I’m going to keep away from chess

I’m going to keep away from chess
SRINIVASA RAMANUJAM, May 27, 2010, 12.00am IST

…says world champion Viswanathan Anand, in an interview to us, on how he plans to unwind after a grueling season

It’s been a super hectic season for ace chess champion Viswanathan Anand. This time around, the cool-as-a-cucumber chess player has had to go through the trauma of missing a flight, enduring a 40-hour long bus journey and being stopped by the Bulgarian police for speeding! But in the end, all that didn’t matter as the Chess czar got the better of Veselin Topalov in his “toughest match yet”.

Lessons from cricket …
The trick is to get more people involved with the game. In that sense, this year is significant because the MindChampions’ Academy will help the game reach a million students. Hopefully, in the next five years, we’ll touch 10 million. Once the numbers come in, interest in the game will inevitably increase.

The ever-supportive Aruna
When there’s an important tournament going on, I try and stay in a bubble. It’s easy that way because then you don’t have to worry about anything else. Aruna was a great support. She used to take care of everything that was non-chess related and that helped me concentrate on the game.

Chess boxing…
There are some people who play it. It’s an amusing game in which you play chess and boxing simultaneously. But no, I’ve never tried it.

Physical vs mental fatigue
The season was quite draining. We played incredibly long games this time; something exciting happened every day! But I made it a point to hit the gym every day, except for one game that we finished at 9.30 pm. I also took long walks to be on track. Interestingly, in chess, you almost feel physical fatigue ‘mentally’. Also, I tried to get a lot of sleep.

Changes in Chennai…
To be honest, I’ve not been away for long this time. I left the city in December and am back after a few months. But I’m sure there’ll be some minor changes and I’ll spot them when I drive around the city, which I’ll be doing soon.

Momsi dearest
I honestly don’t remember when and why I started calling my mom ‘Momsi’. These are family things; it starts for some reason. It’s not that I just call her Momsi; I call her other things as well!

Losing the first game…
It was a setback because you like to begin well in all tournaments. Sometimes, if you are nervous, it could actually turn out to be a manifestation of your exhaustion. The point is that any setback is bad but if you see it from a perspective, you’ll recover.

How to unwind…
The basic thing is to keep away from chess. Yes, I might look at a thing or two now and then, but it’s important to maintain some distance from the game for a while. That way, when you come back, you’re actually hungry for chess. It must be pretty easy for me; Chennai has enough distractions to keep me away from the game for a while. I’ll be watching a few movies but I haven’t decided which ones yet.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com