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Interview about getting to Sofia, analysis of the games, sleeping before
the final game...
What did you think when Topalov played 24.Nxf6 in the first game? Anand: "We had also prepared this line – I just mixed up my move order, and when he played the move I understood I had mixed it up. It is just one of those thing that happen in a very tense match. Luckily it was over quickly."
Interesting the section (2 min 46 s) where Anand speaks about game eight and how he blundered away the draw in a bishop of opposite colours ending. He explains how he could have held the game – very instructive to follow his thoughts. You can load the games Anand talks about by clicking on the links below. They will be opened in a new window or tab.
In this video Anand is interviewed by Sonali
Chander of NDTV – using his cellphone
Interestingly when asked if the organisers were hostile (around 4:00 min into the interview) Anand replies: "Not at all. The organisers were very fair, the organisation was superb .. I would say the fans were very fair. I imagine they were rooting for him, but beyond that I never felt in any way any hostility." Also the following memorable lines: "Right now I cannot think of any 'legacy' or anything like that. I am just relieved that I am going to wake up tomorrow as World Champion. This morning when I woke up I did not know whether it was going to be one of the happiest days of my life or one of the saddest. It's a very funny sensation to wake up like that, and I'm really happy it ended well."
Interviews by the French chess Magazine Europe
Echecs,
the first conducted by GM Robert Fontaine
Photo: Agência Brasil/Ricardo Stuckert, Wikipedia
“I am delighted to salute you at your fourth World Chess Championship triumph within a decade. I understand that your championship game in Sofia was played under the most difficult circumstances, but you proved once again that you remain the grandest of grandmasters. You have made the country proud and I join millions of admirers of the game of chess in celebrating your magnificent triumph.”
Source: Press Trust of India
On the match strategy: In one sense, I think, I misjudged
him. He made certain changes during the match. One of the things we assumed
was, he always likes moving around in matches. This means, he'll play an
opening for a couple of games and then move on to the next one. His match
strategy in the past was never to stand his ground. Kind of hit-and-run
strategy. So, whether consciously or sub-consciously, we had made this assumption
the basis of our preparation. But he stood his ground. He did not switch
his openings. We started having problem in the second half because we were
thin in the areas he had concentrated on. And we ourselves were doing the
hitting and running. So there was some coping there.
In terms of the opening preparation, we made some bad calls. The team did
some excellent work but in a match it is not about excellent work but making
the right judgement call. If you prepare something and it does not get played,
it is not much use. So in that sense, he did surprise me.
On dealing with the loss in the opening game: It was one of those ridiculous moments that you are not supposed to have but it happens. The only thing I told myself was if it had to happen, it is best to happen in the first round. You still have time to recover. I knew it would be a long match. I was not worried at that point. But it was the worst possible start to the match.
On winning Game 2 and 4: Topalav was plucky. He was doing a fine job out of the opening but made a mistake. I pounced and made some very accurate moves. I mean, technically, it is still difficult but I managed to wrap it up in some six or seven moves from this point. I thought it was efficient. Game 2 was important because it helped me equalise.
On the final game: I think Topalov took a big gamble. Now it seems obvious to me that this gamble was wrong. I realised he missed my queen move but still, when my bishop is on the big diagonal like that, and to allow me to open it, he took the decision very late.
