EP.165 - GM Viswanathan Anand

This week my esteemed guest is none other than five-time World Champion and living chess legend, GM Viswanathan Anand!! Vishy has been busy as usual with high-level chess, as Tata Steel 2020 recently completed, and the Greinke Chess Classic is coming up for him in April. GM Anand also has recently released (with co-author Susan Ninan) the inspiring and illuminating book, Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion’s Life. This brilliant book provides a springboard for us to discuss various topics about which Vishy has unique insights. They include the effects of aging on his chess game,chess in the era of super engines, reflections on World Championship matches, life as a dad, and the side effects of fame. Please continue reading for more details and timestamps.

(If embedded hyperlinks are not visible in your podcast feed, you can find them here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2020/2/18/episode-165-gm-viswanathan-anand)

1:00- Vishy reflects on the highs and lows of his recently completed tournament,Tata Steel 2020. Topics discussed include how he copes with tough losses as compared to how he coped earlier in life.

Mentioned: Caruana-Anand 2020, Firouzja-Anand 2020, Anand-Vituigov 2020, Chessbase India- Anand gives an endgame lesson to Firouzja, IM Sagar Shah, GM Ivan Sokolov

9:00- The conversation segues to a discussion of the lost art of post-mortem analysis, and the broader topic of how computers have changed chess.

Mentioned: GM Elizbar Ubilava, GM Gukesh D, GM Alireza Firouzja

16:00- A Patreon/Paypal supporter of the podcast wrote in to ask Vishy how he manages to appear so composed over the board. His answer surprised me!

Mentioned: Chessbase India video: Vishy Anand on the 9 Best Games of his Career, Kramnik-Anand 2008

22:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Among many other great offerings, you can check out their free course, Tournament Tactics: Tata Steel Chess 2020, featuring game analysis from GM Harikrishna

22:30- Vishy fields another Patreon mailbag question relating to how he maintains elite status into his 50th birthday.

Mentioned: GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Ian Nepomniatchi, GM Nikita Vitiugov, GM Ali Firouzja, GM Jordan van Foreest, Jeroen van den Berg (Tata Steel Organizer), GM Vladimir Kramnik, October 2001 FIDE Top 100 list, 2013 FIDE World Chess Championship, 2014 FIDE Candidates Tournament , GM Judit Polgar, GM Alexander Morezevich,GM Vassily Ivanchuk, GM Boris Gelfand, 2017 FIDE World Rapid Championships

35:15- Is Vishy’s son enjoying chess? What are his other interests?

Mentioned: Chesskid.com

38:00- Vishy reflects a bit more on prior world championship matches, and he expounds on a few memories and stories shared in Mind Master.

Mentioned: The Anand Files by Michiel Abeln, GM Ivan Cheparinov, Silvio Danilov, Susan Ninan

44:30- Another Patreon supporter writes to ask about the standards Vishy uses in selecting a World Championship preparation team.

Mentioned: GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Radoslaw Wotjaszek, GM Surya Ganguly, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov, GM Grzegorz Gajewski, GM Sandipan Chanda

49:00- Is there a scenario in which Vishy would help out on a World Championship team in the 2020 match? How does he handicap the upcoming Candidates tournament?

Mentioned: GM Ding Liren, GM Fabiano Caruana

54:30- Another listener writes to ask, “Are there downsides to being as famous as Vishy is, especially in chess circles?” This question led to Vishy’s sharing a couple of funny stories relating to being recognized or unrecognized in public.

1:02:00- GM Anand’s next tournament is the Grienke Open in April of 2020. Thanks so much to GM Anand for joining me. You can follow him on twitter, and can buy his book from Amazon and many other chess book retailers.

If you would like to help support the Perpetual Chess, you can do so here: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/donate

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Release date

Lydbog: 18. februar 2020