| WCC : How does it feel to win the World Chess Championship against Kramnik in 2008 versus 2007? |
Viswanathan Anand : I think it is a great feeling to be recognized as the undisputed champion and though both years had their challenges in the relevant games, 2008 has left an impression.
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| WCC : Which are some of the top chess players in the history of chess whose games and style you admire? |
Viswanathan Anand : There are several good players however Kasparov and Tal are my favorites. Tal was known in his times as a magician for his genius at the chess board.
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| WCC : Which are some of the key games you recalll, where the tables were turned by sheer innovative moves? |
Viswanathan Anand : The games 3 and 5 in the world chess championship of 2008 against Kramnik were the best in the 2008 world chess championship. These two games had very new concepts and in a world chess championship, every point is precious and worth its weight in gold. The games’ approach had some real surprise value, which played a very big part in ensuring a win in the respective games.
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| WCC : As a young child what were your dreams of yourself as an adult? How important is it to aspire to be a WCC to become one? |
Viswanathan Anand :As a child I dreamn’ t of becoming a world champion in chess.I did not know at a young age, what is involved to become a world champion in Chess.
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| WCC : How important is as a child to aspire to be a WCC to become one? |
Viswanathan Anand : It depends from person to person of how they go about. I think it is not necessary for a person to dream to become a world chess champion. You may have other aspirations in your early childhood. Some have a very focused approach towards their goal, but I prepared for it step by step and not as a part of a mega goal to become a world champion.
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| WCC : If someone aspires to become a world chess champion, what would be the steps you would advise them to take for grooming themselves? |
Viswanathan Anand : This may sound clichéd, but I consider them as sound rules for success
Rule 1: Make sure you enjoy the game. It should not be a burden. Or you shouldn’t be just do it under pressure from your parents, you should be enjoying the game.
Rule 2: There are no real short cuts in chess. You need to practice a lot and play various games and playing various positions and understanding them for improving your game.
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| WCC : Is it possible to follow a parallel career/ study at a school or college and also play chess. Or, would you advise serious players to focus only on chess? |
Viswanathan Anand : Till I became a GM (Grand Master), I did not face any real conflict between my preparation for chess and my studies. Hence, in my opinion, up to a stage it is possible to do it in parallel and neither of them need to be compromised.
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| WCC : How much time would one needs to spend incase s/he wants to target a championship? |
Viswanathan Anand : Each person needs to see what works for self. I personally like to prepare informally and would typically read a book or review some games. There is no real template that you follow. Some people like to analyse a position. The trick is you should enjoy your preparation and games.
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| WCC : What are the estimated funds which would be required for any typical person to spend every year if the person aspires to play the major circuits/ world chess champion? |
Viswanathan Anand : There are people of different income groups and each may plan accordingly what they are willing to spend. At a generic level, if you are good, you should be able to get sponsorship for the tournaments.
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| WCC : How much does family support make a difference between a successful player or otherwise? |
Viswanathan Anand : It definitely makes a lot of difference. If your parents are proud of you, when you are playing or preparing, you do that with a lot of gusto and focus.
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| WCC : What is the role of softwares in preparing you for the world chess championship? |
Viswanathan Anand : In today competive scenario, the role of chess softwares cannot be ignored as an integral part of preparation. It is very important to practice and play against softwares as they act as a very effective tool towards your learning
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| WCC : How important is the role of seconds or coaches in a place where several good softwares are available to spar with you? |
Viswanathan Anand : The role of seconds and coaches are complementary to chess software. Seconds are people you would need much later in your career and children should not be concerned about having them at an early stage. However coaches are recommended for any stage of preparation, as you may have questions regarding the games you have played with people or soft wares or for analyzing a position.
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Views on Chess
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| WCC : What is the best style to be adopted in chess – Aggressive or defensive? |
Viswanathan Anand : I personally prefer an aggressive style
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| WCC : Would you say that every great move on this 64 square that has to be discovered and played has already been seen in one or the other tournament? |
Viswanathan Anand : I personally prefer an aggressive style
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| WCC : In games such as Tennis, baseball, cricket, football/ soccer, we do see age creating a stumbling block for successful stars. Do you think as chess players grow older, they also lose the edge to win at chess? |
Viswanathan Anand : In chess the career span is relatively longer to the other games, however, the span is reducing and favoring youth. It is tougher in today’s environment to be on the top in your 50s and 60s.
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About Self
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| WCC : For most chess is a hobby? What is your hobby? |
Viswanathan Anand : Well I like Astronomy and in my spare time I pursue it.
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| WCC : Many of the sport stars take to films or dancing? What are your views on “starring in films” or dancing on the shows or starring in “big boss”? |
Viswanathan Anand : Who knows. But when I am playing tournaments it is very difficult to spare time for such activities, even if I were asked for this.
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Future of Chess
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| WCC : In the olden days, the moment you mentioned chess you intuitively thought of Soviet Union? Which country do you envisage in another 10 years will have the max No of IMs and GMs? |
Viswanathan Anand : Nowadays thanks to Computers and travelling, I don’t think one country will dominate like Russia used to. It is still the strongest country in Chess! But, if you look at the Olympiads, more and more countries have started to play well.
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| WCC : If you were to redesign the chess game formats, which type of chess would you rate as the best? |
Viswanathan Anand :
- Rapid
- With computer aid
- Blind fold
- No time limit
- Standard format
- Some combinations of the above
I personally like Rapid. But what we observe is that a player may win in Rapid but he might to draw against the same opponent in another format (say classical) and hence I think in today’s time, all these variants are important to measure your capabilities.
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