India Today Conclave: Chess can captivate, Vishy Anand shows you how
Anand left the silence for a brief while and explained the reasoning that goes in preparation for a game of chess.
With 64 squares in black and white to play in and 16 pieces apiece in black and white, chess is not a loud game and needs concentration. Most chess players barring the mercurial Bobby Fischer are usually a silent lot just like former World Number One Viswanathan Anand.
But at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi on Saturday, Anand left the silence for a brief while and explained the reasoning that goes in preparation for a game of chess. Yes, he did exude the confidence a cricket star may exhibit in his swagger but in a measured no-frills way and yet animated.
Anand had the Conclave audience in his palms as he coaxed their attention to the display screen where frames from some games were shown for him to explain. He explained the knight-queen-knight in a Petrosian-Spassky match and said such moves are learned by players to know such moves exist and the possibilities they open up. "I have a database of about 12 million games in my brain," he said as a hush descended in the auditorium.
"My chess is dynamic and aggressive. It's impulsive, but it's not personal aggression. I just want my pieces to move," he said. Drawing on his experience in international chess, he said one would have been fortunate to be born Russian if one had to do well in chess. "In India, Chennai is a good bet," he said.
Speaking about the scene now, he said computers have made chess available to everyone and youngsters are dominating the game because of the computer revolution. He said when he became a Grandmaster, he was 19, nowadays children as young as 11 make it to the grade.
Anand also played a game of chess with TVTN Managing Editor Rahul Kanwal and the moderator, India Today Deputy Editor Kunal Pradhan, simultaneously. He ended the games in an average of 5 moves.