The Hindu : Sport : `Garry was like a breath of fresh air'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005

Sport

Sport

`Garry was like a breath of fresh air'

By P.K. Ajith Kumar

HEIR APPARENT: With World No. 1, Garry Kasparov, announcing his retirement Viswanathan Anand is set to take over, though for the moment he would like to concentrate on crossing the Elo 2800 mark. — AP

KOZHIKODE, MARCH 14. On March 9, in the Spanish city of Linares, Viswanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov met for yet another game of chess. One of them knew that it would be their last meeting across a chessboard. And it wasn't Anand.

"I didn't understand the significance of that game then," Anand told The Hindu over telephone from his residence in Spain on Sunday night, reacting to Garry Kasparov's unexpected retirement from professional chess.

The Russian, who has been the World No. 1 without any break from 1984, had stunned the world at a press meet at Linares shortly after losing to Bulgarian Veselin Topalov when he said that he had just played his last game as a professional.

"I couldn't believe it when I first heard it. Only when Garry confirmed it at the closing ceremony the next day did it sink in," said the World No. 2.

"I really don't know why he's retired, and I feel there's still a possibility that he might come back. Who knows, he might turn up at Wijk Aan Zee or even Linares next year. He may have got a bit tired of chess. Everyone does. What I do when I get tired is to take a break of three months and then come back feeling fresh."

Disappointed

Anand admitted he was disappointed that he couldn't force a win in the first game with Kasparov at Linares this year (it was drawn; as was the one on March 9). "It was a game I should have won. Actually that affected my show in the tournament. Things would have been different had I beaten Garry."

He said Kasparov's departure was a great loss to chess. "He has left a big vacuum," he said. "He has contributed a lot to chess, especially in the opening theory. When he arrived on the international scene as the World champion in 1985, he was like a breath of fresh air.

"He was dynamic and had a big influence on people. The game needed a champion like that. I remember following his games as a young kid playing in the National age-group tournaments in India. I had a nice lunch with Garry at Linares after the tournament; we talked about a lot of things."

The Chennai champ said he enjoyed his battles over the years with Kasparov in various tournaments. "I will always remember that World title match in 1995 too, at the World Trade Centre in New York."

He said it would've been nice if he got another opportunity to meet him in a match. "Yes, that's true, beating Kasparov in a match was something I wanted to do."

Now after Kasparov's retirement, he's set to become the next World No. 1. According to the last rating list released by FIDE, the world chess governing body, in January, he has 2786 Elo points, just 18 short of Kasparov. "Well, I haven't thought much about being No. 1. My aim now is to cross the 2800 mark."

He said he was looking forward to his next assignments. "I will be playing in Monaco next and then in Bulgaria; I hope to do well in both those events. And I also want to do well in the Bundesliga in Germany."

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