Interview with Vishy Anand by David Llada - davidllada@terra.es-

David Llada

Courtesy of the Spanish newspaper "La Razón" http://www.larazon.es

Vishy arrived in Spain, direct from Delhi, on Monday 8^th in the early evening, after a long 18 hour-flight. After having dinner and celebrating his victory with those closest to him in Spain, such as Mr. and Mrs. Perea [Mauricio and Nieves], Anand could finally have a break from answering journalists. He took Tuesday as a day off, sleeping through until the afternoon and recovering from the journey. It was Aruna who arranged that afternoon his meetings with the numerous Spanish journalists interested in interviewing the World Champion. She also took care of the preparations for Wednesday, when Vishy Anand was to be nominated Adoptive Son of Collado Mediano, the small village outside Madrid where he has lived for nearly five years.

Nearly all the Spanish TV networks broadcast reports about this tribute, and during that Wednesday afternoon the living-room at Anand’s house was a swarm of people. As soon as one interview finished another team of journalists called at the door. It was all the more admirable to see Anand’s kindness and politeness towards everyone, from those of us who already knew him to those who knew nothing about chess and were a bit “green”.

How many times have you been interviewed since you went to Delhi to dispute the FIDE Championships? I also asked Aruna [his wife]. She told me that she reckoned on more than 250.

Well... yes, certainly a lot. I don't know exactly how many but it was really amazing in India. I am also surprised that there was so much interest here in Spain at my arrival. Today, in the ceremony held in Collado Villalba it was nice to see all the TV networks and nearly all newspapers interested in me.

And after all those interviews... are there any questions left?

(he laughs) I sincerely hope not. There are some very typical questions repeated dozens of times, but in amongst the hundreds of interviews, I have also been asked some strange questions.

This being pursued by journalists and fans, is this the good or the bad side of being the World Champion?

I think that it is the good side. I am not saying that I would like to have this everyday, but sometimes, when you achieve something really important, I find it natural. It is very satisfying that people become interested in your results. It makes you feel important. It would have been worse if they had left me alone and I was not interesting! So, that is not a problem, it is pleasant. Besides, so much attention dignifies chess as well, and that is also very important.

I wonder who is more famous, Maradona in Argentina, or Vishy in India.

(he laughs) Well, I guess I am more famous simply because there are more people in India. There are nearly one thousand million Indians! So, Maradona has no chances against me. (he jokes, feigning arrogance)

I hear that the celebrations when you visited your native city Madras [now Chennai, 4 million inhabitants] were striking.

Yes, it was moving when I saw the crowds that had come to the airport to welcome me, first in New Delhi and then in Madras. More than a thousand people waiting for me in every city... I have always been quite famous in India, but I did not expect anything like that. The president received me, there was a parade touring my city... it was a big party, and I felt very protected by the people. My family also gathered around me, of course.

Not long ago, just a few of your neighbours knew even that you lived here. Now you are definitely too famous to escape notice. Will you miss that quietness you had in Collado Mediano?

Well, I think that most of them already knew me. At least they knew I was a chessplayer, and some used to stop me occasionally to ask me about the tournaments or about my last results. Maybe I have become more famous now, but I think I won't have any problems continuing to enjoy the quietness of this place. It is a small village; only 4,000 or 5,000 inhabitants, and the people are always very kind and nice to me.

You had crashed twice in the final, first against Kasparov [New York 95] and then against Karpov [Lausanne 98] Did you ever think for a moment that you would never win, that your chances had gone?

Actually I think that I played just two finals, and this played in Teheran was my "second time" because I have forgotten that match against Karpov. The conditions were too unfair: I had to fight for a month to qualify while he was waiting for me in the final match. I am sure that, had Karpov played from second round, as everyone else did, he would not have reached the final. But it is true that at first I did not think about that. Normally I erase from my mind those things I don't want to remember. Yes, in some way I remember that something happened there in Lausanne, but that memory does not even hurt me anymore.

On the other hand, it is true that yes, after ten years trying to become World Champion, the victory was the only thing that mattered. I was going to let another chance slip. Therefore my motivation was something very important.

I was going to ask you if now, from another perspective, you see more clearly the causes of those defeats. You have just answered about the final in Lausanne. What happened against Kasparov?

I think I still needed to learn a lot at that time. I may have even overestimated Kasparov. Now, seeing what Kramnik has done, I realize that Kasparov was also vulnerable. Our preparations had many gaps that Kasparov could find and exploit, hitting the same weaknesses again and again. It was difficult for him at first but around the tenth game he was able to sense our weaknesses after many tries. The conclusion is that I prepared a lot but with a lot of bugs, but at least I learned. My preparation is much better now than it was in 1995.

