Chennai: Viswanathan Anand is back with renewed vigour to face the world chess champion Magnus Carlsen again. The Candidates tournament victory at Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia has pumped in the necessary oxygen for the five-time champion Anand to push back memories of the failed world championship match in Chennai and come up with new strategies to face the Norwegian world no.1 for a second time.
The Indian has a few surprises waiting for Carlsen in the coming match. Keeping his cards close to his chest, Anand on Wednesday said that he would plan new ideas to beat an opponent whom he thinks is formidable. “The Candidates win has given me the much needed confidence to play chess. I will definitely do something new for new result. It is important to be enthusiastic and I understand that it is a difficult challenge,” he added.
“I was down and out after the Chennai match. I stopped discussing about it. I spent a few days after the match with my three-year-old son Akhil and it helped me recover emotionally,” Anand said. According to him, the venue doesn’t matter but the result is important. “When I win, everything seems good. Even at minus 20 degree Celsius, I felt Khanty-Mansiysk was pleasant and the food tasted better,” he added.
Anand, who entered the competition as an underdog, created ripples in the first round by defeating tournament favourite Levon Aronian of Armenia with white pieces, a first for the Indian. He went on to defeat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) and Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) to take a comfortable lead and later a fighting draw against Sergey Karjakin in the 13th round helped him win the tournament with a round to spare.
