Mind Champions’ Academy (MCA), a joint initiative between Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand and NIIT Ltd., promotes chess in schools across India and is confident of producing another Grandmaster to the World.
The five-time world champion, Viswanathan Anand, said that he was confident that young budding players from government schools in rural areas would shine at national and international events. Mr. Anand who was here to participate in grand inauguration of Sri Prakash Big Schools, gave an exclusive interview to The Hinduand also interacted with students of the school. He said that the MCA was first opened in Hyderabad in 2002 by then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu . He advised students and budding chess players to improve stamina and ability to focus on the game, which is unpredictable.
He said that chess will help the college or school going students in solving mathematical problems.
He said that he likes to set new goals frequently. “The first rule for excellence is there is no room for complacency. You should always be humble and assume that there is something to learn. You have to keep setting new goals. I became the world champion for the first time in 2000, and it was in my third attempt,” Mr. Anand said.
When asked about failures, including one at Grenke Chess Classic in the fourth round against nemesis Magnus Carlsen of Norway, the Grandmaster said that, “The failures managed to motivate me to keep trying and I got better each time. The second time I did better than the first and the third time, I had enough of being second. When you sniff the world title, I knew in my blood, in my being, that it is not over till you finish the job.”
Replying to another question on setting up goals, he said that, “When I was young, there were steady goals at every stage. First was to become an International Master, then become a Grandmaster, and then try for the World Championship.”
During the interaction with students of Sri Prakash Big School , Anand said, “You just start playing better without expectations. You start to see your strengths and weaknesses much more clearly.”
He’s now balancing out his life with gym sessions, walks, movies, TV, music and reading. “I read on different subjects such as maths, economics, astronomy and some fiction as well,” he says. Anand likes to take a 10-day break before big events where he does some light work but tries to relax.
When a student asked about how to control emotions and know about the strategies of opponents, Mr. Anand said “It's tough to remain calm and appear cool during the matches. But, personally I find it easier to hold my emotions within me rather than be very demonstrative — and a vast majority of top chess players are the same and don’t show their emotions. In fact, it is very important to remain cool and stay attuned to the opponent's body language during a tough match. One has to sense, hear and feel what the person across the board is playing out. That helps in the game.”
The first rule for excellence is there is no room for complacency. You should always be humble and assume that there is something to learn. You have to keep setting new goals. I became the world champion for the first time in 2000, and it was in my third attempt
Viswanathan Anand
Chess player
Viswanathan Anand advises students and budding chess players to improve stamina and ability to focus on the game, which is unpredictable