Dad salutes his determination

Reaching the venue for the battle was a big challenge for Anand as volcanic ash in Europe disrupted the air travel and he had to take a tiring road route to reach Sofia.

“It was an ordeal. He couldn’t get there by flight and had to travel by road. It is not easy after two days of travel but Anand is like that, he doesn’t bother himself by these things. His determination played a major role,” he said.

Asked to compare his win over Vladimir Kramnik in 2008 and the win over Topalov, his father said, “In chess you have to adjust to the rival. He played differently with Kramnik, who is a theoretician and adapted himself well against Topalov who is very tactical.”