Viswanathan Anand is an Indian chess Grandmaster and a former World Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2817 achieved in March 2011, Anand received the highest sporting honor in 1992. Here is a look at some of the most memorable Viswanathan Anand quotes ever documented.
“A win is a win, which is about that particular moment.”
“Before a game, I avoid having a heavy meal so that I don’t feel sleepy at the board. You eat to be healthy, and that generally takes care of everything.”
“Before a match, I do not follow any chess news except the games.”
“Being the undisputed world champion is a relief. We instituted a unified chess title, I am the absolute world champion.”
“Carlsen will be ridiculously difficult to play against.”
“Chess as a sport requires a lot of mental stamina, and this is what that makes it different from a physical sport. Chess players have a unique ability of taking in a lot of information and remembering relevant bits. So, memory and mental stamina are the key attributes.”
“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.”
“Each match I approach like a new one. The work is so immense that you don’t have time to sit and ponder.”
“Each match I play is the most important one yet.”
“For every door the computers have closed they have opened a new one.”
“For me, chess is not a profession, it is a way of life, a passion. People may feel that I have conquered the peak and will not have to struggle. Financially, perhaps that is true; but as far as chess goes, I’m still learning a lot!”
“For me, each game is a new challenge, which has to be dealt with rationally and systematically. At that time, every other thought fades into oblivion.”
“Grandmasters decline with age. That’s a given. There is nothing special about the age of 40, but age eventually takes its toll. That much is clear.”
.@vishy64theking talks on evolution of chess, his major career clashes and morehttps://t.co/4lJ4Z26R98 pic.twitter.com/jhrMz6TxkY
— FirstpostSports (@FirstpostSports) February 14, 2017
“I appreciate the support and anyone who takes up a position on my behalf. Especially in matches, this feeling that there are people behind you, gives me a lot of strength.”
“I attend to my fitness. I go the gym every day and try to maintain my physical fitness; without that, it is tough to take challenges on the chess board.”
“I feel that schools and corporates should help the government in popularizing sports in the country. Blaming the government for every sporting debacle will not be fair.”
“I keep forcing, I keep learning new things in the game, and so far I have been taking challenges as they come.”
“I like to keep myself physically and mentally fit before any important match. I usually take a short nap just before the game and do not practice immediately before the tournament.”
“I would never suggest to anyone that they drop school for chess. First of all even if you can make it in chess, your social skills need to be developed there.”
“I would prefer chess to become part of the Olympic Games. This would also lead to chess become more accepted as a sport in general.”
“If revenge motivates you, go for it! But the main thing is to set your game in order.”
“If you have a strong opponent, a competition is stimulating. I am generally most open to ideas when I have had a bad result. In chess, too, players specialize. This specialty then becomes an entry barrier.”
“In any match, there are few critical moments where there’s no second best decision. The rest of the moves are intuitive.”
“In chess, knowledge is a very transient thing. It changes so fast that even a single mouse-slip sometimes changes the evaluation.”
“Intuition in chess can be defined as the first move that comes to mind when you see a position.”
तंत्रज्ञानामुळे बुद्धिबळातील अनिश्चितता कमी ः आनंद
संगणकाची योग्य मदत घेतली नाही,तर त्याचा चांगलाच फटका बसतो@eSakalUpdate @vishy64theking pic.twitter.com/xHpYoiNqMh— Mumbai Sakal (@sakal_cityspeak) February 9, 2017
“It is important that you don’t let your opponent impose his style of play on you. A part of that begins mentally. At the chessboard if you start blinking every time he challenges you then in a certain sense you are withdrawing. That is very important to avoid.”
“It is very difficult to play a single blitz game! You want to play for a long time. So I tend not to do that anymore.”
“It’s important, according to me, to train in small doses so as to not lose the joy of playing chess. I personally think too many coaching and training classes may take away a child’s interest in the game itself.”
“Just before a game, I try to keep a clear mind so that I can focus better. I’m the kind of person who plays fast and relies a lot on intuition, so being at peace with myself is vital.”
“My job is to play chess, the game that I love. I achieve what I can in chess. That is what I focus on. Basically, I am always focused on playing the game, and this is important to me.”
“My parents were very supportive of my chess. When I got home after a game of chess, having missed school or something, they always made me feel very welcome; I didn’t feel guilty at all about pursuing chess with such fervour. They never, for instance, perceived sports as a rival to academics.”
“My practice schedule is not constant and changes a lot and depends on my moods also.”
“Nowadays, when you’re not a grandmaster at 14, you can forget about it”
“Parents, first and foremost, it is important to… understand and recognize the activities your child is naturally gravitating towards. It’s important also to ensure that your child likes what he or she is doing. I believe in exposing children to as many hobbies and extracurricular activities as possible.”
“Preparedness for a game that usually lasts four-five hours requires good physical condition and also steady nerves.”
“Psychology plays a big part but I always say psychology will only be a differentiator when the players are of equal technical strength.”
“Saying my daily prayers helps me achieve this heightened state of mind.”
Viswanathan Anand is certainly and inspiration for all Indians!!#Respire2Inspire #BeinganInspiration pic.twitter.com/A9RDTwmyWF
— My Show Tyme (@myshowtyme) February 6, 2017
“The essential thing to do is practise often and, in case of a doubt, to consult a trainer.”
“The Internet gives you access to a lot of material, and it’s fun to sit and read. I go to something like Wikipedia and look at different topics… I find the subject fascinating. I like to read about concepts and mathematicians.”
“There are some aspects of work you need to keep working on and no matter what environment you are in. Continuous learning is very important. It’s what I call ‘competitive tension’, which is about having a competition around.”
“There are two aspects to being competitive; one is to do with sports, and the other is about technical skills. Being able to recollect the moves and apply them when necessary is a critical aspect.”
“There is always the risk of being over-confident when you are preparing to face a weaker player.”
“Things like the financial markets – a proper grounding in mathematics could help the common man. I believe that if people are more familiar with mathematical concepts… it can help deal with modern life, which is increasingly complex.”
“We want more women players to take up chess. There are few participants at the national level and hope it will grow.”
“When I was about six, I saw my elder siblings play chess and pestered my mother into teaching me. Very soon, I was beating everyone at home, and they thought it would be good to join a club.”
“When there’s an important tournament going on, I try and stay in a bubble. It’s easy that way because then you don’t have to worry about anything else.”
“When you play with the best in the world, it is important that you not lose focus. You must be fully focused. Even a minor error could result in a massive defeat.”
“You bring to chess facets of your personality and what you are. I have interests other than chess, like music and world and current affairs. I also have many friends around the world with whom I like to keep in touch.”
“You need to motivate yourself, no matter what-definitely when things are bad, but also when things are good. Or else, you risk becoming complacent.”
Known as India’s first chess grandmaster at the age of 18, Viswanathan Anand has had quite a story of success. Here is an interview where he talks about the challenges and revelations he achieved early on in life.
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