After Game 2, I asked myself ‘why am I playing this match,’ says Carlsen
Nov 26, 2014 14:14 IST

There were times during the World Chess Championship match in Sochi, when it looked like Viswanathan Anand had a chance; a chance to regain the crown. But then Magnus Carlsen got his act together and from that point on, there was only one man who could win the title. There was no competition.

After Anand leveled the match by winning game three, Carlsen is his own words wasn’t playing ‘very high quality chess.’ It was allowing him to hold on but Anand was clearly coming out well and creating the better opportunities.

In an interview with Mint, Carlsen revealed how he got a little overconfident after his win in Game 2 of the match.

“That’s when some thoughts started to creep into my mind and I was asking myself, ‘why am I playing this match?’ I was kind of drifting away from the match when Anand quickly sprang back with a brilliant win in the third game,” he said.

He got back in his groove soon enough but he went on to admit that maintaining his intensity proved to be difficult because of the format. There were also concerns about his ability to concentrate for long periods. But he got through all of that to retain the world crown.

Source: http://www.firstpost.com

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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