Viswanathan Anand ready to defend his crown at World Chess Championship when he takes on Magnus Carlsen. The five-time world chess champion tells Derek Abraham that the Norwegian is an all-rounder in every sense of the word
Soon after your victory over Boris Gelfand last year, you had told DNA that the prospect of meeting Magnus Carlsen or Levon Aronian excites you. Now that Carlsen has won the Candidates Tournament, your wish has been granted...
True! In my opinion, Carlsen is the greatest talent I have seen. He is really unique in that sense. And that I think is absolutely huge. It will be a very, very big challenge. I understand the magnitude of the task. But my job is to get ready and give it my best. That's what I will do.
He is nearly half your age (Carlsen is 22, Anand 43)...
Yes. In that regard, he is a completely different opponent. The players I beat to win the world title in the last five years (Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010) and Boris Gelfand in 2012) are all from my generation. The broad outlook of our game is similar. The prospect of facing Carlsen is a new one for me in many, many ways. I will have to figure out my strategy.
There is talk that Garry Kasparov could help Carlsen...
I am not going to bother about who is going to help who. I will play a few tournaments before the world championship (in November). My job is to do my best.You have a good record against Carlsen.
Does that mean anything going into a world championship?
I have a good record. We are actually even. The more relevant factor is his recent results. I believe that makes him a favourite, but who cares who is the favourite!
What exactly are Carlsen's strengths?
He has the ability to play in any position. He is a complete all-rounder in chess. And he has taken that definition to an altogether different level. You put him in any position and he will stay calm and play. There are players who specialise in this and that. Carlsen is not like that. In fact, in that regard, he is ahead of me as well. I would focus on this area. He is simply the greatest talent I have seen.
Are you happy you will be facing Carlsen and not Aronian?
Both of them are huge talents. It's a very difficult prospect. I would not say I would have preferred one over the other. Actually, I would like to point out that even if it were Kramnik, it would have been a tough task. Kramnik looked very good in the last few rounds of the Candidates Tournament. He seems to have made so much progress.
So he's not the player you beat in 2008?
This Kramnik is totally different. The match could be held in India...
If it is indeed so, I am delighted. It would be nice to have one big chess championship in India. Of course, there will be a lot of pressure on me. But I will have to cope with it.
