CHENNAI: Chess legend Viswanathan Anand is happy spending quality time with family. He is pleased that youngsters from the country are doing well. In an exclusive chat, the five-time world champion says he enjoys spending time and playing with youngsters. Excerpts...
How was the experience of playing with youngsters like Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin and Divya Deshmukh in the Online Chess Olympiad won jointly by India?
Enjoyed playing with them even though we were all in different locations. We had enjoyable team meetings and the camaraderie was good. Of course, we feel rewarded at the end.
Does spending time with family compensate for not playing over the board tournaments?
I don’t really compare the two. This year has been unusual. We are all getting used to a new reality. I certainly enjoyed spending so much time at home with the family.
Unlike the current generation, online chess doesn’t excite you. Reason?
I haven’t got too excited about it. Don’t know the real reason. Maybe the sheer lack of the sense of something real starting before it starts. In a tournament, you leave the hotel room, go to the tournament hall and see the other players. You slowly get the sense that there is a competition. It is very hard sitting at home and switching into tournament mode.
On Jan-Krzysztof Duda ending Magnus Carlsen’s 125-game unbeaten run...
Jan-Krzysztof is one of the most talented youngsters around. His victory against Magnus didn’t surprise me. The game was back and forth. That’s typical these days. It shows principally he was correct. He was not having a good tournament, but he never backed down and fought in every game and tried his best. Beating Magnus was a good reward.
On your team OSG Baden-Baden winning the Bundesliga (German league) title...
It was a pity I couldn’t join my team. It was just impractical to get to Germany. I am very happy that my team won convincingly. In the final round-robin phase in Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden dominated.
On Candidates getting postponed to 2021...
It has been a strange year. Candidates getting postponed was inevitable. All plans break down. The optimistic assessments about our fight with Covid is not assured. There will be more surprises.
On Rafael Nadal equalling Roger Federer’s 20 Grand Slam titles...
Nadal’s 20th Slam is huge. This is a historical record for both Nadal and Federer. I don’t want to compare. Both are phenomenal achievements. You have to respect that they are still so motivated.
On Nihal Sarin winning the Junior Speed Chess title...
I’m happy for him winning the title. We always knew he was a bit of a speed chess specialist. I think this victory gives him the necessary confidence going into the Speed Chess Championship main event. In the first round of knockouts, he faces Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. I believe he has serious chances because of the fact that the time control (5 mins+1 sec, 3 mins+1 sec, 1 min+1 sec ).