A rare, in-depth chat with the new World No.1 GM Vishy Anand

March 17:


Vishy Anand has been often referred to as “Arguably the best Sportsperson India ever produced .”NIIT, his sponsor coined the phrase India's Mind Champion a sobriquet that sits very well with his present achievement.

As India celebrates one of it's greatest moments in it's Sporting history we sat down with Anand . He was busy attending to calls from all over the world and giving the sound bytes patiently . We wanted to start at the beginning .

When Vishy started off playing chess , the game of Indian origins was played in little clubs or at the Soviet Culture Centres .

Anand remembers being taken to one such club in Chennai by his sister .
It was in this club that Anand's quick reflex and rapid fire chess came into being. “You know we had these boards and the winner stayed and the loser had to go back in line. I hated to wait so I kept thinking of how to win. My incentive was sometimes an ice cream or a dosa .” The race to be India's first Grandmaster was heating up and Anand was by far the youngest contestant for the coveted title.Coming very close to it on many occasions Anand finally made it in 1987. In many ways that seemed to be a special year for him. He became World Junior Champion and Grandmaster.And India discovered their Chess Icon.

Coming back after his victory he remembered that something had changed. He could no longer bike to college or take a bus . “I always had someone point to me and say Are you that young chess genius.Actually once I was on this train in India . One elderly gentleman sat next to me and started talking . He asked what i did . I said I am a chess player. The man was not convinced , He said yes but what do you do. Does your father own a business ? I said no I play chess . After 10 minutes the man looked me staright in the face and said “ All this chess is very nice if you can be Viswanathan Anand but you I am not sure .” After that I couldn't get to tell the guy who I was but somehow I relaised I was onto something .”

When in 1991 Anand played his first Linares event he met a Spanish couple Maurice and Nieves. They were the reason Anand moved to Collado mediano. They travelled with Vishy to many events over the years. Still when Vishy wins Maurice is the first person he thinks of. He is by far Anand's biggest fan. Nieves is no more and when Vishy won Linares this year in a way he dedicated it to her.

Maurice still remembers meeting Vishy in 1991 . “ He has the way of walking you know . His hand in his pocket and talking fast . He played with Beliyavsky and had barely used 10 minutes on his clock .So I said tommorow Karpov think a little more and he said how about 11?.
That is when I thought that is my boy .Of course today Vishy is World No.1 and I am happy that I have seen him from a candidate to World Champion to World No,1 .”

In 1991 Anand became a candidate for the World Championship . The match gave him his first insight into the Soviet School of thought . Although he came very close he had to concede defeat to karpov. In 1995 against Kasparov he had his moments against the chess legend . The New York match was a turning point in his career. To move forward Anand realised he had to change his approach to chess.Since then Anand has been in Top 3 and won every prestigious tournament be it classical, rapid or blitz. This gave him the Chess Oscar 4 times .

Soon after New York , Anand married Aruna according to Family traditions . Aruna a complete chess stranger soon took to the circuit and accompanied Anand to all chess events . “When I first met Anand I couldn't believe someone so famous could be so simple. When we started travelling I had no clue about chess , infact I used to sleep in the theatre and then wait for Anand to come after the game . But now sometimes when I tell him some position he starts laughing. I am so happy for Anand. He has always tried to play by the rules even if that meant giving up opportunities. For him his conscience is his most important value and his scucess comes only with hard work .”

Anand joins us in his Spanish residence looks at Aruna . So now we start talking.

So Anand how does it feel. Weary answering the same question?
Yes . I am elated . I was so focussed on the last round that I tried to keep this out of my head. But yes I am happy.
When you started at the Tal club. Did you think one day you would be the point of reference in the chess world.
Not at all. In the Tal club I played blitz all the time. At some point we were three to four players trying to get to the GM title. When I became a GM somehow I thought I had achieved . Then after a year I realised that I have to look further and set new goals. In India at that time we didnt have access to a lot of chess information. This was the pre computer era. At tournaments we would wait in line to get hold of a chess book. For us anything Soviet was like magic. We would always be in awe of the Soviet players. When my dad was posted to the Philipines I had the chance to visit Baguio. This was 1979. I never thought one day I would actually become Worl Junior Champion there . Of course at that point I never thought I would one day play players like Karpov , let alone defeat them.

