World chess champion Viswanathan Anand feels even the best players are prone to making silly mistakes and so, youngsters should learn to do the basics right and improve their game consistently to attain success at the top level.
The World No 1 was speaking after unveiling NIIT MindChampions Academy’s Chess Master Trophy 2008, a tournament for school students across the country.
“Chess is a game in which one needs to improve all the time. However strong you are in chess, you will commit silly mistakes. Even the Grandmasters make mistakes. Youngsters should always learn to do the basics right and improve their game. Try to develop your own training methods and perform consistently to become a successful chess player,” said Anand through a videoconference from New Delhi featuring participants from 12 cities.
Anand, who won the Chess Oscar for the fifth time on Thursday, said he was not sure whether he had reached the peak of his career but said he was still eager to perform well in each tournament. “Yes, I reached several milestones in 2007. I can’t say I am at the peak of my career.
“I still believe I can improve my game. I haven’t lost my passion for the game and I am eager to go one step better in every event,” added Anand, who will take on Russian Vladimir Kramnik in October to defend the World title.
The Padma Vibhushan winner chose his World Championship triumph last year in Mexico City as the one close to his heart. “That win was really big. It’s a really big, big event. My penultimate round match in Mexico which I drew with Alexander Grischuk was one of the best matches I played in my whole career,” said Anand, who became the undisputed world champion after defeating Kramnik.
On his preparation for the title defence, Anand said “I am working hard for eight to ten hours every day.
Obviously, I am not going to think about it the whole day and lose my sleep. But once I come closer to the match days, I would feel a little bit of pressure.”
About 40 students from various schools in Bangalore took part in the interaction at the NIIT centre in Jayanagar on Friday. “I study the game always, attempting to reduce mistakes. I also develop my own ideas to improve my game,” said Anand when a student asked him how he became a world champion.
MindChampions Academy was started six years ago with the aim of providing a platform for budding chess talents to display their skills. This year, the academy will conduct events at inter-school, district, state and zonal levels.
Winner of each zone will vie for the Chess Master Trophy in New Delhi in January next year. The winner will get a chance to play against Anand.
