Click to play videoNew Delhi: World chess champion Vishwanathan Anand has also been taken in by the cricket mania even though he has been on a winning spree of his own.
Anand knows how to handle pressure and understands exactly what it takes to prepare for a title defence.
His much publicised meeting with Mahendra Singh Dhoni last year gave Anand an opportunity to understand the mindset of the Indian cricket captain better.
As Dhoni copes with the knock out punch his team suffered at the World Twenty20, Anand has a word of advice for him.
"At some time you have to block everything else and concentrate. No matter what your last result was, you start with the same position, same 16 pieces and if your head is in the clouds... it is difficult to get back. That how I relate to," advises Anand.
Anand himself though isn't facing similar blues. Back home after yet another Rapid Chess title, Anand is his usual humble self but he does admit he is a formidable opponent when it comes to the Twenty20 of world chess.
"I think I simply think quickly. I tend to not get sort of too absorbed into a position. I have a good practical sense. So if it's time to stop and make a move then I am able to make a move and make reasonably good decisions fast rather than look for that one perfect move. I think that's probably the main reason," says Anand.
Anand has a busy season ahead where he will surely pile on even more misery on his opponents.
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