Before 1997, the year he won the first of what now total six Chess Oscars, Vishy Anand had already established himself as one of the finest players of his generation. He had already played a world championship match against Garry Kasparov in 1995, and had been showing excellent results in tournaments and matches since 1991, and had become a permanent fixture as one of the top 5 players in the world.

Still, 1997 was a watershed year for Anand, which saw the beginning of his growth from a great player to a one of the very finest in chess history. He won three very strong classical events: Belgrade (ahead of Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, and Shirov), Biel (ahead of Karpov and Gelfand), and Dos Hermanas (shared with Kramnik).

He saved the best for last, winning the inaugural- and controversial- FIDE "Knockout" tournament. Anand was undefeated in both the classical games and rapid/blitz tie-breaks, eliminating Shirov, Gelfand, and Adams to close out the event.

Anand's rapid results in 1997 were likewise phenomenal, and he was victorious in Leon, the Credit Swiss Rapid in Geneva, and the Chess Classic in Frankfurt. He set a record in Melody Amber by finishing clear first in both the rapid and blindfold sections, a feat which has been repeated only once- by Anand himself in 2005.

Related Game Collections:

Game Collection: Biel 1997

Game Collection: Dos Hermanas 1997

Game Collection: Anand's Knockout Knockouts