What A Legend! Garry Shakes Off Illness To Take Lead Against Anand

It was a moment every chess fan loved to see. Two big beasts of the game coming together to roll back the years.

OK, Clutch Chess: The Legends is only an exhibition but seeing 62-year-old GM Garry Kasparov and 55-year-old GM Viswanathan Anand back at the board is a joy.

After day one, Kasparov is ahead 2.5-1.5.

The event was part of the celebrations put on to mark the grand reopening of the newly-renovated Saint Louis Chess Club, which have taken four years to complete. It precedes the U.S. Championships running from October 12 to 24.

The legends match is being played over 12 games of the variant Chess360, where pieces are placed randomly on the back line. The prize fund is $144,000 and it'll go on until October 10.

It started a day later than billed because Kasparov was unfortunately ill. However, Kasparov's ailment seems nothing serious and better late than never he turned up on Wednesday ready to play.

Kasparov and Anand are friends but also old rivals. In 1995, the pair played a world championship match in the New York's World Trade Center. Kasparov retain his title 10.5-7.5.

Kasparov reigned as World Chess Champion from 1985 to 2000, while Anand was FIDE champion from 2000 to 2002 before claiming the reunited title in 2007. He held that title for six years until 2013.

Day two of this legendary match-up starts at 7pm CEST on Thursday.