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Nowadays, when you're not a grandmaster at 14, you can forget about it

Viswanathan Anand

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Viswanathan Anand
Age: 55
Born: 1969
Born: December 11
Chess Player
Writer
Madras
Vishwanathan Anand
Grandmaster
Youngsters
Nowadays
Chess
Forget

More quotes by Viswanathan Anand

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Being the undisputed world champion is a relief. We instituted a unified chess title, I am the absolute world champion.
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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Each match I approach like a new one. The work is so immense that you don't have time to sit and ponder.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
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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Carlsen will be ridiculously difficult to play against. (on the 2013 World Championship match)
Viswanathan Anand
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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. The essential thing to do is practise often and, in case of a doubt, to consult a trainer.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
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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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!
Viswanathan Anand
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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. So my sister would take me to the Tal chess club on Thursdays and weekends.
Viswanathan Anand
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Chess has given me a lot more than I could ask for. I have been able to feel special, travel the world and do what I truly enjoy. Moreover, chess players love being their own boss and hate having to wake up early!
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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I think an important lesson from the game is that once you have made a move, you cannot take it back. You really have to measure your decisions. You think a lot. You evaluate your choices very carefully. There's never any guarantee about what's going to follow once you have made a decision.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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Intuition in chess can be defined as the first move that comes to mind when you see a position.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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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.
Viswanathan Anand
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I feel that schools and corporates should help the government in popularising sports in the country. Blaming the government for every sporting debacle will not be fair.
Viswanathan Anand