Note: This article based on the video interview series Scroll Conversations was originally published in February 2018.
Viswanathan Anand surprised many after winning the World Rapid Chess crown in Riyadh in December at the age of 48. Along the way to the title, Anand had also defeated 27-year-old world champion Magnus Carlsen in the ninth round. The title win surprised even Anand himself, who said that he was just aiming for a top-10 finish. “It just went like a dream,” he said. “You can’t make this up.”
In a candid chat with Scroll.in’s Smitha Nair, Anand talks about that win, the greatest encounters of his life, superstitions before matches, his relationship with one-time rival Garry Kasparov, losing to his mother in a game of chess, his political inclinations, Alpha Zero, and trying to get his son to learn the game.
Watch the video interview here:
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