Thanks to The Hindu for publishing excerpts from the book, Mind Master penned by chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, which gives some interesting insights into the wonderful game. To be a world chess champion is to be the smartest guy on the planet; the capacity to grasp and calculate positions at high-speed, a near-photographic memory and a feel of the board — Anand had possessed everything the game of chess would demand. (“Chess as patterns and contextual memory”, Dec. 11). In his teens, Anand was the flashy attacking ‘lightning kid’ who could rack up 40 moves in 15-minutes. Anand’s survival instincts would work off the board to ensure that he did not repeat mistakes. On it, they come into play whether through pure improvisational brilliance or bland old stuff. In 1994, after losing a Candidates quarter-final to Gata Kamsky when he needed only a win, Anand thrashed the precocious teenager in their next meeting. The greatness of Anand perhaps was in his ability to rise again. Like phoenix from the ashes, it took Anand literally one brilliant performance to silence the critics and restore his domination. Conventional, polite and understated off the chessboard, while flamboyant, quick, attacking and creative on it, Anand is the quintessential Indian sporting hero.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
