World champion Viswanathan Anand gave a long interview to Indian Express. He talks about his form, his preparation against Carlsen and why he sees Gelfand as an inspiration.
He said the following about his recent performances:
The idea was somewhat to play myself into shape and just play more often and get the feel of how it is to be on the circuit continuously as opposed to taking huge breaks. In that sense it was successful. I did get to play a lot, and I got a lot more wins, a lot more decisive results. I had 22 decisive games — 14 wins, 8 losses. That is already a big improvement over last year when I found it difficult to have decisive games at all.
When the interviewer talked about his loss against Magnus Carlsen at the Tal Memorial, Anand was completely honest:
That was one of the worst. Not only did I lose, I lost embarrassingly. The game was over in just a couple of hours. It was a really, really off day. It’s a pity.
He talked scarcely about his plans to prepare for the upcoming match:
Not only were these tournaments an experience for me, but for him as well. I have a lot of material to work on, a lot of material from my games and a lot from his.
Finally, he mentioned why it makes him happy to see Gelfand win an important event:
I was very, very happy. I find that when it is not for myself, I root for Vlady (Kramnik) or Boris, the players of my generation. It has become a natural reaction. At Alekhine, I was impressed by his play but was not sure if it was a one-off good tournament, but now he has shown it’s something deeper. It’s a very impressive result and I tip my hat to him. I will definitely think about what went right with him and incorporate that in some way.
Anand will prevail.
“Anand will prevail”
lol!
Hi Susan Polgar,
Thats Cool : Anand The Man : Fails not,to appreciate others talent :: Shy not,at his failure : Nice.
Skill wise “Anand” has everything that he needs to,win the upcoming “The Tournament” – All that he has to do is,practice implementing the skills often.
Both [ Anand & Carlsen ]are legendary players,irrespective of their physical age difference – Their mental vigor & age are the same,none is the least to the other,in any means/sense.
Honestly saying,it will be a feast to watch,these great minds drill their skills to bring up,the nectar of the era,in the tournament.
Yours ever friendly,
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
Hi Susan Polgar,
Thats Cool : Anand The Man : Fails not,to appreciate others talent:: Shy not,at his failure : Nice.
Skill wise “Anand” has everything that he needs to,win the upcoming “The Tournament” – All that he has to do is,practice implementing the skills often.
Both [ Anand & Carlsen ]are legendary players,irrespective of their physical age difference – Their mental vigor & age are the same,none is the least to the other,in any means/sense.
Honestly saying,it will be a feast to watch,these great minds drill their skills to bring up,the nectar of the era,in the tournament.
Yours ever friendly,
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
A message to Anand:
You will not win this time. Here is the simple reason — It is but natural in a human being life that when one becomes a father, one oftentimes lose the appetite to “kill,” a crucial factor to win a chess match.
When you won the last championship match agains Topalov, you haven’t physically got the son that you have now.
Maybe because you now realize, albeit unconsciously, the world now revolves, not around you anymore, but to your son, to your wife, to your family, that your life is perfectly happy without all the glory of extended chess greatness.
Haven’t you notice your chess is on the decline since 2011?
This now explains your, again, natural tendency to praise your batch-mates Kramnik and Gelfand. Two things why you do this: 1. You want the guys, and the company of these guys to support you like some guys did with your championship match in 2010. Second, you want FIDE to side with you because praising Russians (Gelfand’s originally Russian, before Russia disintegrated) will be appreciated. Remember you praised Kramnik and FIDE awarded the venue to your country.
Nothing’s wrong with these. Just you won’t win this time.