Anand , you always had a normal childhood inspite of the fact your chess talent was discovered very early. How did you balance this
Well, my parents were keen that I complete university. At that point professional sports was not really seen as a career option. I was extremely lucky to have a great school (Don Bosco) and College (Loyola College) . In both places they encouraged me to play chess. I would return after a tournament and then the professors would come home to coach me and I would take the exam. By the team I left university I was in the World top ten. My parents were convinced that chess was my calling. I am the youngest in my family so all eyes were on me all the time.So that had its moments of pleasure and pain.
Nowadays you see young children who decide to leave their education to take up chess . What is your view on this.
I think it is extremely important to have a balanced life. Hobbies , friends , entertainment etc. Most children multi-task pretty well . The only thing that they can do without is pressure to achieve quickly

You are often referred to as the Father of the Indian Chess revolution. Is it a title that amuses you or is it a responsibility you need to shoulder?
A bit of both . Sometimes a child comes up to me and says Uncle give me ten tips so that I can be like you . And the kid pulls out a sheet of paper and writes 1-10 . It is nice to see life can be simplified . I ask them just one thing Do you enjoy playing chess. If the answer is yes then just do it. Sometimes yes it is a responsibility , children are learning not only from your games , but also from you as a person. In India you see talent in age categories . Under 14 , Under 10 and all this is very touching. It is like what does your career mean to you and you think it is what you mean to these children.

Ok Now let's come back to the chess scene . What do you think about chess in the last 20 years. The schisms , the unifications , the toilet ....Is it the chess and persona you wish to potray
I dont really think of it that way. Sure chess has a certain polotical baggage and this is without the typical chess strategy figuratives ( laughs you know the typical cliches of chess & politics)
Since the breakaway in 1993 we have always had some issues on who the champion is. Tournaments fill the void. Generally if you win events you can consider yourself champion. In 1998 when I lost to Karpov in lausanne. I was the moral victor . But didn't have the title. Now you can complain or you can decide how best to use what's on offer . In 1998 I was universally acclaimed the world's best player . I don't want to comment on all these allegations. It is not for me to do it. People call me a gentleman and say sometimes I should be tough. I think I play my best chess when I am happy . I am not the type who can go around making enemies or being sensational. If I did that I would worry more of putting on an act than playing chess. If you are in good form and play well that answers a lot of the hidden question.
I hope Mexico ( World Championship) this year would be the final solution, if ever there is one.

How do you take the tournament pressure. You have been on the circuit for nearly 20 years. Won every tournament many times over . What makes you tick
You know you can train for months at home.It is at a tournament you do the real learning. Sometimes just ten minutes before a game I see such brilliant moves that 2 months at home I never thought of. I generally travel alone . Ok with Aruna. Sometimes I can be difficult at tournaments (laughs and looks at Aruna) . Just before a tense game you are so wound up that Aruna will be so quiet that she can be invisible. Sometimes when I have a bad game I always think of her in the press room having to stomach all the comments . I don't know what would be a similar experience for me .

Aruna chips in
At that moment there is nothing correct you can say. Whatever you say will always be disastrous. Better say anything and clear the air.

Generally I do not like planning too much ahead. I tend to see what I need to do in the next game . I hate contemplating, planning , anything long term. That is why I let Aruna do all that
But seriosly even when I have a bad result , I dont like to think about it too much. Of course it hurts but I try to do something different. Astronomy , travel . Maybe that is why I am able to come back after a bad result. The mind is just like a blank slate.

