When it was announced that Viswanathan Anand will defend his World title at home against world number one Magus Carlsen, many believed the home advantage will be a boost to him.
But now, with the Norwegian sitting pretty at the top with two wins to Anand’s nil with five matches to go, has the home advantage back fired on Anand? At least it appears so as the five-time world champion has restricted himself to the indoors and in contrast his challenger has spent his rest day away from the venue.
Eric van Reem, Anand’s logistic manager, says in an attempt to make the Indian comfortable and away from the spotlight, a careful thought has gone through and Anand has been allocated a work room inside to spend time with his seconds. “Anand doesn’t want to come out because he gets mobbed by people. Although it shows peoples’ affection and it’s positive, it can distract him,” Van Reem explains.
Van Reem though admitted Anand likes to keep his body in the right shape and steps out of his room only for gymming. “At the gym he does a bit of cycling and weights. It’s done just to maintain his fitness levels because when he concentrates on the board the energy gets drained and gymming becomes essential.”
Even for dinning, Anand is so particular about staying indoors rather than dinning at the hotel’s restaurants. “He has been having Indian food mostly. Apart from it, he has been having a lot of Italian and Chinese and had them delivered to his room,” Van Reem said.
Van Reem said to keep the atmosphere relaxed, Anand likes spending time with his people. “He creates his own environment where his friends are part of it. He listens to Cold Play and light music and watches lot of movies. He likes Lord of the Rings a lot and has watched it a lot.” Apart from movies and music, Anand who spent a considerable time in Spain in the previous decade, likes watching football.