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He is the master of the chessboard. The grandmaster who defeats man and machine with his calculated moves. And when it comes to boost his brain power to pose the formidable challenge as a world champion, Vishwanathan Anand relies more on the machine. "The three top focus areas for me in the game of chess are performance, speed and memory," said the grandmaster while interacting with the media at a special function organized by AMD in Bangalore, to felicitate him.
He further added that he has been using AMD's technology to simulate real-world chess environment while practicing at home and gets all the power and performance required to simulate a real-time intelligent and challenging chess game. In the game of chess, it's always important to take crucial and accurate decisions at the right time. And for that it is better to have the 'duel' with fast and multiprocessing technology, believes Anand.
He uses technology for making most of his game decisions like analyzing moves or deciding unusual and patterned moves and position in chess. Commenting on the relevance of technology for a chess player he said, "Earlier when I started off as a chess player there was not much use of technology for the game. The first chess database had about twenty thousand games. Now my own database consists of twelve million games. Nowadays it's impossible to thoroughly study the game without computers," he said.
Anand was gifted a Gaming Computer by AMD to honour him on retaining his world championship title. Quad-core phenom processor, and the one tera flop Ati Radeon 4870x2 graphics card power the gaming computer. Full article...
World champion Viswanathan Anand was honoured for defending his world chess title by his sponsors Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) with a top-of the line gaming computer here Monday. The computer is powered by AMDs top of the line quad-core Phenom processor and the one teraflop ATI Radeon 4870×2 graphics card in a futuristic looking Asus chassis with specifications to match the need of the sporting giant.
“Firstly, I would like to thank AMD for the fantastic gift. I use and enjoy technology a lot. The three top focus areas for me in the game of chess are performance, speed and memory and I believe that AMD is the true leader in all three parameters,” smiled Anand accepting the gift. “I have been using AMD’s technology to simulate real world chess environment while practicing at home and get all the power and performance required to simulate a real time intelligent and challenging chess game,” he said.
Anand said that use of computer technologies to practice and train, to develop new opening plans, analyse complex positions and solve difficult endings have completely revolutionised the way chess is played.
“Coming of technology into chess has changed the way the game is played today, than say two decades back, precisely in 1987 when the first computer database was created. Today, without the help of computers, it is hard to imagine playing chess. But, still the need of human mind is more today as all my competitors are taking the help of technology and it is through the mind that a game of chess is still won,” said Anand. Full article...
Knowing and playing your chess better than anybody else is one thing, but then you still need a computer, says the genial young man who stands a world apart from the archetypal chess Nazi played out by his fellow legends Bobby Fischer, Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov. “Using a computer to help you with chess is much like using an encyclopaedia to bounce off your existing knowledge against a vast ideas database,” says world chess champion Viswanathan Anand.
“I analyse positions a lot on my computer,” Anand says. His machine crunches a million possibilities every few seconds over a 5-10 minute period before dishing up an array of options before the champion. “But sometimes, I leave the computer at its work overnight depending on the moves to be analysed. This can lead to the processor overheating, but then, that’s something I cannot afford to happen,” Anand said, smiling blithely against a logo of his sponsor looming in the background.
“I like my machines cool and quiet,” he adds. A lot like him, but do they match the scorching pace of his inbuilt chess engine? Anand does not offer a direct answer, but affirms that older players like him were comfortable starting off without a processor plunking their every move. “Today, players like Anders Larsson [they mean Magnus Carlsen] or Sergei Karjakin cannot imagine life without computers.”
But wouldn’t somebody like Bobby Fischer find today’s computer-fortified players more than a match with his workmanlike approach to the game, and the delicate relationships between the pieces which he forged into all-time great moves? “Well, I grew up with Bobby Fischer’s games, and I stand on the foundation he has built,” Anand said. “But then, Fischer wouldn’t be able to play today the way he did in 1972. He would need time to adjust against players, including me. Computer-based strategising would help him too.” Full article...
How do you remain competitive even after so many years of playing chess? What lessons do you have to offer to Indian companies competing globally in these times?
There are two aspects to being competitive, one is to do with sports, and the other is about technical skills. Being able to recollect the moves and apply them when necessary is a critical aspect. For the corporate world, being competitive is equally critical. What is really important is to constantly surprise opponents, and the key is to keep finding new surprises.
How can smaller companies challenge bigger rivals?
It’s about finding your niche and working on areas that others are not focusing on. If you have a strong opponent, a competition is stimulating. I am generally most open to ideas when I have had a bad result. In chess, too, players specialise. This specialty then becomes an entry barrier. For instance, while playing against Vladimir Kramnik, I don’t invest time into studying dry positions, which is his strong point. My strategy, instead, is to pull him away from dry positions to tactical positions, which is relatively my strength. Typically, if a company has a profitable concept, it cannot sustain in that niche for too long. Other companies will move into the same segment. For me, there is the constant desire to master a new format and sustain the world number one ranking. Full article...
Chess and the management principles of business have a lot in common. In fact, insights from chess are particularly relevant when it comes to formulating business strategy in times of economic crisis. This was emphasised by none other than world chess champion Viswanathan Anand who recently addressed management students and professionals simultaneously across 19 cities in the country.
Anand stated that parallels could also be drawn between chess and management as both require a fair amount of risk taking. “Sometimes not taking risks is the riskiest strategy as it leads to inaction and complacence,” revealed Anand. He further emphasised that it is very important for business managers to project resilience and composure to their competitors. “Pressure tactics work best when they are unanticipated,” stated Anand. Full article...
