Feelings determine performance: Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand has made India—no, the entire continent—proud by winning the World Chess Championship title. Despite being the first Grandmaster from India and the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards, what is important to this man is not the titles he gets, but the love of the game, the satisfaction of a job well-done and spending time with family and friends. Not only does 'Vishy' [as he's lovingly called] have his head firmly on his shoulders, but he uses it well…

How is the person behind the legendary name?

I am just a normal guy who got good at chess. I am laid back and love to chill at home when I'm not playing. I like listening to music and reading on politics, science and economics.

You started young…

I started playing chess when I was six and just enjoyed it. I used to play at a chess club on weekends. I particularly enjoyed playing blitz games and it's there that I started playing fast.

Was it very difficult back then?

In the 80s, India still didn't have a Grandmaster so we didn't have the benefit of professional coaches. So till 1991, I trained by myself.

For my tournaments, I had to travel a lot in Europe. And in those days, it was much more difficult to travel. You had to get a lot of permissions for foreign exchange, and other things. But my parents would try and see that all these problems were sorted so that I could enjoy chess.

As for me, I didn't really mind all the travelling, and actually enjoyed travelling and playing in tournaments. I just wanted to play… so any opportunity I got, I played.

To catch the full interview with Viswanathan Anand, grab a copy of the Oct 2009 issue of Complete Wellbeing magazine.