Updated Apr 27,2008: Owing to Vijay Arumugam’s comment, i have amended the greatest designation i gave to Anand. Thanks for pointing out Vijay.

Last night we had the privilege of listening to Vishwanathan Anand – arguably amongst the greatest sportspersons from India if not the greatest. He singlehandedly put Chess on the national sporting agenda. Unfortunately, in a cricket crazy nation his accomplishments are often overlooked.

He spoke about his life’s lessons. The words may not be accurate but i have tried to capture the essence. Please read this as if he is speaking:

“I learnt chess at the age of 6 from my mom. And within a few months after that i went to a tournament and promptly lost the 3 games i played. I had a lot of enthusiasm which is an easy thing to do for a 6 year old. Then i went again and again and even won an award for perseverance. I started winning slowly, became the subjunior champ, junior champ, got the IM title and then the Grandmaster title with the requisite 3 norms.

I was in 10th grade in 1987 when i became GM. I was extremely happy. Felt on top. I was staying in the top hotels, playing in top tournaments etc. But suddenly, life was feeling empty because it seemed like there was nothing left to do.

Then i decided to try for the world championship and that gave me something to look forward to. I was also beginning to get used to the trash-talk and other psychological tactics my competitors were using. People used to say i had “great talent” which is an euphemism for saying i am not a champ yet. That told me that people were afraid of me and that i have truly arrived.

I achieved the world champion title in 2000, somewhere on the way beat both Karpov and Kasparov. Again i felt the same emptiness. I was getting into some sort of a routine and then i had a disastrous tournament in 2002 that forced me to rethink everything. I changed a lot of things, tried new openings, dumped my permanent coach etc. Kept at it and finally couple of years later i again won big in a tournament in Mexico.

What i learnt is this – i should not have waited for a disaster to change myself, adapt myself. We have to keep changing all the time proactively.

Last year i again made the goal to try for the world champ. This time an open tournament. I prepared hard but i was a bit detached. I was going to give it my best and try to win and not become too attached. I managed to win.

In sum, my lessons are – be enthusiastic/passionate, do things you love doing, be perseverant, don’t get into a rut, keep challenging yourself and keep adapting.

Hope that helps a bit. ”

Then he took a few questions:
1. Who is the toughest player you encountered?
Kasparov. These days this Carlson boy is a big challenge.

2. Why were the Russians so dominant?
Soviet Union was the only country that played professional chess. It was them versus all the other amateurs from the different countries. They had the system and the seniors trained the juniors. Untill Bobby Fischer came no one could challenge the Soviets.

3. What about India and Indians? What holds us back?
Indians are very creative. But when it comes to getting something done as a group we don’t do it consistently. Our public leadership is seriously lacking. With so many people in poverty we have to do something seriously. We have a long way to go.

With that his session ended. It was amazing how well he simplified and
presented the learnings.