BENGALURU: A few days ago, Viswanathan Anand and D Gukesh had caught up for dinner. During the dinner, cooked by chef Suresh Pillai, the pair, India's only two world champions in Classical chess, had almost zero chess talk. "There was a lot of food talk," Anand told a select gathering of journalists on Friday, a day ahead of the fourth edition of the Global Chess League (GCL), which began in Bengaluru on Saturday.
"We were both very happy to just crack jokes," he said. "A couple of years ago, I had suggested to him that he could try different cuisines. He likes Japanese and Thai now and he has been experimenting a lot."
The 56-year-old, during the course of the conversation, also spoke about R Praggnanandhaa's recent purple patch. "He himself mentioned that he's fighting much harder and it's a conscious effort," the 56-year-old said. "I saw that when he takes the lead, he's very convincing. When he falls behind, he fights back. (It) happened in Norway (Chess), it happened in the absolute final and in the GCT. I can't pinpoint any one thing. He seems to have gone up a level. His strength was sort of there, ingredients were there and they tended to come together. It's good. Very fluid. Best player of the month or best player of the quarter, but worth pointing out that four rounds before the end of Norway Chess, we weren't going to call him the best player of the quarter."
A few days before this gathering, Anand spoke with this daily on the GCL, why he likes playing in this competition, and the prospect of India adding a 100th GM to their ranks. Excerpts:
On the fourth edition of the GCL
I'm really enjoying this phase. This is the second edition of the GCL in India after the one in Mumbai (last year). I really enjoyed the Mumbai edition, I don't know where it will move next. I'm really looking forward to the event in general. I think it's a very fun format. Honestly, I haven't played in this kind of an event very often.
On his team (PBG Alaskan Knights) and the things he like
I don't have to say much about Arjun (Erigaisi). There are Abhimanyu (Mishra) and Yagiz (Kaan Erdogmus), both are super exciting players. On the women's side, both Nino (Batsiashvili) and Kateryna (Lagno), it's the same. I think it's an event where you can start well and still not qualify for the final and not start well and still qualify for the final. The scoring is designed for unpredictability and entertainment and that's something I enjoy. I like that the teams walk in as one with our jerseys. It's something that you see a lot in other sports. Also, the playing hall is set-up differently. I'm not saying I'm strongly against one of the other but it's nice to experience something slight new. Everyday, it's only the team result that counts which also takes some getting adjusted to because you are used to playing for yourself.
On India one away having 100 GMs
I don't know if 100 is going to be that much more significant than 99. Yes, from 90 to 100 you can say that it was pretty amazing (the pace). Could have celebrated 98 or 99 as well but 100 is also a nice number; three digits. Why do we have anniversaries? It's nice.
On Kasparov's tweet — "Anand's children are on the loose" — and whether that (100 GMs) will be his ultimate legacy
I think that's a bit of a mischief and poking in that. In a friendly way but also some genuine complement and you take it as it is. Obviously, I'm not GenZ but I also know that you have to take these things with a little bit of humour. There's some gentle ribbing but I don't think it was insincere or anything. I'm not going to pretend that I'm not flattered but it's not like he's the first person to notice this. I actually don't spend time thinking about legacies or how people will remember me... these are not fun questions. But I'm certainly proud of where India is and I'm quite happy that I managed to play a part in it. But I don't sit and think about it a lot.
On how has life changed since becoming interim head of FIDE
I have had to chair meetings and take a lot of decisions. I have also had to speak to more people. The schedule is now a bit heavier but it's not too dissimilar. It was an unexpected development.