Viswanathan Anand: The lone warrior
Friday , May 25, 2012 at 17 : 40
The IPL is in its final stages and the cricket mad citizens are keenly watching the playoffs. As the country catches onto the cricket frenzy, coincidentally there is something else also happening in another part of the world. Perhaps the greatest sportsperson India has ever produced is fighting a World Championship battle in the wilderness of Moscow. Vishy Anand is fighting yet again and as always we don’t give too much attention to him. Why? Is this indifference because of our obsession with a single sport?
At the outset I like to put a couple of things into perspective. First, chess is a sport which is played in over 100 countries and has been dominated by Russians for decades. Second, Anand is a phenomenon who broke this stranglehold of the Russians (after Fischer in 72) on the World Chess scene. In Indian lingo, terminologies such as phenomenon are used at frequent intervals but in Anand’s case, he fully justifies the meaning of the word. 4 times World Chess Champion in all formats of the game, India’s youngest and first Grandmaster, multiple Chess Oscar winner; you name an accolade in the world of chess, Anand has done it. In a game which is played across almost every country in the world, this man has single handedly transgressed the global mind field and emerged triumphant touchwood on almost all occasions. Such is the magnitude of achievement of Anand but do we bother to even acknowledge it?
The counter argument to the lack of popularity of sports like chess is that people are not aware of the intricacies of the game. This to my mind is not convincing. Its an excuse which has little credence because we follow lots of games that we don’t understand much. We didn’t understand cricket till we are taught how to play the game by the colonial masters. It is so ironical that Chess, being first played in erstwhile India, cannot be understood by the Indians themselves! Like all other sports, familiarity comes with an intention to learn the basics of the game. This intention to learn about other sports comes from an ability to evolve as a narrow minded sporting society to a diverse multi-faceted sporting powerhouse. Sadly, this single sport obsession reflects a large picture about out social development.
This trend reflects a lot more about our society. Our obsession with cricket, which ironically the white man enslaved us into, has turned into a farce for any other sport in India. Like any other sport, chess is no exception to this trend in India. Have you ever wondered, why do most developed economies are accomplished in a wide array of sports? Why do so many world beaters come from such countries with smaller population in comparison to India? A developed and a progressive society are reflected in the diversity of sports that specific country caters to. Sadly, our state of sporting affairs has been so single minded that the idea of other sports entering into the fray is simply not acceptable. Even in our news, such major occurrences are by lines unless someone wins something big. This attitude of single sport melodrama leaves us not only regressive and narrow minded individuals but also deprives people like Anand their due.
It infuriates me at times, when I see frivolous headlines completely overwhelming such a major event involving a world class Indian. I have followed all of Anand’s championship wins from his loss to Kasparov a couple of decades ago. It ached hard when he lost to Karpov so narrowly in 1999. I was overjoyed when he beat Shirov to be World Champ in 2000. The icing on the cake was when he thumped Kramnik in 2008 so convincingly. In all these instances, the gentlemanly demeanour of the World Champion was so elegant that you just were in awe of the man. His demeanor in itself is a tribute to India as much as his world titles are. Again, in all these world champ cycles, he was neither given the attention nor the due that he so truly deserves. The wider question of improving the state of chess in India needs to answer other questions. Questions such as how much are we willing to bother about other sports? How much is corporate India helping people like Anand out in his sponsorship?
Most importantly why is it always back page news when IPL wannabes throng the first pages? These questions require a separate post to analyze and answer them. Beyond these detailed questions lies a fundamental point that I want to address here.
My point in this post is very simple. In an age where playing for the country has been trivialized, here is a sportsperson who has succeeded despite the system in such an emphatic manner. All we can do is show him the respect that he deserves and the consistent support that he requires to achieve what he wants to.
When Kasparov was the World Champ for years, he was the toast of Russia for decades. When Bobby Fischer won in 72, he was hailed as the captain who spearheaded the intellectual shift from the Soviet Union to the US. When Anand wins, a couple of gala functions would take place and after that we would forget him till he wins his next World Championship, that’s how our hero is treated in India.
Sometimes, I do ask myself “Does India deserve an Anand?” The answer sadly is not always a yes, hopefully things change.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com
Interesting perspective. A bit cynical, but the piece does make some good points. Better to be back page news than to not get any news at all (as is the case in the States)!
