I was pessimistic, surprised myself: Anand

Chennai, December 29 

Relieved after claiming his first World Rapid Chess title after 14 years, Viswanathan Anand said he entered the tournament in a “pessimistic” frame of mind but managed to surprise himself and the world with an unbeaten campaign.

“The last two rapid events were nothing short of disasters. I came here in a pessimistic frame of mind. But it has just been the most wonderful surprise. But I played well,” Anand said after his triumph. 

Anand said he had a particularly tough year coming into the event in Riyadh.

“...especially the London (Chess Classic) tournament was a big disappointment. It is not that I had high expectations of London, but still I expected to do well. To finish in the last place was a heavy blow.”

Anand said he felt good on the first day of the tournament here as he played well and it reminded him of his glory days. “It was on the first day that I felt I was playing well. It was as if time had stood still. I was back in time a few years when I was dominating the rapid chess tournaments. That gave me a lot of confidence. On top of that, I beat Peter Leko in a very nice game. I was in a good frame of mind,” he added.

Crucial moment

He described the win against Norway’s world champion Magnus Carlsen as the crucial moment in the tournament.

“The crucial moment was the win against Magnus Carlsen because he had come back after a defeat against Bu Xiangzhi. He seemed to be in a great form, as always. He has this amazing ability to win the games on demand.  He is able to pull together long streak of wins. So, at that moment, I must admit that I felt he was the favourite for the final few rounds,” Anand said.

“But we had a very intense game, an intense Nimzo Indian. It is nice beating a player who is so dominant in the blitz and rapid rating lists. To beat him was a real accomplishment. Of course, given our history, given the intense matches, there was that extra bit of feeling,” the Indian Grandmaster added.

Anand also said that towards the end he got worried that he might not even secure a podium finish but a series of unexpected twists and turns on the final day helped him land the top prize.

“...the first three rounds ended in draws. I felt that I had lost the plot a little bit and I was worried that I might not even be on the podium anymore. I mean there were so many unexpected twists and turns. Magnus lost. Nepo (Ian Nepomniachtchi) had won his. A lot happened. But once the tie-break started and I got a big advantage in the tie-break game then I started to feel the wind was behind me,” he said.

Unexpected win

“It is so unexpected because I wasn’t even planning to come to this tournament, which was announced late. The most amazing feeling of all is to have the title again. I am so happy that I can’t describe it in words,” he added. 

His wife Aruna was delighted after the victory and said, “I was just very happy... almost wanted to be there when he did the fist pump.” — PTI 

from The Tribune http://ift.tt/2lvCxHK