Click to play videoNew Delhi: World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has returned home to India after an incredible win over Vladimir Kramnik in Bonn to retain the World Championship title.
Anand spoke to CNN-IBN about his triumph, future plans and the growing popularity of non-cricketing sports in India.
CNN-IBN: You did seem surprised by the hordes of fans at the Chennai airport who gathered to greet you?
Viswanathan Anand: Yeah it was a pretty intense. I mean due to the late hour I had expected fewer than the amount that actually turned out. But the enthusiasm was really spectacular and it's a pity I couldn't even meet small proportion of them because there were so many.
CNN-IBN: It's an often asked question but this year its of extreme significance considering India’s good performance in Olympic sport. Do you think cricket-crazy India is finally looking beyond?
Viswanathan Anand: I think good sporting accomplishments are being appreciated in whichever sport be it cricket or other ones and I am happy to have contributed my bit. Saina Nehwal did well this year. Abhinav Bindra obviously won an Olympic gold. So it's been another good year for Indian sports for sure.
CNN-IBN: You are the lone Grandmaster to win the world chess titles in all three formats of the game. Your name is taken with the legends like Bobby Fischer, Gary Kasparov. What’s next?
Viswanathan Anand: Well you have hit the nail on the head. This year was very important because there are lot of people in chess who consider that match format is very important so I needed that sought of win in the match format to close that discussion and do it against the great match player like Kramnik someone who has never lost the world championship match and do it convincingly with two point lead. It was a pretty comfortable finish, four days in advance. I was very happy with my play and I think I am satisfied. I will be world champion for atleast some more time.
CNN-IBN: The game has been popular with the youngsters now for some time yet we still have one Viswanathan Anand.
Viswanathan Anand: I think chess has been growing popular for many years now. If you compare it's status in the 80's for instance it's growing immensely now. I think our task is to take chess much, much further along this road and I am very, very pleased with how far it has come with the coverage chess is getting now a days. See the number of youth champions we are producing. For instance this year just in Vietnam we had five. It's a remarkable progress.
CNN-IBN: We have often wondered chess has been played for yearsand every move has been analysed and over analysed on computers. Yet you can come up with novelties. How’s that?
Viswanathan Anand: Well chess is very, very complex and it seems that we are very far from understanding everything about this game. Computers actually help us to work very productively and go very far but it seems that there are always new things to find. The other thing is that chess is still a sporting contest. We can do all the work we want with the computers and do all the preparations but you do have to go out there, you have to calculate over the board. You have to handle pressure, you have to handle the tension and still come up with good moves. You have to take risks at the right moment. So in the end it's simply a sport and it's a contest between two persons just like any other sport and that's what it comes down to.
CNN-IBN: Now that you are back home are there going to be rounds of chess with family or are you taking a break?
Viswanathan Anand: No! I think anything but actually no I think we'll just spend some few days together with family. May be we catch a vacation some where. I mean inevitably at some time I will return to chess. I have to catch up with some recent games and work. But I am going to take it easy for a while now..
CNN-IBN: Thanks. Its been a pleasure talking to you.
Viswanathan Anand: Thank you very much.
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