I also hear that from that moment onwards among the last improvements in your preparation are found some changes in your habits, especially regarding physical exercise.

Yes, physical preparation is really important in order to reach my level now. I have paid more attention to this aspect in the last two years, and now I feel able to play for a whole month or two without collapsing or blundering due to lack of concentration. I keep the same level without much effort and my play has stability. I used to take long walks or do some swimming, but that was it. Now I spend two hours in the morning at the gym. I have also discovered that it is very important to for prepare a tournament in depth but then “to switch off” in the few days beforehand and forget about chess in order to be fresh for the competition.

And do you really think this is your best moment, that you play better now than in 1995 or in 1998?

Yes, I do. And I even think that I have made this clear during the whole year. From May onwards I won all the tournaments in which I took part: Leon, Frankfurt, Dortmund, Shengai, Corsica... I sincerely think that I'm playing really well in this moment. This final victory was the most important one, but I had also won many events lately.

Last year did not start especially well. I remember seeing you looking very depressed in Linares, as you went back to your room after suffering your second consecutive defeat. I guess you feel much happier now.

Yes, it is true (he smiles). After those defeats I was not especially happy. Although the year did not start so badly, I won in Varsovia, and came second in Wijk aan Zee [Netherlands]. But losing the third game in Linares against Shirov and then the following day the fourth against Kasparov was painful. For a moment I thought about giving up... "If I play like this", I thought, "it is better not to play at all". Although later I thought better of it, it would not have been a very intelligent thing to do, so... I decided it was better to keep playing chess. (he laughs).

You have said that it was not easy to beat Shirov, that in spite of the fact that the score was a crushing 3.5-0.5 to you. I do believe it. But, was it not a crazy thing to take so many risks as he did?

Well yes, a bit, but if you think about it, after the second game, which was his first defeat, he had two options: to resign himself to playing more conservatively, to change his strategy, or to keep the pressure up until the end. This is very praiseworthy, because it gives his opponent more opportunities to fail or to make a mistake that would allow him to equalize. Shirov wanted immediate revenge after that first defeat, he took a lot of risks. It was only then I could win the match in only four games.

Maybe if I were him I would have done things differently, but you must feel very confident about your superiority to play in such a risky way. After that first defeat he seemed to play a bit desperately, and I could take a good advantage of his mistakes. In that sense, maybe it was a wrong plan for the match. But on the other hand, he had just a few games to recover, so he really could not do otherwise.

In addition to all this, there is something very important: I think it is necessary that every player should become World Champion playing according to his own style. It has been this way throughout chess history, including the last champions: Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, even Kramnik. Some said that I didn't beat Kasparov in 1995 because I lacked his “killer instinct”, but I think that it would not have been natural that I had played as aggressively as he. I have my own style and I don't have to change it.

Do you think Shirov may have another opportunity? To become the first Spanish World Champion?

I think he has. This time he has proved it, except for the final match, but in previous rounds he beat important opponents: Bareev, Gelfand... He played very well.

In 1999 Shirov made some harsh statements reproaching you for having accepted negotiations with Kasparov about a possible match, since he was the legal candidate to play that match. How was your relationship in Teheran?

In general it could be said that our relationship "is recovering". In Varsovia, at the beginning of the year, we talked a little and then in this final it must be said that he behaved very well and correctly. He congratulated me after resigning the last game, and I am sure that he did that in all sincerity. He was smiling even though he had lost and was really nice to me.

I don't know what his thoughts or feelings about what happened in 1999 are, but I, on my part, have no feeling of guilt or of having done something wrong. Anyone in my place would have done the same.

And finally, it was neither Shirov nor you, it was Kramnik who played and, moreover, beat Kasparov. Do you think you could have beaten Gary, had he played with so little inspiration as he did in London?

I don't know. Actually it does not matter to me. I wanted to win in New Delhi and then in Tehran and to become the FIDE World Champion, and it was I, and no one else, who did it. Of course I respect what Kramnik has achieved and he played very well, against an opponent who is difficult to beat. It could even be said that Kramnik's victory over Kasparov was crushing, wasn't it?

But do you think Kasparov is now on the downward slope, that this defeat might be the beginning of the end of his hegemony?

