Anand interview: 'No difference between a champion and a challenger'

The morning after winning the Candidates 2014 challenge in Khanty-Mansiysk, Viswanathan Anand was up at six and then he pinched himself, just to make sure it was all real. He couldn’t sleep, he was too excited – this was too unexpected and after the hurt caused by his loss to Magnus Carlsen – this was sweet. The day after was a designated free day for the participants, a chance to unwind after weeks of unrelenting pressure. The Indian grandmaster got pulled around on a sled by reindeers, wore Russian costumes and tried his hand at shooting too. “It’s not that difficult really. I hit two targets. Quite simply when you are shooting with a gun stand, get it in your sights it’s quite easy, but when you have try the free hold, then the cold makes it very difficult. I’d rather play chess,” said Anand when he arrived back in India. Firstpost caught up with the man, who in the eyes of many, has come back into the reckoning on the basis of some exceptional chess. It wasn’t expected and that is why it perhaps seems even more brilliant. Excerpts from the interview: [caption id=“attachment_1463991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Viswanathan Anand. Fide.com[/caption] You have been the world champion for so many years that some might reckon you have forgotten what it feels like to be a challenger… I don’t really think there is a difference between a challenger and a champion. In the sense, both need to play a match and they have both earned the right to be there. On that day, they are even. Whoever plays better chess; strategises better, keeps calm and focused will win – the title ceases to mean anything once you are at the board. It’s only chess that counts. There has been a lot of talk about how you tried to take your mind of chess in the lead-up to the Candidates. Was it a new approach? It took me all of December to get over the loss against Carlsen. Frankly put, it hurt a lot. It was un-nerving in a sense made me question myself; made me question my chess. But then I came to the realisation that worry never helps you. The more you think about it, the more you get pulled down in the muck. It’s like quick sand – the more you struggle, the faster you sink. So over the last couple of months, I tried not to think of chess. I did the mundane everyday things – met old school friends, played with Akhil (Anand’s son), picked him up from school, went shopping. Very normal, very boring stuff. But it helped. I tried to do something similar before the Carlsen match too but for some reason it didn’t come together in the same way. Perhaps I was too much on edge. At the Candidates – what was the turning point for you? When you are playing against the best players of the world, every win is special. And I am happy with all three wins. The win over Aronian was huge for me as it came against the pre-tournament favourite and sort of affirmed to me that I was on the right path. I only started my serious preparation for Candidates after reaching Khanty – so this win was big for me. The win against Mamedyarov (Shakhriyar) in the third round gave me the early edge but there were still a lot of rounds to go. I needed to still be very careful. In that context, the win against Topalov in the 9th round was a big boost. It really was a bit of a miraculous victory – Topalov is a very good player and it gave me confidence going into the home stretch. To give you an idea of how close the tournament was – there are five people who ended up with three wins including me. Of that group, I was the only one who was unbeaten. That made the difference. So in a way – rather than flashy, risky chess – it was solid play with very few mistakes that did the trick for you… See my position was anything but secure even going into the final round. A loss for me would have meant that Sergey Karjakin (who ended up second on 7.5 points, Anand was first with 8.5 points) could have caught up. Mamedyarov and Kramnik were also always in the reckoning. It helped me stay alert and focussed. I knew I could not cruise. [caption id=“attachment_1463993” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Anand never felt he could go into cruise mode. Fide.com[/caption] During the Mexico World Chess Championship in 2007 you had a winning score of 9 points out of 14, with a total of four wins and 10 draws. You were also the only undefeated player in the tournament. Would it be fair to say that you are back at that level? I really have no explanation for the way I played here. Just no explanation. The more I think about it, the more I feel that things just sort of clicked into place. The experience of Mexico helped because it was also an eight-player, double round robin tournament. But at the end of day perhaps experience also worked in my favour. I was calmer and more in control during tense moments. I went there telling myself I wanted to finally play one good game of chess, turns out I played more than just one good game. You speak about experience. Others speak about your age. Is age a factor as you look at the match against Carlsen? You know, it’s nice to worry about things that you can fix. What can I do if I am getting older? As long as I am playing good chess; the kind of chess I want to play I am happy. The march of time is inevitable, isn’t it? Moving on from the Candidates – experts spoke about your chess being freer, more aggressive. Is that something you consciously worked on? I have answered this question a lot but perhaps it is right to point out that I don’t think I played badly against Carlsen because I played defensively. At Khanty, I almost always managed to get very playable positions and that allowed me to leverage my strengths and attack. Against Carlsen that just didn’t happen. It wasn’t for lack of trying. He played well and I didn’t. So while it may seem that my games were radically different from the ones against Carlsen – it really came down to the positions I obtained. So has a plan for the Carlsen world championship match later this been hatched or is it too early? This is an unexpected new challenge but it’s also beautiful because this is what sport and life is all about. My goal against Carlsen remains the same as it was during the Candidates – to play one good game and then see where it takes me. For the moment, I have some ideas. There would be a couple of surprises. Ideas are being thought about. Not everything can be discussed in open. I don’t hold grudges or talk about revenge, but I would like to win. That’ll be nice.