Viswananthan Anand on Monday expressed his willingness to assist the Kerala government with its plans to open a chess academy along the lines of the one being opened by the West Bengal government.
“Yes, I’ll be open to working with the state government of Kerala if they approach me with such a plan. I’ll try to make myself available to the maximum extent possible, though time is a constraint due to the busy schedule ahead,” the five-time World chess champion explained at a private event here.
Anand said the main focus should be on generating interest towards the game among the youth. “Chess can be mentally healthy for students as it can sharpen their brains and improve their concentration levels. Several states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have included the game in the school curriculum,” he pointed out.
Earlier the Bengal government had approached Anand seeking his involvement with the chess academy it is setting up to popularize the game in the state.
Earlier, interacting with the students, Anand asked them to grab opportunities in life and fully utilize them. “Hard work and dedication is simply not sufficient for success. Just like my 8th game (at the World Championship match) against Gelfand.”
He described Kerala as his ‘favourite leisure spot’, saying it was very relaxing to come to the state. “I visited Kovalam earlier this year.”
Aim for global board: Anand
He finds the current lot of young Indian chess players “exciting”, but five-time world chess champion Viswananthan Anand, says they are yet to “translate” their early success to making a mark at the international level.
“Players like Grand-master (Krishnan) Sasikiran, (Surya Sekhar) Ganguly and (Pentala) Harikrishna, are in fact very close (to being at the top). I know they are working very hard but they should try to translate early success to leave a mark in the international scenario. Only then can I visualise India emerging as a major chess power,” said Anand, who became the only non-Soviet to successfully retain a World Cham-pionship title three times when he recently won agai-nst Israeli Boris Gelfand.
Indians are quite successful till they are 20 years of age or so, but thereafter they don’t concentrate enough on the game to move on to the next level. “However, India as a chess power is inevitable and eventually that’ll happen,” Anand said. His advice was to go for the right tournaments and be consistent.
Vishy also batted for India hosting a World Championship match at least once. “It would put immense pressure on me. Last time Chennai came close to bidding for the tournament. Players, though, would prefer neutral venues; Gelfand, for example, was not keen to come to India.”
The only person in chess history to have won a World Championship title in all formats — match, knock and tournament — Anand says his top priority is to defend the title and play for as long as he can.
“I’ll be defending the title next year and will play as long as possible. Sure, Kasparov’s record (six titles) is important for me, but the priority is to defend the title. At the end of the day, winning matches gives you more satisfaction,” he said.
source: http://www.asianage.com / Home> Sports> Chess / DC, Kochi / July 17th, 2012