Well, anyone can fail once, and it seems that this was his all-time low in the year. But let's see: his results in the last two years have shown his clear superiority. I am not going to say he's on his way down, although I guess it has been a hard knock for him. He is going to fight, but he will undoubtedly be affected in some way.

You have hardly spent two days in Spain, without doing very much apart from receiving journalists, and now tomorrow [Thursday 11th January] you must depart for the Netherlands, to play in Wijk aan Zee. There will meet the four current "greats" (You, Kramnik, Kasparov and Shirov). On which horse would you bet, if you had to?

Uff... I don't know. I don't even think of Wijk aan Zee, for many reasons. Obviously I haven't been able to prepare or to concentrate for this tournament. The only thing that matters to me there is to go and play. To play well, and then the results must come along.

As regards FIDE, there are many questions open now. What do you think of plans about a "reunification" match between Kramnik and you?

If FIDE sees this as the right thing to do, OK, I will think about it. The problem is that we have no definite offers yet. And I don't want to negotiate or to make the same mistakes I made last year. Should a definite offer come, I will think about it. But before that they will need an assured sponsor and everything fixed, I am not going to waste my energy in negotiations. I want to focus on playing well in tournaments and to forget about those things.

I suppose this is one the questions you have been asked dozens of times, but it is unavoidable...

Yes, this is something they ask me again and again, perhaps even in 100 or 200 interviews (he laughs). But I understand it is an unavoidable question. This and “how did you feel when you won the title”. (he laughs again)

It is not so bad to talk about it. The higher the expectation, the higher the price, isn't it?

Yes, of course, it is like a Tyson fight. If one of us starts insulting the others, the price will surely rise. We must reach an agreement on that (bursting out laughing).

In any case, that hypothetical match between Kramnik and you was rumoured to be in June or July. Isn't it too soon?

Yes, firstly because the Frankfurt and Dortmund tournaments are held at that time. That is the main reason for Iljumzhinov to think of a delay. Then you must also think of the 2001 World Championships: if it is to be postponed, maybe to February, or what to do with it. Because if it takes place in December again, this would be a crazy year; I would be playing for months without a break. Therefore I will wait for them to give me definite dates, place, sponsors and then we will see.

Well, but more than about the dates, I asked you about your personal situation. Probably your interests could be affected, you have just won the World Championship Title. Isn't it much too soon to have to defend it only five months later? It has been the origin of a lot of arguments in the recent history of chess…

Yes, of course I think about this, but now I don't want to say ‘I will play’ or ‘I won´t’. I think it will be very difficult to set up, it looks more probable to play finally in October or November.

What do you think about the new time control approved by FIDE, with games lasting much shorter than usual?

I think it is very interesting, but it would have been better if they had suggested it, rather than trying to impose it, like a demand. And it would have been better, too, if they had organized a few tournaments to try this way of play. But when Shirov proposed this time control, I was in accordance with it. Anyway, we will see if everybody accepts the novelty. I don't think that the organisers in Wijk aan Zee or Linares are going to accept this time control.

It looks impossible for you to play in Linares this year.

Yes, because I have got a lot of commitments in India, with my sponsors. I think it is very, very difficult for me to play this year. I feel very sorry, because I have played Linares 10 times, but the commitments, which I had even before winning the World Championships, are really important for me. And now that I am the World Champion, they are even more important. But I would be very pleased to play Linares 2002 if they want to invite me.

Last time I had the chance to talk with you, I asked you about Paco Vallejo, the young and promising Spanish player. Since then, he has won the the World under 18 Chess Championships. Did you have time to have a look to his recent games?

Yes, I saw that he played in the Olympiad with the Spanish team, and he played very well in some games, but not so well in many others. But it is usual at his stage of development. When I reached the GM title, winning the Youth World Chess Championships, as he did recently, I felt the same. The following year, I was incapable of playing as usual, the GM title affected my mind. I felt disorientated, confused, because I didn't know what my next target was. So Vallejo's recent problems are very natural. It is impossible to continue to progress at the rate has has done recently. But I don't want to say that he is no longer a promising chess player, of course. Obviously, he has enough talent to reach any goal.

At the end of the interview, and while the camera operator was dismantling his equipment, Mauricio Perea and Leonxto García arrived at Anand´s home. In a pleasant atmosphere, and with Vishy as unbeatable host, they all shared a nice moment, telling stories and reminding each other of old anecdotes [a funny history about a bottle of vodka, and many others that I am not allowed to tell here ;-) ]. In short, one of those moments that I shall treasure.