KOLKATA: Six years after beating Viswanathan Anand in Chennai to become World champion for the first time, Magnus Carlsen is back in India. The World No. 1 will be the top attraction in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) rapid and blitz meet, the penultimate leg of the Tour which starts on Friday. The Norwegian spoke to TOI after the draw ceremony in his hotel room.
Following are excerpts:
You are considered to be a genius by many. Do you consider yourself to be one?
I don’t know how to define genius. But no, I will certainly not say I am a genius, all I would say is that I am somebody who is very good at what he is doing.
If you are able to go back in time, whom would you like to play?
That’s a difficult one. There are so many (thinking)… It would be interesting to play (Bobby) Fischer at his best and also (Mikhail) Tal maybe when he was at his best, winning the World championship (1960), and see if I could counter him.
You almost always start a tournament as the favourite. How do you handle the pressure of expectations?
I’d say it’s been a long time now that I don’t consider myself favourite in every tournament. But yes, every time I play I aim to finish in first place. There is no pressure as such since the goal for me is clear: to play well. Whatever pressure there is, I don’t feel it from outside… it’s mostly about myself on the quality of play that I want to show.
What do you have to say about your recent move to withdraw from the Norwegian Chess Federation?
Well that was mostly a principled stand on my part. I didn’t want to make a big commotion about it or cause too much trouble to anybody. I still have contact with the leadership of the federation.
How do you see the Anand factor in chess?
I had the privilege to train with Anand as a youngster a few times before his World championship games. In 2008, I was 17 then and used to consider myself as one of the best players in the world. But there were moments when I used to think this guy is so much better than me. I think this is something you don’t realize before you actually play them and unwind with them. I have huge respect for what Anand has done for chess and what he is still doing. Very privileged to have practised and played with him so many times.
Do you see yourself continuing till 50, like Anand?
I see no reason for not going on as long as I can play well and stay motivated. But motivation, confidence are very fragile things. Whenever that goes, it’s going to be difficult. But as of now I see myself continuing for a long time.
KOLKATA: Six years after beating Viswanathan Anand in Chennai to become World champion for the first time, Magnus Carlsen is back in India. The World No. 1 will be the top attraction in the Grand Chess Tour (GCT) rapid and blitz meet, the penultimate leg of the Tour which starts on Friday. The Norwegian spoke to TOI after the draw ceremony in his hotel room.
Following are excerpts:
You are considered to be a genius by many. Do you consider yourself to be one?
I don’t know how to define genius. But no, I will certainly not say I am a genius, all I would say is that I am somebody who is very good at what he is doing.
If you are able to go back in time, whom would you like to play?
That’s a difficult one. There are so many (thinking)… It would be interesting to play (Bobby) Fischer at his best and also (Mikhail) Tal maybe when he was at his best, winning the World championship (1960), and see if I could counter him.
You almost always start a tournament as the favourite. How do you handle the pressure of expectations?
I’d say it’s been a long time now that I don’t consider myself favourite in every tournament. But yes, every time I play I aim to finish in first place. There is no pressure as such since the goal for me is clear: to play well. Whatever pressure there is, I don’t feel it from outside… it’s mostly about myself on the quality of play that I want to show.
What do you have to say about your recent move to withdraw from the Norwegian Chess Federation?
Well that was mostly a principled stand on my part. I didn’t want to make a big commotion about it or cause too much trouble to anybody. I still have contact with the leadership of the federation.
How do you see the Anand factor in chess?
I had the privilege to train with Anand as a youngster a few times before his World championship games. In 2008, I was 17 then and used to consider myself as one of the best players in the world. But there were moments when I used to think this guy is so much better than me. I think this is something you don’t realize before you actually play them and unwind with them. I have huge respect for what Anand has done for chess and what he is still doing. Very privileged to have practised and played with him so many times.
Do you see yourself continuing till 50, like Anand?
I see no reason for not going on as long as I can play well and stay motivated. But motivation, confidence are very fragile things. Whenever that goes, it’s going to be difficult. But as of now I see myself continuing for a long time.
Following are excerpts: I don’t know how to define genius. But no, I will certainly not say I am a genius, all I would say is that I am somebody who is very good at what he is doing. If you are able to go back in time, whom would you like to play? […]
