik won in Mexico, he would instead have been obliged to play a rematch against Veselin Topalov, with whom ...

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