‘I am still learning’

‘I am still learning’
Posted: Wednesday, Jun 17, 2009 at 0119 hrs IST
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

He became India’s first Grandmaster way back in 1988 at the age of 18. Now, at 39, he is perhaps India’s one genuine world champion no one can criticise. He has won the World Championships in every format, defeated every player he’s played against in world chess, been the world number one for almost two years and stubbornly remained among the top three in the world for an amazing 12 years — from 1996 to September 2008.

He’s also won every possible award— the Arjuna, the Padma Shri, the Padma Vibhushan, the Khel Ratna, the chess Oscars (five times).

Viswanathan Anand, though, considers himself still a work in progress. “I am trying several new things this year, I am still working on them, learning new things — it’s all still a work in progress,” he said on the sidelines of a function in the Capital where he simultaneously played against eight kids across six cities, shortlisted from over 7000.

Playing eight games at the same time may be kid’s play for Anand, who once played against more than 30 people simultaneously, but the soft-spoken champion is all grit when it comes to his passion. And he admits it with nonchalance.

“I am absolutely paranoid of the fact that my mind may go wandering and that affects concentration and your game. I am fanatical about it and that’s why I usually isolate myself with my chess before a major tournament, like I did before the world championship in Bonn (in 2008). It’s absolutely essential to be completely focused,” he said.