Here’s a hint…you can’t convince people to get excited. They either are or are not.
Perhaps FIDE WCC contests are boring. Perhaps the current competitors are lackluster. Perhaps the chess being played is dull.
If people are not interested, there’s usually a good reason.
Actually, ground reality is worse than what has been portrayed in the article. The Government of India was to award Anand a honorary doctorate through a public federal university but cold shouldered him almost a day before the award ceremony. I guess that was a very dark day in Indian chess, and in general for any non cricket sportsperson in India. You can read more about it here: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article590162.ece and http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article591737.ece.
Brazil is the same thing. It seems there is only soccer in this country. I hate soccer. Can you imagine anything like this?
i am a diehard fan of both cricket and chess.i followed both.@RHFCSK. wawa anand
wish anand win anand.
I truly cannot understand indian fixation with IPL. Pull a fast one on the masses and they lap it up! If Topalov had defeated Anand,his statues would have been put up and he would be treated as a demi-god in Bulgaria. We Indians are so shallow!
it’s really a sad truth…that has often hurt me a lot.
You don’t really have to understand a game to acknowledge a master of the game.
And to think that this is probably the ONLY sport in which an Indian is at the very top. A country that barely registers itself on the Olympics medals tally would do better to give Anand his due.
Cricketers come and go. Also we all know that Cricket is full of scams. Yet the public laps them up. It is just a sign of our times. Our one and only world chess champion ( there may never be another from this country )should be treated a lot better. God Bless Anand.
Hi Susan Polgar,
Well,India deserves Anand[ The World Champion In Chess ] and many more like Anand.
Anand deserves more fame and honor ,may be he receive it at the earliest from all quarters.
I respect the concern of the author of this article but when fewer audience witness chess sport in India thats not the end of it,there are ways and means to earn the audience support for this sport.
No sport [ Be what the skills applied in that sport ] can grow, neither commercially nor get tattoo status on the audience heart without creative & essential marketing strategy.
Every sport demands different marketing strategy,find one best for the chess ( many are available ) – Indian audience will welcome it,whole heartily.
Conclusively,India will ever produce many like Anand,will ever play a role in contributing their skills for chess sport’s glory across globe.
Nothing to worry about chess’s growth in India but need unique marketing strategy.
Hope that happens at the earliest.
By
Venky [ India – Chennai ]
I dont think one should blame the public. They go where the excitement is. Like, they dont bother to go and watch Test Cricket like IPL. Test cricket is the classical form of cricket, wherein one bats a whole day or rather whole five tiring days. Who wants to watch that?? Everybody needs excitement,adrinaline pumped. Like when one hits a six or takes a wicket etc. This frequently occurs in the short form like 20-20. Chess should go towards short format like blitz or rapid. But there also one waits for an action and what most of the time we get is a dead draw or a theory repeated till so many moves. Who wants to watch?? The right thing is to divert into Chess960 and make it fast so one would get more combinative, intuitive play like Morphy or Andersen used to produce. Then there is excitement. Cricket has come a long way to the current exciting form 20-20 and Onedayers. Chess should also change before it is too late.
I dont think one should blame the public. They go where the excitement is. Like, they dont bother to go and watch Test Cricket like IPL. Test cricket is the classical form of cricket, wherein one bats a whole day or rather whole five tiring days. Who wants to watch that?? Everybody needs excitement,adrinaline pumped. Like when one hits a six or takes a wicket etc. This frequently occurs in the short form like 20-20. Chess should go towards short format like blitz or rapid. But there also one waits for an action and what most of the time we get is a dead draw or a theory repeated till so many moves. Who wants to watch?? The right thing is to divert into Chess960 and make it fast so one would get more combinative, intuitive play like Morphy or Andersen used to produce. Then there is excitement. Cricket has come a long way to the current exciting form 20-20 and Onedayers. Chess should also change before it is too late.
India’s obsession with cricket has less to do with cricket as such. Take away the cheerleaders and entertainment, and it will seem as appealing as a test match! The mindset has changed — now everything has to be entertainment — nothing else matters! TV news is delivered as entertainment, shows are entertainment, sports is same, so is politics, Bollywood is …..
Main point – Do people understand the game!! They understand Cricket and follow it.. They don’t understand Chess and don’t follow. Simple !!!