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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 specialise. This specialty then becomes an entry barrier.

Viswanathan Anand

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Viswanathan Anand
Age: 54
Born: 1969
Born: December 11
Chess Player
Writer
Madras
Vishwanathan Anand
Open
Chess
Strong
Players
Specialty
Ideas
Generally
Stimulating
Competition
Barrier
Result
Entry
Becomes
Opponent
Player
Barriers
Results
Opponents

More quotes by Viswanathan Anand

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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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Psychology plays a big part but I always say psychology will only be a differentiator when the players are of equal technical strength.
Viswanathan Anand
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I'll take my five positions per second any day, thank you
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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In the knockout tournaments, it's futile to prepare for a grand finale. You may have worked out many strategies for the final. But you may lose in the first round itself.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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Chess is like a language, the top players are very fluent at it. Talent can be developed scientifically but you have to find first what you are good at.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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Nowadays, when you're not a grandmaster at 14, you can forget about it
Viswanathan Anand
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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. Saying my daily prayers helps me achieve this heightened state of mind.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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Carlsen will be ridiculously difficult to play against. (on the 2013 World Championship match)
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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In a way players at the top should try to promote the game in their own countries as that is the legacy that makes you feel proud. If you have not done that you have failed as a sportsperson.
Viswanathan Anand
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I keep forcing, I keep learning new things in the game, and so far I have been taking challenges as they come.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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The broader the chess player you are, the easier it is to be competitive, and the same seems to be true of mathematics - if you can find links between different branches of mathematics, it can help you resolve problems. In both mathematics and chess, you study existing theory and use that to go forward.
Viswanathan Anand
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I think the draw quotient has always been high in world championship matches because the amount of effort people put into neutralizing each other's openings. It's just now with computers that it has reached a new level.
Viswanathan Anand
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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. Beyond that it's about how long you can put off the effects and compensate for them. Mistakes will crop in but you try to compensate for them with experience and hard work.
Viswanathan Anand