My
best is yet to come, hopefully: Viswanathan Anand
HYDERABAD:
Indicating that he is still hungry for success, five-time chess world champion
Viswanathan Anand said he is not quitting the game anytime soon and is
preparing to play more tournaments in the coming year after a decent
performance in 2014.
Asked
if his best is yet to come, Anand said: "I hope so. I try to be
optimistic."
The
45-year-old said he was happy with his performance in the year that is drawing
to a close as he won three tournaments, although he acknowledged that in the
recent world championship he could not capitalise on the self-created
opportunities.
"I
am happy with this year. I played well in many tournaments. I won three
tournaments. I hope the trend continues," Anand, who earlier launched the
NIIT Nguru MathLab Plus at a function organised by Kennedy High global school
here, said.
Anand
said he created "more chances" during the world championship, which
he lost to Magnus Carlsen of Norway at Sochi recently, but unfortunately could
not make use of those.
Describing
Carlsen as one having a "practical style", Anand said, "He is
not someone who spends a lot of time in warming up and playing long
openings."
On
his plans the for the coming year, Anand, who won the London Chess Classic a
few days ago, said: "I will be playing more tournaments in general. My
focus is really shifting to tournaments."
Asked
if he would like to go into coaching, the grandmaster said he has not thought
about it as he was currently focused on playing.
"It's
very difficult to combine (coaching) with the playing career. And I am still
not ready to give that (playing career) up. I am still looking forward for
playing for several years. And after that, we can see," he said.
Anand,
who became India's first grandmaster in 1988, disagreed with the perception in
some quarters that training abroad is better than doing so back home.
"One
should try to learn from the best from anywhere in the world. India has strong
chess coaches and it's easy to find them," he opined.
Expressing
happiness over the number of youngsters taking interest in chess, he approved
the introduction of the game in education curriculum, saying it would help
students perform better in academics also.
"Chess
enables students to memorise and strategise better," said Anand.
Pasted
from <http:timesofindia.indiatimes.com