My dream is to see chess played in every Indian school: Anand
Press Trust of India
Nov 24, 2013 at 03:48pm IST
New York: Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, who was dethroned by Magnus Carlsen as the world champion last week, says he dreams about the game being played in every school in the country.
“My dream is to see chess played in every school in India,” Anand, a five-time world champion, has written in an essay for the book Reimagining India: Unlocking the potential of Asia’s next superpower edited by global consulting firm McKinsey.
Referring to Russia’s dominance in chess, Anand said the Soviets were famous for including a chessboard along with the bride’s wedding trousseau to ensure that the children knew the rules of the game.
“For the Soviets, chess was in their DNA. With time and effort, our more intuitive Indian way of introducing a child to chess and letting his or her mind capture the essence of the game would not do too badly either,” he said.
Anand was last week defeated by Carlsen, who clinched the title of chess champion after 10 games in Chennai. Carlsen won three and drew seven, and earned the highest rating of all time with the 6.5-3.5 win.
Anand writes in the essay that one of the things he brings to his play is his “Indian identity”.
“I am often described as a natural or intuitive player. I agree there is something to that,” he said.
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