Chennai: ‘Retirement’ and ‘stopping’ are two words Viswanathan Anand has to hear frequently these days. But despite 2017 not quite turning out to be his year so far, the chess wizard has not given any thought to quitting.
The 47-year-old former World Champion is taking some time off before he gets down to tournament play in St Louis, USA, where the limelight would be on Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov, who is making a surprise return to the game.
Anand has been spending time with his family here and recently watched Roger Federer win his eighth Wimbledon title at 36. The Swiss superstar too had hung in there, despite facing difficult times.
“I had been following Federer at Wimbledon. It was sort of inspirational,” Anand told this agency. “I just hope to keep working hard. When one has a tough season it is easy to get thinking. It is important to have stubbornness, keep things going even when chips are down. I still believe I can win tournaments and do well,” said the five-time World Champion, after a season of more downs than ups.
Despite modest results and unexpected reverses, Anand said repeated questions about his possible retirement do not upset him. “I am used to it these days. I don’t get upset. I am not the one asking it,” he said in a matter of fact manner.
The Indian maestro, however, is rather excited about Kasparov’s decision to make a comeback and also face him.
“I am curious like everyone to see how he goes. It will be interesting. I am sure that he has not decided to come back all of a sudden. He is not the person to take impulsive decisions. I assume that he has been training for (the St Louis) event,” Anand pointed out.
When asked to comment on current World Champion Magnus Carlsen’s dip in form, the Indian ace said, “He has had some tournaments without winning. But he was very convincing in Belgium. It can be very hard to maintain that kind of domination. Also, his rivals have improved. I have been impressed with the form of Aronian and Wesley So in recent times.”
About the talent back home, Anand said there are quite a few players who have been doing well and picked P Harikrishna, K Sasikiran, Vidit Gujrati and B Adibhan as ones to watch out for.
“Hari, Sasikiran, Vidit and Adibhan are a bunch, who can be expected to do well and move to the next level. Then there is a big group of players who are close to crossing the 2,700 ELO points barrier. They all will be there at the World Cup and it will be interesting to how they perform,” he stated.
Press Trust of India
