‘Magnus Has Made A Career Imposing His Style of Play’
By Express News Service
Published: 30th November 2013 04:31 AM
Last Updated: 30th November 2013 04:43 AM
As the new Chess King Magnus Carlsen celebrates his 23rd birthday today, Viswanathan Anand explains how he failed to figure the Norwegian out during the recently concluded World Championship in Chennai.
Speaking to CNN-IBN on Friday, the five-time world champion said losing the world championship crown to Carlsen hurt him a lot but refused to believe his time is up.
“This is one criticism which I feel really misses the mark. I was delighted to get into aggressive positions and people need to understand Magnus likes to get into positions he likes – which is dry as dust. He likes boring technical positions and he has made a career out of imposing his style of play. He is a versatile and diverse player. I played in dynamic fashion during the last match and he refused to have it. My gameplan was to force him into an aggressive area and make it less enjoyable for him and that’s where my strategy failed,” Anand explained.
Explaining further on what made Carslen a hard nut to crack, Anand said: “Magnus is a very different opponent with a very different style from players I’ve encountered in the past. I couldn’t manage to figure him out. He came out with a radical approach. I developed a strategy which I thought could neutralise his strengths. But it proved harder than expected.”
Both Anand and Carlsen started on an identical note by drawing the first four games and though many thought Anand didn’t play his aggressive best, he begged to differ.
The Chennaite, who will participate in the London Chess Classic from December 7-15, said that he is exhausted and would relax once the tournament is over. “Three days after the match I could barely move a muscle. I feel the mental exhaustion has taken a physical manifestation. Clearly the accumulated efforts of the last six years – four WCC matches – will take a toll and I’ve to see these things in a realistic perspective,” Anand added.
Source: http://media.newindianexpress.com
Magnus likes to get into positions he likes – which is dry as dust. He likes boring technical positions and he has made a career out of imposing his style of play
A bitter truth.