CHENNAI: One of the first indications that Viswanathan Anand would one day take world chess by storm came in December 1991, when the then-22-year-old won the Reggio Emilia tournament, beating Garry Kasparov and finishing ahead of Anatoly Karpov. With Anand busy announcing himself, Sergey Karjakin was looking forward to his second birthday, which was a few days away. Magnus Carlsen had just finished celebrating his first.
That Carlsen and Karjakin are now fighting it out for the world title Anand relinquished three years ago, may be a tribute to the latter’s longevity. It is also proof of something else — chess is a young man’s game. Anand is the only player in the top 10 born before 1970. Bring the date forward to 1980 and you have Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. Seven of the top 10 were not even born when Kasparov became world champion for the first time in 1985.
Why is it that chess players, whose physical exertions are minimal, decline by their late 30s when a Leander Paes, Sachin Tendulkar or Ryan Giggs can play at the highest level, well into their 40s?
Nigel Short knows a thing or two about mental changes that come with age. The Englishman, now 51, was rival to Kasparov’s world title in 1993, and is currently the oldest player in FIDE’s top 100.
“There are a number of factors,” Short says. “Chess is not about accumulated knowledge, in which case wisdom acquired over decades would stand you in good stead. It’s about performing and calculating under pressure. You need good nerves and these younger people tend to cope with tension a lot better.
“I think fear tends to creep in a little more. In chess, sometimes you have to be bold and head for murky complications. There is a tendency to try keep things under control when you are older. That might be a good thing in most situations, but in other situations, it would be an inappropriate response.”
Chess has become even younger in recent years — the age of the youngest Grandmaster has been brought forward six times since 1990 — but top players burning out in mid thirties is nothing new. Kasparov was last top of the world when he was 37 and retired five years later. Bobby Fischer was 32 when he gave up the title in 1975, while he wrested it from his great rival Boris Spassky when the latter was 35. Neither Fischer nor Spassky recaptured the title. In fact, Karpov and Anand are the only exceptions to this — the Russian was champion when he was 48, while Anand lost his title to Carlsen at 43.
Short believes physical fitness also plays a part. “It (fitness) does give you an edge, particularly when the game lasts for hours. For older players, there is very little difference for the first couple of hours, but then concentration begins to waver.”
Sports psychologist Amit Bhattacharjee has a unique insight into what happens to sportspersons under extreme stress. He has worked with Olympic gold-winning shooter Abhinav Bindra and is currently advising IM Sayantan Das who won the World U12 Championship in 2008. “There are a lot of unique issues that chess players encounter as they age. Their bodies retain more carbon dioxide because they tend to have irregular breathing patterns while thinking. Even when they are not playing, their conscious mind is focused on the game affecting dopamine levels. Many chess players have irregular sleeping patterns and develop back aches, because they have to sit for so long.
“It will help if they can meditate, listen to music or go on long walks. They should work on their breathing pattern and try boost vitamin D levels,” he says.
vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com