Hangin the Greek's Keys to Victory

Vishy Anand vs. Magnus Carlsen 2013 World Chess Championship

Keys to Victory	Advantage	Factor	Why
Home Field Advantage	Anand	*Medium	The match is taking place in Anand' home city Chennai India. The players are staying and playing in the same hotel, so that should minimize this advantage, but this could be a wild card and have greater impact. How much of an impact, we will have wait and see.
World Championship Match Experience	Anand	*Big	This issue cuts both ways. It is true that world championship match experience can be very important, especially for a young player like Magnus Carlsen. Lack of experience had a detrimental affect on Kasparov in 1984 and caused him to lose 4 out of 11 games. However for a young Mikhail Tal this was not the case. In 1960 as challenger he took control of the match from game one and never looked back However it can also have a detrimental affect on the player with a lot of experience. The World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik said that each world championship match takes a year off a players life. Defending the title can cause a lot of wear and tear on a player. This is Anand's 4th world championship match in 5 years and 5th overall if you just count Fide world championships. Playing the top players of the world can give a champion great experience, but it can also wear a champion down. A world champion only has so many great title defenses in him. This Anand's third defense. Few champions defend sucessfully that many times and even fewer successfully defend a third time. Does Anand have one more great defense in him. How much a factor is this? We will just have to wait and see.
Head to Head Match	Anand	Small	Anand leads in the overall head to head with 6-3 with 20 draws. Their first match was in 2005 at Ciudad de Leon XVII. Anand defeated Carlsen 2-0 with 2 draws.
Current Head to Head Trend	Carlsen	Big	Carlsen clearly has a advantage based on the last 8 games. His record is 2-0 with 6 draws .Carlsen won both games in under 31 moves.
Current Playing Trend	Carlsen	Big	Carlsen since 2010 has been the most dominating player in the world. Anand results the last three years are not world champion caliber.
Rating Difference	Even	Small	Carlsen is rated 2870 and has almost a 100 point advantage in rating and he is the highest rated player in the history of the game, but let's not forget that Anand, whose rating is 2775, is the World Champion.
Opening Knowledge	Anand	*Medium	Anand has acquired a tremendous amount of opening knowledge that he has developed over the last 20 years. Carlsen doesn't have any where near that much experince. However, Kasparov's mentoring of Carlsen has helped close this gap.
Team	Anand	*Medium	Anand has 4 seconds for this match, including Peter Leko a former top 5 player and challenger for the 2004 World Championship. Carlsen has not divulged all the members of his team, so this could have an unknown impact on the match. The most important teammates just might be the non-playing ones. The most important team member for Anand, might be his wife. Anand is playing the greatest talent he has ever seen. He knows this will be a very tough match and his toughest challenge. For Carlsen, his most important team member might be his cook. His cook has to keep Carlsen healthy and minimize the effects of Anand's home field advantage.
Anand's Wild Card	Anand	*Big	Will playing in his home town inspire Anand? Can he summon his world championship match experience and great playing abilities in order to bring the 9th pawn with him to the table? Is he a confident world champion? All indicators say that he might not bring the 9th pawn. Kasparov failed to bring the 9th pawn with him during his failed defense against Kramnik in 2000.
Carlsen's Wild Card	Carlsen	*Big	Carlsen is the highest rated player in the history of the game. His current playing trends against the world and especially against Anand. should give him the confidence to win this match. However youth, lack of world championship match experience, and playing in another country with different food and culture could adversely impact him.
Who is going to win	Carlsen	*Big	There should be a changing of the guard. Let's face it, Carlsen playing with a hot hand. Why the *wild card? that's why they play the match.