
Viswanathan Anand: For being India's beloved Grandmaster
'I feel extremely proud that we as a country have come of age'
August 11, 2008
Vishy on why the young need to go beyond the script.
In Mexico City when I stood on the podium (after winning the World Chess Championship
last year) and they played the national anthem, I did feel a lump in my throat.
At that moment you see invisible faces, applause and silent prayers from back
home. It is a moment that you can never recreate but never forget. I feel extremely
proud that we as a country have come of age.
We don't give excuses anymore and are quite proud to say we are like this only.
We seem to attract headlines for the latte foaming at the cities's cafes rather
than cows that was our star attraction of the 1980s in the foreign media.
We have seen Indian companies rub shoulders with their bigger colonial cousins
and usurp them. We are also slowly becoming mildly serious about sport. This
is all very good.
We are also going through some trying times in India. We have seen innocent
people being killed for a hidden private agenda. We still have worrying statistics
about children's health in India. HIV is still a silent killer.
When we talk about the famed India story we need to go beyond the steel and
glass and maybe see the smoke on the other side of the bridge. But we are an
ingenious lot. I have seen villagers take to computers and use the Net. We are
a young lot and we have to go beyond the script to make it.
As the Olympics begin, I am keenly waiting to see my fellow colleagues stand
on that podium with the Indian tri-colour. I myself am preparing for my World
Championship match (against Vladimir Kramnik) in October and have been hearing
about how Russia is keen to get back the crown.
Well, I take a deep breath, will play my best and believe in myself. Because
in a way that is the Indian in me -- spiritual or fatalistic -- but play according
to your rules that make you proud.
World champion Viswanathan Anand once again underlined his dominance
as he won the Rapid World Chess Championship in Mainz last week. He has now
won the tournament 11 times in its 13 years of existence, including the last
nine times in a row! Anand took over the top ranking in chess in April 2007
and later in the same year captured the World Chess Championships. He sent
this e-mailed response to Harish Kotian.
Abhinav
Bindra made Olympic history for India. On Monday the Chandigarh
shooter won the gold medal in the men's ten metre air rifle event. The medal
is India's first-ever individual gold, and the first gold medal the country
has won since 1980. Indians joyously greeted the news, which has resulted in
an outpouring of national pride.
Regarding the Chess Classic and the Rapid Chess World Championship in Mainz
(where Anand beat Magnus Carlsen in the final) we have some statistics. The
number of spectators on the seven days was 300, 350, 300, 550, 800, 1050, 750,
numbers that contrast very favorably with other events where sometimes the number
of players exceeds that of the spectators. One must also remember that Mainz
was competing for public attention and participants at the Ordix Open with the
Grand Prix in Sochi, the Junior World championship in Gaziantep, Biel, Krasnoturinsk,
Pardubize, Dresden and Villarobledo. In spite of this the Ordix Open attracted
693 participants.