Anand: I can make out whether a player is nervous

I can detect my opponent’s emotions, says Viswanathan Anand

Anand was here for a team-allotment ceremony of the Maharashtra Chess League. He humoured one and all during an open interview session with film director Mahesh Manjrekar.

Asked whether chess players made for good actors while making moves, he answered with a straight face. “I would say, yes and no. After one level, the opponent can guess that you are bluffing with a straight face. In my case, I can make out whether a player is nervous by the level of his breathing. I can detect his emotions, what he is thinking. So it’s very necessary to keep your emotions to yourself,” he said.

He admitted that being a world champion was an ego boost. “When I was growing up, I would tell people that I am a Grandmaster. Later, when I started saying that I am an Indian chess champion, they would start respecting me immediately. Of course, world champion is a highly coveted title,” the 43-year-old said.

Anand admitted that they do feel worn out in chess despite no physical effort involved in it. “Unlike cricket, weariness in chess is not physical. It’s the tension, pressure and playing in high-stake matches that wear you out,” he said.

“Players’ physical capacity goes down in other sports. Similar things happen in a mental sport. Training can no longer match the decline. The brain gets tired of doing the same thing over and over again. And the player has to find something to compensate these effects,” he said.

Asked if he would like his son to follow his footsteps, he said, “I’ll introduce him to chess. But I won’t force him. It’s up to him what to choose.”

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com