It has been a good year

‘It has been a good year for indian chess’
13 Dec 2008, 0056 hrs IST, CHANDNA ARORA , TNN

In his case, of course, it’s all about the right moves. Vishwanathan Anand, the ‘undisputed world chess champion’, has quietly, unobtrusively, stayed right on top of his game, consistently, for years.

The impact of this Indian on his sport is gigantic, and yet, Anand doesn’t believe in making a great deal of noise about it or calling attention to himself in any way. But it has been increasing, over the past few years, as his achievements have gotten bigger and bigger and the focus has moved from just cricket in India to other sports and games as well.

Not that Anand doesn’t like the attention. “Yes, the attention is good, as long as you don’t let it get to your head. It’s important to keep a balance between the sport and yourself. The sportsperson should remember that they have a job on the field,” he said to DT in an interview, right after he won against Kramnik earlier this year, clinching the title of the world champion. He is also known to painstakingly answer fan mail. “This is somehow very reassuring. It gives you the feeling that your work is really important. It is a very special feeling to be aware that your moves mean more than just mere results to many people,” he has said.

It means more, a great deal more. A blogger writes, “Chess has had its share of maverick stars – Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, Victor Korchnoi, Vasily Ivanchuk and the likes have had their share of the spotlight and have been in the news for the right and wrong reasons. Indian legend Viswanathan Anand stands apart from the pack as the gentleman dignified champion who has taken victory and defeat with grace. The amiable wizard has assured himself of a place in the chess pantheon after winning the World title with an emphatic win over Russian Vladimir Kramnik at Bonn this week. With the title win, Anand has accomplished something which no other chess great, not even Garry Kasparov has done. He has asserted his supremacy in the world by winning every possible format on offer now, that is, knowckout, round-robin and matchplay formats. Renowned for his lightning speed on the chess board, Anand has stunned the best in the business with his play and several trophies have come his way in the course of his illustrious career.” Another says, “Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand is quite simply, the greatest sportsman India has.”

The man himself thinks international, but takes his achievements very lightly. “It (chess as a medal sport in Olympics) should become a reality in eight years time,” he said in an interview after he won the title of world champion again. “In the next four years, it should become a demonstration sport before it becomes a full-fledged medal sport in Olympics. I wish it becomes a reality in eight years’ time. 2008 has been a very good year for Indian chess. I hope this trend continues for some more time,” he added. “Indians had been consistently improved performance.”

Even Vadimir Kramnik, whom Anand beat, didn’t mind losing to a player like him. “He was very interesting all the way. When you are playing against a player like Vishy, you can lose,” he said.

His attitude, however, is clearly that of a world beater. “Winning is important,” he has said. “For the record books, it’s nice. But for me, it was just important to win the world championship. I understand (that) for some people, the match format is a very important format and this completes it for the history books – is nice.” On another occasion, he has said, “Confidence is very important – even pretending to be confident. If you make a mistake but do not let your opponent see what you are thinking then he may overlook the mistake.” As one blogger put it, “Viswanathan Anand remains ‘Viswanathan’ Anand.”

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com