After Game 2, I asked myself 'why am I playing this match,' says Carlsen

There were times during the World Chess Championship match in Sochi, when it looked like Viswanathan Anand had a chance; a chance to regain the crown. But then Magnus Carlsen got his act together and from that point on, there was only one man who could win the title. There was no competition. After Anand leveled the match by winning game three, Carlsen is his own words wasn’t playing ‘very high quality chess.’ It was allowing him to hold on but Anand was clearly coming out well and creating the better opportunities. In an interview with Mint, Carlsen revealed how he got a little overconfident after his win in Game 2 of the match. [caption id=“attachment_1822685” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Carlsen is a worthy champion. FIDE[/caption] “That’s when some thoughts started to creep into my mind and I was asking myself, ‘why am I playing this match?’ I was kind of drifting away from the match when Anand quickly sprang back with a brilliant win in the third game,” he said. He got back in his groove soon enough but he went on to admit that maintaining his intensity proved to be difficult because of the format. There were also concerns about his ability to concentrate for long periods. But he got through all of that to retain the world crown. He also managed to really impress Garry Kasparov, the man who fought off seven challengers in his time as world champion. “I’m not sure he has much to learn from anyone these days, but there aren’t many people in the world with deep world championship experience. I was lucky to have the support and advice of former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik when I was playing my matches against Karpov when I was Magnus’s age,” said Kasparov. Kasparov, who helped Carlsen with his preparation, also spoke about how matches can take the fun out of the game. “Plus, being involved with someone of Magnus Carlsen’s unique talent and energy also helps keep me inspired about chess and the future of our sport. A rematch is always tough, and he fought through his nerves and won despite not being at his best. Matches have a way of taking the fun out of the game, so I hope now he’ll have time to relax a little and to enjoy playing and to take his chess to an even higher level,” he further added. The fact that Carlsen can get better is truly a scary thought for his opponents because it means that he could work on his opening and become truly unbeatable.