Meet the one-man chess industry. Without Viswanthan Anand’s moves, the Indian chess scene would have been that much poorer
“My mother taught me how to play after I pestered her. I was around six years old and would see my elder siblings play. I wanted to be a part of the magic circle.” His parents thought it was a passing phase or a hobby. “I was in my final year of college and by then I was the fifth in the world and had qualified for the world championship cycle. It was then I realised that I wanted to pursue the game as long as I could.”
From his early days there were distinguishing features which made the young Anand stand apart; speed, mental and tactical strength, and his gentlemanly spirit. It were these qualities which helped him become the youngest National Chess Champion in India when he was 16 years. In 1987, Anand added another feather to his cap by becoming the first Asian to bag the top spot in the World Junior Championship. By 18, Anand was a Grand Master. His win of Reggio Emilia in 1991 in Italy only added to his credentials. Yes, India can boast about a lot of great chess players. But it is important to talk about Anand more for his efforts at trying to lift the profile of the game in the country. Even today his efforts to promote chess and improve coaching camps here is admirable.
But before we get too ahead of ourselves; let’s go back to the beginning of his flourishing career. Anand was a busy child, yet proficient in juggling practice, school and childhood pranks all with equal elan. “I would enjoy a break from studies to play chess and vice-versa. Since my father was in the Indian Railways, the three of us had the chance to play a lot of games such as badminton and tennis, apart from chess, which all three of us were enthusiastic about. I played my first tournament almost as soon as I started learning. I lost my first three games and won the fourth since my rival didn’t turn up at the board,” he says with a laugh. Fortunately for Anand, he had a supportive school principal who was “was very supportive about all sports”. “I remember that he would encourage me to play more. The school would also honour my achievements. This nod from school, administrators and friends meant a lot.”
Anand is not just “lucky” to receive the attention of his friends and family, he is a player who has the support of his city. Chennai’s love for chess—and for its champion—is stuff of legends. It is home to the 100-year-old Solar House (Mylapore) which is also considered to be the cultural epicentre of Chennai. It is said that sahibs would come and play with the natives at the Solar House. Then there is Tal House (named after Grand Master Mikhail Tal). And if we have not yet convinced you—an interesting data; one-third of the World Chess Federation-ranked players from India are also from Tamil Nadu. And two-thirds of that number are people who hail from Chennai.
When we say Chennai adores chess—it does. It is particularly imperative that we link the two (city and champion) while talking about the game. The city is home to The National Institute of Information Technology Mind Champions’ Academy formed in partnership with Anand, to promote the game in the city. In the past 10 years, membership has grown to 1 million.
The city has witnessed unprecedented growth of chess sometimes pushed by the Tamil Nadu government. In 2012, the state government decided to make chess mandatory in state public schools. The government has also invested Rs 290 million (approximately) to host the World Chess Championship. However, the biggest blow to the city’s collective pride came from this championship. One can tout November 22, 2013, to be a particularly bad day for Chennai—indeed for whole of India. It was a day when a young man from Norway called Magnus Carlsen became the new world chess champion after his and Anand’s tenth game ended in a draw. The 22-year-old Norwegian got the required half-a-point needed to reach 6.5 points and dethrone India’s Grandmaster. It was Carlsen’s maiden title. Anand drew in a match with Magnus Carlsen (Norway) in 65 moves during—what was touted by a lot of newspapers as—one of the “most lopsided matches” in the game’s history. (Incidentally, Anand lost to Carlsen again and was placed third in the Zurich Chess Classic’s Blitz Tournament in January 2014.)
While most fans ranted about the Chennai loss, true to his self, a matter-of-fact Anand accepted the loss as a “deserving one”. I remember reading about Anand’s reaction and being particularly impressed by his honesty.
“My mistakes did not happen by themselves. Clearly he (Carlson) managed to provoke them (Anand’s moves), full credit to him... I simply blundered (on the 28th move). I don’t know the evaluation after that. The knight-ending is very dangerous,” said Anand with his characteristic humility. Was Carlson the most dangerous opponent that he has met? “Every opponent I lose to, is the most challenging opponent,” he says, a diplomatic answer served with a smile.
“My first trainer was Mikhail Gurevich. It was he, and several others, who taught me to not think too much about the big picture. I try to focus on the immediate game.
“I try to keep my life simple. Luckily, I have a great family which takes most of my tension off my shoulders and allows me to focus. Before every game I try to listen to some music which is the greatest relaxation,” he says.
And, he constantly tries to evolve his game. The Lightning Kid (again a nomenclature testament to his tactical calculations) published a collection of his games Vishy Anand: My Best Games of Chess in 1998, which he expanded with new games in 2001.
Play and evolve that seems to Anand’s mantra. He prefers not only to focus on his own game but on the overall appreciation of chess; so we had to ask him with everything slowly moving online, did he see the possibility that people would ultimately play chess online?
“Already chess is one of the biggest sports online. It can be followed in its entirety online. I believe that the internet is chess’ greatest ally. Also, it is amazing to see the number of academies and trainers in India. I am quite certain that we definitely have the talent to raise the bar. For instance at the NIIT Mind Champions Academy that I am closely associated with we have reached 10,000 schools and the support we have received has been overwhelming.”
On a personal front, Anand is not an obsessive planner. “I do not plan too much into the future. I try to see what the next event is and prepare the best for it.” In the meanwhile, he is busy going to the gym, reading, and being a father to his three year old son Akhil. He speaks French, German and Spanish besides Tamil and English. After Akhil’s birth the family moved base from Madrid to settle down in Chennai in 2011. Despite all the ups and downs, Anand seems to be in a good place. “My lesson or advice—call it what you will—to my child, indeed to every children—would be enjoy whatever you do.” It is clear that our chess champ clearly enjoys what he does now.
Finally, we had to ask, for all those places that he has travelled to, which is the most enthusiastic country or crowd that he has met. “Russia is really fond of chess. (Allegedly two thousand Muscovites once gave Anand a standing ovation for a splendid move against Vladislav Tkachiev.) Having said that, in India one always feels special. There is no doubt about that.