Was that how you felt after Dortmund 2001 or Turin ?
Yes. I remember watching the movie groundhog day . You wake up everyday in the same situation. Nothing changes. In Dortmund I had the feeling I was in hell and nothing I did could change that. I was waking up at 6 having breakfast by 7 and then just sitting and having the tension eat me inside out . In Turin I think I got into this drawing rut and I tried too hard to win and was punished

Many people thought that Dortmund 2001 was the decline of Anand . But you came back?
Yes . It was extremely difficult year . I lost to Touzane too. Sometimes it is funny that the same person is capable of great stuff and such horrible results. In 2002 I slowly got back my love for chess . I played well in Prague and saw my confidence slowly coming back and then did well in Mainz and Hyderabad . 2003 & 2004 were excellent years. Maybe I never really thought when will I come back or how will I. I played well and my results improved

You are acclaimed the World's best ever Rapid player .
I play fast . Actually I have slowed down in classical chess . But somehow I always think fast . Sometimes I do try and think . When I think for too long I realised that what I thought in the first 60 seconds was the best move . When I play rapid chess I thoroughly enjoy myself. I guess you are forced to use intuition and have to make the decision that it suits me well.
Chess as a sport is becoming younger

Yes see someone like Magnus. He is just sixteen but showed that he can hold his own . He gave a brilliant account of himself.
India is seen as a centre of chess in Asia . How do you feel chess is shaping up in India
Already we are three in the top 50(Anand, Sasi and Hari) in the Mens and Koneru is leading the women. If you go to a younger category you have Parimarjan who did well to become a grandmster at 14. Then you have Srinath , Sethuraman two young boys I follow closely. (Srinath is in Spain and will be joining the Anand's for dinner). Add to that the talent of Surya and Sandipan. Someone like Deepan who is very creative. In the women we have Mary Ann Gomes, Viji , Sowmya . So our talent has a lot of depth . The Asian games did justice to where chess is in India.
You touched upon your hobbies .

Yes I have a new found love for astronomy. I have all these telescopes and binoculars . So I go out at night and try to spot constellations, stars or planets. I love travelling. Wildlife . We did South Africa recently and loved it .I hope to see the Indian Tiger . I would like to keep having new interests. I did try gardening and cooking but it wasnt well received .

How long do you see yourself playing chess . Keeping this momentum
As long as I enjoy the tension and competition. Your mind and heart will tell you I guess when to stop.

In India you are a top sportsperson. How are you leveraging your status to promote chess.
In India I endorse NIIT . They are one of the World's leader in computer education. With their technical prowess and reach we have started an ambitious project called the NIIT Mind Champion's academy . We try to take chess to different corners of the country. Give the children a chance to explore chess , learn it and play it . We have had two succesive annual events that attracted more than 600000 children. The aim is to make it a million. With a mouse and chess pieces we try to cut across language and socio-cultural barriers.

I also work with Vidyasagar (an NGO for children with cerebral palsy ) and Avahan (the Bill & Melinda Gates Initiative on AIDS).
So you make ads, films etc. How does it feel
It is fun . You look serious and do the typical chess things .
In reality you are quite atypical to the chess stereotype.
I dont know what the real stereotype is. I am quite laid back . Maybe I get impatient with things so I need to keep doing different things .

Number 1 , winning Linares what does all that mean
Both are great milestones. Linares has always been a tough event for me. Like I said Nieves would have been really happy . I have always had problems in Linares so it was nice just winning the event. I really enjoyed that the event was played in two places.

All great sportpersons leave their mark , something you remember them by. What's yours
I enjoy what I do . I am just a normal guy found that he had a talent in chess and enjoyed getting to the top .
We finish our interview. Anand is getting ready to leave for Monaco where he will defend his title in his stronghold-Rapid chess

Thank you Anand for your time . Have fun in Monaco and enjoy the laser game (Last year the Anand's topped the laser game shoot out. Aruna says you know we have our score sheet framed ??)


 

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