Viswanathan Anand will become the first reigning World Chess Champion to play in a major tournament in London since Anatoly Karpov in 1984 when he joins the eight-player field for the second London Chess Classic, which runs from 8-15 December 2010 at the Olympia Conference Centre.
Alongside him will be World Number one Magnus Carlsen, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, US number one Hikaru Nakamura and the top four English players Michael Adams, Nigel Short, Luke McShane and David Howell.
IM Malcolm Pein is back as tournament director. He shared, "I am delighted to announce that the 2nd London Chess Classic will be held at the Olympia Conference Centre. I have managed to put together an even more illustrious field than last year for what will indisputably be the strongest chess tournament ever held on these shores. Seven of the eight players from last year will return but Ni Hua of China will be replaced by Vishy Anand. The prize fund has also been increased from €120,000 to €145,000 with 1st prize being worth €50,000."
Vishy Anand is the one change from the stellar field which brought spectators flocking to London to watch elite chess in December 2009. The great Indian player, who will turn 41 during the tournament,
recently retained his title as the undisputed champion of the world by defeating Veselin Topalov in the latter's home city of Sofia, Bulgaria.
In London he will meet his immediate predecessor as champion, Vladimir Kramnik, 36, of Russia, and also the young man who is widely tipped to be the future champion - Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who will be 20 by the time the tournament starts.
Looking forward, London is also bidding to host the 2012 World Championship title match, so Anand's clashes with Carlsen and Kramnik could well be a preview of what happens in London's Olympic year.
Five more players make up the field of eight, all of whom played in the exciting 2009 event. Each one earned his place for his fighting play last year. The fourth non-British player is Hikaru Nakamura, USA, who will turn 23 during the London event.
The American is known as the 'H-Bomb' for his explosive and totally uncompromising style of play. He has won the US Championship twice and also won major events in San Sebastian and Gibraltar in the past couple of years. He is improving all the time and can be expected to press hard for wins against the leading trio of players.
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