Virtuoso Vishy

For someone who has beaten the great masters of the mind game, Anand shows none of that supercomputer like mind when it comes to talking about life beyond the game. Standing proud as the undisputed World Chess Champion, the fun-loving Anand was on a visit to the city for The GNIIT Cloud Campus Programme of NIIT as its brand ambassador when Dikhya Tiwari caught up with him.

How are you associated with NIIT ?

My association with NIIT is already 13 years old now. I always felt there is a connection between chess and education that needs to be explored. And, the NIIT Mind Champions Academy, that promotes the game of chess across schools in India , was a step in the direction. Already 10 years old now, the academy has one and a half million students today and that is my most obvious connection with the group. Besides, being the brand ambassador of an education brand, I am sure, will be credible for me.

What does Vishwanathan Anand do beyond his checkered board ?

Oh, I am a pretty fun-loving man. When a tournament gets over or there is nothing else coming up for some time, I take time to indulge in my hobbies. I am interested in astronomy. I listen to a lot of music, mostly western rock music. I am not much of a party person but I love travelling and I am very much into wildlife. I also enjoy visiting remote areas where there is less pollution and the sky is clear as that is good from the astronomy point of view.

Tell us about the 16-year-old bond with wife Aruna.

It has been wonderful. Ours was a typically South Indian arranged marriage. When we tied the marital knot, she knew nothing about chess. But then she slowly got into the game. The first thing she did was to take over a lot of things that I did for myself besides chess so that I could focus on the game. So, she started doing all the travel, planning things for me and over the years, I think she became more of my manager and that was very useful.

How was life in Spain?

We lived in Spain after we got married for about 14 years in a small town near Madrid, which has a population of about 5000 people. And, I always told my wife that’s the number you would find at any bus stand in India. But it was a quiet, nice place in the mountains and we loved our stay there. We got back to India in 2010 and then our son was born. So we decided to start living in Chennai on a permanent basis though we were never cut off from our country even before. My parents also live in Chennai so it is much better now.

How successful has the chess champion been as a father ?

Being a father has been an enjoyable experience so far. Initially, I was scared because he was so fragile. But once he was six months or so and started doing new things, he was so much fun. I suppose only a parent can understand that. Right now, all of 15 months, he is dangerous, too busy trying to find ways to get past our child-proofing mechanisms and we are loving it.

Too early to ask, but do you want him to make the same moves on the chess board as you?

Well, it is too early to say although my wife is very hesitant about this. She feels  there will be comparisons with me all the time. As far as I am concerned,I would never want to push him. Rather encourage him in anything he does. But yes, in a couple of years I am surely going to leave a chessboard in front of him to see if he is getting interested in the pieces, picking them up and then gauge his interest.

What other sports do you enjoy ?

I watch a lot of football. Living in Spain got me the football bug. I also enjoy tennis and badminton. In fact, my dad was in the Railways and as a kid, I got a chance to play a lot of tennis and badminton. I also follow the Olympic games and am hopeful that India will pick up at least five medals this time in London.

Having already achieved so much, what does Vishy wish for now?

Well, I dreamt of the World Championship and it happened. So, right now, I am more concerned about enjoying playing chess. Keeping it alive with a particular motive in mind will not be right. I believe if I continue enjoying the game, things will automatically turn up for me. It will also be too difficult to say how things would be ten years from now. But I suppose I would be playing less of chess because chess is definitely getting younger today.