No plans to retire: Anand
Chennai, June 3, 2012
He has been the undisputed world champion for the past five years but Indian chess veteran Viswanathan Anand has no plans of calling it quits just yet as he says his morale is on a high after beating a “complicated” Boris Gelfand to notch up his fifth world title.
“There are definitely no thoughts of retirement. In fact quite the opposite. (Winning a fifth world title) has been a huge boost to my morale. As long as I enjoy, I don’t see any reason to retire,” Anand told reporters during a felicitation function organised by his long-time sponsors NIIT in Chennai on Sunday.
Anand defeated Israeli Boris Gelfand in the World Championship match a few days ago to successfully defend his world title.
“I am still enjoying the game having just defended my title. Winning in Moscow meant a lot emotionally. It’s not only about records. It’s just that you hate losing and you love winning. I am looking forward to playing chess and winning tournaments,” Anand said.
“For me, the number has been irrelevant. Every title defence is special. I simply want to enjoy playing chess. There is no checklist,” he added.
The 42-year-old was hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin for tea after his triumph in Moscow. Recalling the meeting, Anand chuckled about Putin’s remark ‘So, we brought this on ourselves’ when the Indian told him how training at the Russian Culture Centre had helped his game.
“Well we laughed because I thought it was a witty line. The meeting was almost half an hour. He is very knowledgeable about chess. He spoke about how chess is important in Russian culture. He was generally very gracious. I thought that was a quick one,” he recalled.
Anand also gave a detailed account of his preparations leading up to the match and the turning points during it.
“My training was from Jan 15 to April 15. This time my preparation was very intensive because I did not have a camp.
Last year I was busy playing tournaments,” he said.
“We worked very hard and developed some thoughts. I had several systems prepared with black and white. You always had to start with something new. I knew Gelfand since 1989 and always thought he was very professional and disciplined chess player.
“Someone who had good understanding of the game. He is someone who embodies the best traditions of Soviet Union chess. I knew he would come up with some of the best preparation and he did,” he added.
Anand said Gelfand was a tough nut to crack and had his own set of innovations.
“Boris was a very complicated opponent. He managed to set all his dominant opening aside and come up with entirely new openings. I had to prepare for all the possible things he could do. He prepared very cleverly. We were continuously playing catch-up during the match,” Anand recalled.
“With the white pieces, he managed to steer clear of our dangerous ideas. This reflected how seriously he was taking the match. It was only in game 11 and 12 that we were able to break out a bit,” he said.
Anand also explained the turning points of the match.
“Most of these big matches come down to one or two turning points. If you don’t know how to grab them when they come, that’s when the success or failure is decided,” he said.
“In game seven, we managed to stumble on one area we had not worked as thoroughly as others. It was most difficult moment of the match, I didn’t sleep. I was all very disturbed.
“At that point I could not tell myself that it was the turning point. But in game eight, I had done a lot of work on the main areas but we didn’t neglect other areas. I wasn’t completely without weapons at that time,” he added.
Anand said a few changes here and there helped him take Gelfand by surprise.
“I don’t know whether I caught him by surprise but he reacted aggressively. I was excited about what was to come. I thought I could put him under pressure. The turning point happened very quickly. He made some wrong moves and I was very happy that I could get back into the match. I cannot emphasise how important this moment was,” Anand said.
“After equalising in the eighth game, I could play the rest of the match in peace,” he added.
Anand said the second turning point of the match came in the tiebreak.
“In the first game, for the first time I could get openings from black pieces. I felt that suddenly the match was opening up. Game two was very back and forth. I prepared strong ideas but he showed what a great defender he was.
However, he lacked in the end and he was also short of time.”
Anand was, however, appreciative of his rival.
“We both felt genuine respect for each other. I am really happy to have retained my title. Now I can really relax and enjoy this,” he said.
Anand also thanked his support team and his wife Aruna for taking the load off him mentally.
“The workload in the match is huge, the team helps manage the workload. They allow you to rest and recuperate during the match. My team, the five of us, we have become very close.
Very often they would say things are collapsing but you sleep and that gives you a lot of confidence. In the tie-break they gave me confidence.
“Aruna and I got married in 1996. She knew nothing about chess when we got married but gradually she has begun to play an important role. She takes a lot of load off me. She knows when to say something and when not to,” he laughed.
Anand also brushed aside criticism that the introduction of the tie-break system takes the sheen off the World Championships by making it less exciting.
“The system is much more fair now. I don’t think there should be anyone with any objection to tie—break. I find it fair and a lot of fans really enjoy the tiebreak. I returned home to an absolutely wonderful reception. Would like to thank everyone who took the trouble of coming out,” he said.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com
He shouldn’t.
Why should anyone be entertaining the though of Mr Anand retiring? Right now…nobody can beat him. He has nothing to worry about at the moment.
He’s the champ.
He should retire. he is washed up.
But he should also win against 2800+ and some tournaments too!
Who said this duel was n’t goood!
See Anand Music therapy below:
When Israeli challenger Boris Gelfand struck a ‘heavy blow’ to Viswanathan Anand’s defence of the world title by winning Game No.7, the Indian grandmaster returned to his hotel located near the Red Square and switched off from the game. He did not brood about the loss. Rather, he tuned into the British sitcom Fawlty Towers.
“On the day I lost, I watched Fawlty Towers because you want to laugh your head off,” Anand told The Sunday Express hours before travelling from Moscow to his hometown Chennai.
On other evenings after the game, the World champion watched episodes of British comedy Yes Minister and reality show Only Fools on Horses, which involves celebrities trying their hand at equestrian events. “To unwind in the evenings I would watch a mix of Yes Minister, Only Fools on Horses,” the world champion said. His wife Aruna was around to ensure that Anand remained in the right frame of mind irrespective of the outcome of the day’s duel.
When the games turned intense, 42-year-old Anand, while waiting at the backstage, would hum Jamaican reggae artist Sean Paul’s catchy number ‘She Doesn’t Mind’ till Gelfand completed his move. This song was played often when Anand’s entourage reviewed the day’s proceedings once back at the hotel.
For Anand laughter proved to be the best medicine as his decision to watch British comedy after the loss in Game 7 lightened his mood and put him at ease with just five games remaining to catch-up. Anand responded by winning Game No.8 and went on to eventually defend his title in the tie-breaker last week. It was during one of his backstage reggae-crooning breaks that Anand spotted Gelfand make a big mistake in Game 8.
“Game 8 went beautifully. I assumed Boris (Gelfand) was trying to double his lead rather than sit on it. He was very motivated but something clearly went wrong. (Anand set a trap for Gelfand which entailed Gelfand making a blunder of playing Queen to f6). And then I went backstage. I was waiting for my move. I had seen Queen f6 but I was telling myself that is too naive to expect it to happen and then I suddenly saw him make a move from the back of the board. I looked up saw it was Qf6. I thought ‘oh god!’ I came back, checked it for a few minutes and then just went for it. He thought for a while and resigned,” Anand said while looking back at his campaign, which he described as the toughest encounter of his five titles.
While he was considered the favourite going into the Championship, Anand disagreed. “I never saw myself as a favourite. There were a lot of people who kept saying I was favourite but they simply missed the plot. I expected a tough, nerve-wracking match, and I got a tough, nerve-wracking match. It would have been insane to underestimate Boris and I don’t think I would have done that. But I didn’t come here clearly with high expectations. I came here as someone who expected to fight for his life.”TheisRB