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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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Viswanathan Anand
Age: 54
Born: 1969
Born: December 11
Chess Player
Writer
Madras
Vishwanathan Anand
Champion
Relief
Absolutes
Chess
Undisputed
Absolute
Instituted
World
Unified
Title
Titles

More quotes by 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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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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I don't know how many calories an average chess player burns per game, but it often exceeds that of a player in ball games. It is not only the chess as such: You need to be fit and undergo complicated preparation.
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
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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. Also, you can't be too finicky, since at tournaments you tend to eat at restaurants here and there. But, as long as you're eating sensibly, it's all good.
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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When I started out playing chess as a kid I thought I should be world champion. As a kid you have no idea what that means and you only sort of picture it. It is hard to imagine that I waited all those years and it happened in a late stage of my career.
Viswanathan Anand
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I have a love for astronomy Aruna, my wife, and I love travelling, so whenever we get an opportunity, we set off to explore places that have tickled our interest. We are also wildlife enthusiasts.
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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I was very lucky that while I was a chess player in a country where chess was not a big deal, I happened to be in the one city where there was a sprouting chess team: Chennai.
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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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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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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In chess, knowledge is a very transient thing. It changes so fast that even a single mouse-slip sometimes changes the evaluation.
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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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.
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 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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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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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