--- description: When Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen lean over the chessboard at Chennai’s Hyatt Regency on Nov. 9 for Game 1 of the World Chess Championship, it will mark the coming together of the sport’s first superstar with its first sex symbol. title: The Superstar and the Sex Symbol: The World’s Highest Ranking Chess Champions image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee9bf3ce496d991f/6987e3ac55a8597fdda88c1a/chess_03.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Superstar and the Sex Symbol: The World's Highest Ranking Chess Champions by [Bobby Ghosh](/author/bobby-ghosh/) ## Bobby Ghosh Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ghosh, a former TIME foreign correspondent and International Editor, is a commentator on geopolitics. Nov 7, 2013 9:01 AM CUT  Magnus playing beach volleyball in front of journalists in Kragero during his training for the chess championship. August 2013. Magnus playing beach volleyball in front of journalists in Kragero during his training for the chess championship. August 2013.Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME by [Bobby Ghosh](/author/bobby-ghosh/) ## Bobby Ghosh Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Ghosh, a former TIME foreign correspondent and International Editor, is a commentator on geopolitics. Nov 7, 2013 9:01 AM CUT When Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen lean over the chessboard at Chennai’s Hyatt Regency on Nov. 9 for Game 1 of the World Chess Championship, it will mark the coming together of the sport’s first superstar with its first sex symbol. It will be arguably the most closely watched contest since the 1972 Cold War confrontation in Reykjavík, Iceland, between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky. **(Also on LightBox:** [**Searching For …and Finding Bobby Fischer: Photographs by Harry Benson**](http://lightbox.time.com/2011/07/26/searching-for-and-finding-bobby-fischer-photographs-by-harry-benson/ "undefined")**)** Anand, 43, the reigning champ, may be the only chess player in the world who risks being mobbed in the street, at least in his native India. Millions of his countrymen watched on live TV — yes, _live_ TV! — when he first won the title in 2000\. That’s still the highest sporting achievement by an Indian, and it led to a huge revival of chess in a country that claims to have invented the sport. Millions of Indian kids now forced by their parents to take chess lessons have Anand to blame. If Anand has the greater fan following of the two, Carlsen, 22, has more groupies. The Norwegian with the smoldering good looks and six-pack abs has been featured in advertising campaigns as a clotheshorse alongside the likes of Liv Tyler, and turned down a small role in the most recent _Star Trek_ movie. As they prepared for the championship, the two grand masters granted highly unusual access to photographer Misha Friedman, himself a former competitive player at schoolboy level in the USSR in the 1980s and in the U.S. in the 1990s. Friedman recalls reading about the great duels between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, and being fascinated by the idea of chess champions preparing for a battle of wits. The images he captured of Anand and Carlsen reveal that it’s as much physical as psychological. Anand pumps weights, Carlsen plays volleyball: even in this brainiest of contests, brawn matters. Carlsen is the hot favorite: he’s ranked No. 1 in the world by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and may be the best player in the history of the sport. Chess skills are measured by a complex formula known as the Elo rating system, and Carlsen’s rating of 2872 last February was the highest ever recorded. Only six players have topped 2800, and Anand’s best is 2817\. (Fischer’s was 2785.) But the world championship is as much about temperament and tenacity as about technical skill, and it would be foolish to rule out Anand, a five-time winner of the competition, now with home-turf advantage. If he wins, he may never be able to walk in the streets again. --- **_Misha Friedman_** _is_ _a photographer based in New York. LightBox previously featured his work on_ [_Tuberculosis in Ukraine_](http://lightbox.time.com/2011/03/24/world-tuberculosis-day-profile-ukraine/ "undefined")_._ **_Bobby Ghosh_**_is the editor of TIME International. Follow him on Twitter_ [_@ghoshworld_](https://twitter.com/ghoshworld "undefined")_._ ---  Magnus Carlsen, a 22-year old Norwegian, became chess grandmaster at 13 and is the youngest chess player in history to become ranked number one in the world. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus with one of his seconds, a grandmaster from Russia, in Kragero, Norway, analyzing past chess games — one of the main training exercises while preparing for a tournament. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus playing beach volleyball in front of journalists in Kragero during his training for the chess championship. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus chasing after a tennis ball in Kragero during his training for the chess championship. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus in his hotel room in Kragero during his training for the chess championship. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus' clothes, which include a Boston Celtics Shaq jersey. Magnus travels light. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus pretends to play golf in front of journalists in Kragero during his training for the chess championship. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus takes a break from chess in Kragero during his training for the championship. August 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Viswanathan Anand in his office and trophy room at his home in Chennai, India. Current World Chess Champion, 43-year old Anand has been the undisputed champion since 2007\. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Anand and his family have lunch at home in Chennai with their babysitter and cook. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Anand exercising. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Besides chess, Anand is passionate about astronomy and bird watching. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Magnus and Anand's posters for sale in Chennai ahead of their championship match. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Parents watch from the stairs outside while their children compete in a tournament in Chennai. They are not allowed inside. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  Latest scores in a youth chess tournament posted outside in Chennai. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  A tournament hall in Chennai. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  A chess board in a children's chess school in Chennai. The school has produced several youth world champions. October 2013. Misha Friedman—COSMOS for TIME  An empty tournament hall in Chennai. October 2013. 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