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Garri Kasparow (l.) And Viswanathan Anand (r.) Also played for photos on the roof of the World Trade Center: "Spectacular places have nothing to do with the game of chess"
Photo:
Henry Groskinsky / The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images
Viswanathan Anand was only 25 years old when he got the greatest chance of his chess career to date in 1995: The Indian challenged world champion Garry Kasparov, who had been defending the title for ten years.
The World Cup duel began on September 11, 1995 on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center in New York.
SPIEGEL:
How was it for you when you first entered the World Trade Center?
Anand:
Spectacular places have nothing to do with the game of chess.
I can play very well in a place in the middle of nowhere.
While playing chess, one has no eye for the scenery.
On the other hand, it was good for the public.
But if you put me in a submarine, I'll also play in a submarine.
SPIEGEL:
You were a young player and you played against Garry Kasparov.
How nervous were you?
Anand:
I understood beforehand that I wouldn't be able to keep up with his experience.
He had played five world championships against Anatoly Karpov and the sixth against Nigel Short.
I couldn't make up this deficit so quickly.
SPIEGEL: It
is said to have been quite loud around the board because the panes of glass could hardly keep the noise out.
Anand:
The commentator tried to make chess sound like it was American football.
He cried.
That was his way of making the game attractive to the audience.
He was very, very lively.
And there were no soundproof walls because of the fire protection regulations.
So you could occasionally hear what the commentator was saying.
The playing conditions were pretty bad.
But after the first day you stop thinking about it.
SPIEGEL:
The duel started well for you.
After eight draws, they took their first win.
You must have thought you were getting going.
Anand:
I was influenced by the World Cup match between Kasparov and Short in 1993. Short was three points behind after the first four games.
After four games you had the feeling that the match was over.
So I was very motivated to avoid that.
SPIEGEL:
What happened after you won the ninth game?
Anand:
I made my big mistake in game 10, repeating the Spanish opening that had worked up until then.
Kasparov took the defeat so badly that he invested everything in his preparation for this opening.
I lost the game and then the match slipped out of my hands.
On lap 14 I got where Short had been - only I managed to delay it for ten laps.
I've seen the same collapse.
You don't understand why you're playing so badly, you don't understand what's happening.
SPIEGEL:
Kasparov won the World Cup duel after 18 games.
In your "Mind Master" biography you write that you were not ready for such a beast of match.
What made this game so bestial?
Anand:
You have to get used to the fact that the effort and the pressure are very high.
You cannot rely on yourself.
For most of my career I have believed I knew what I was capable of - positive and negative.
But in this match I found that I didn't seem to know what negative I was capable of.
It took me a long time to get the experience to handle games like this.
But someone who learned a lot from the match was Vladimir Kramnik, Kasparov's second at this World Cup.
SPIEGEL:
To what extent?
Anand:
He said he was amazed at how badly Garri was prepared.
I analyze four or five positions and then decide which one to choose.
And Kramnik said Garri would take the first position he liked.
In this he would do a great job, but he would ignore others.
And that's weird.
For the rest of the world, Kasparov continued to be the most prepared player.
But Kramnik understood that he didn't really have to fear Kasparov's preparation.
She wasn't as good as legend said.
SPIEGEL:
In 2000, Kramnik became world champion after beating Kasparov.
What did you learn from 1995?
Anand:
Not much, because I only had my own perspective.
But Kramnik opened my eyes.
It never occurred to me to see Kasparov as a player whose openings could be exploited.
But even at his highest level there were weaknesses, I want to say that.
SPIEGEL:
A soccer player can put the ball aside, a tennis player the tennis racket.
But a chess player cannot put his brain aside.
As a player, don't you think about moves all the time?
It must be very exhausting.
Anand:
That's partly true.
But we have our rituals after the games: You go to the gym, take a walk, play cards, whatever relaxes you.
And you try hard not to think about the game.
I wouldn't distinguish the game of chess too much from any other sport.
It depends on the emotions of the game itself.
SPIEGEL:
Five years later, in 2000, you won the Fide Championship in New Delhi.
Was it a turning point in your career?
Anand:
Definitely.
For the first time I won the world championship.
Delhi was important to me because I finally made it on the chessboard.
I did the job.
SPIEGEL:
The associations were divided back then, and there were two World Cup winners.
Did it bother you that you weren't the undisputed world champion?
Anand:
I felt like I had no control over the criticism.
I mean what could I have done?
I couldn't have played in both World Cup cycles.
SPIEGEL:
You defended your 2008 World Cup title against Kramnik in the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn.
Seems less glamorous than New York's World Trade Center.
Anand:
We stayed in an excellent hotel right on the Rhine.
We had a lot of rest.
It was the best match I've ever played.
I don't remember any negative moments.
It was like a dream.
I beat one of the best players in history.
I was very happy, for me it was the highlight.
It was the moment when I defeated Kramnik quite convincingly in one game.
It was the moment when I no longer had to explain what a world champion I was.
That meant a lot to me.
SPIEGEL:
In 2013 you lost the world title to Magnus Carlsen.
Has it put you under pressure to play in your hometown of Chennai?
Anand:
Probably yes.
In fact, I think Carlsen seems to have decided that he will never play in Norway.
But I had a chess crisis in 2013, and maybe that added pressure.
SPIEGEL:
What was the reason for your chess crisis?
Anand:
Maybe I haven't kept up with developments and struggled to adapt.
My results were pretty bad.
Carlsen had one of the best years in history.
That made it especially difficult.
SPIEGEL:
Was it to be expected back then that Carlsen would become such a dominant player?
Anand:
That seemed entirely plausible to me.
Even then I had the feeling that not only I but everyone had problems against him.
But it's really impressive how he has always developed.
SPIEGEL:
You are still playing at a high level, but no longer for world championships.
What are your goals today?
Anand:
I just play and enjoy it.
I don't think too much about goals.
When there are interesting tournaments, I like to play.
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