Devil's Advocate: Viswanathan Anand on mind games

GAMES PEOPLE PLAY: Anand believes "cricket is a fact of life" in India but the country has not ignored him.

          

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Keywords: Vladimir Kramnik, Chess

World chess champion Viswanathan Anand is set for his title-defending match against challenger and Russian Grand Master Vladimir Kramnik in October. Anand says Kramnik’s challenge and taunts don’t bother him because he believes “the main thing” is to win. “My own tendency is to just ignore him,” Anand told Karan Thapar on Devil’s Advocate.

Karan Thapar: What does the World Chess Championship mean to you?

Viswanathan Anand: It is the end of a long journey for me; it is the realisation of a dream. When I started out playing chess as a kid I thought I should be world champion. As a kid you have no idea what that means and you only sort of picture it. It is hard to imagine that I waited all those years and it happened in a late stage of my career.

Karan Thapar: You were surprised that it didn’t happen earlier?

Viswanathan Anand: It happened in Delhi in 2000 but under the cloud of two rival associations and all that. This time it has been devoid of all that. When I became World Champion this time and got the rating you knew I was just that: the World Champion.

Karan Thapar: In fact the World Champion title has led to many other recognitions. You will get the Padma Vibhusan from the President in Delhi. How does that compare with the World Championships?

Viswanathan Anand: Of course, it is (the Padma Vibhusan) very prestigious but in a way it is not about choosing. The World Championship led to the Padma Vibhusan in a sense, so it follows from that.

Karan Thapar: So the World Championship is really the special one.

Viswanathan Anand: Definitely.

Karan Thapar: You have got a lot of recognition but the truth is in India other than cricketers most sportspersons tend to get ignored. When people make that point they are usually thinking of the way the Twenty20 team was treated after winning the World Cup. Would you agree that other sports tend to get ignored or overshadowed?

Viswanathan Anand: I think in India cricket is a fact of life. You have to accept that but my reception when I became World Champion was spectacular—both times. In 2000 as well we had a parade in Chennai. In 2007, I was received in Delhi at the airport by what seemed to me a huge mob of people. The same happened in Chennai a few days later. I don’t feel neglected in any way. I think you can always try to promote your sport better. I don’t feel neglected or badly treated in any way.

Karan Thapar: Not neglected, but let me put a comparison to you. You were given Rs 25 lakh by the Tamil Nadu government when you became the World Champion and you got Rs 10 lakh more from the chess federation. In contrast, almost at the same time, Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes and he got Rs 1 crore from the BCCI and another Rs 80 lakh as part of the winning team. So you have a situation of Rs 1.8 crore versus Rs 35 lakh. Is that a fair difference?

Viswanathan Anand: What the state government did was very nice, and so was the Central Government. If the BCCI does something it is between them. You have wide differentials in prize money in various sports. I don’t really want to complain too much or in fact complain at all. The World Championship was very special and for a few days I felt like a complete star here.

Karan Thapar: What about the fact that if you had been a Russian you would have been lauded almost like Sachin Tendulkar is in India. Do you sometimes feel that chess in India doesn’t quite have the status and stature that it does in Russia?