Book Review- “Mind Master”- Vishwanathan Anand
Since my young age, I was thrust-ed to find an interest in chess by my father. I never became an ordinary chess player. Learnt the basics of chess and started playing with friends and cousins and stopped once I started losing badly. I was not ready for the hard labor of preparing or even thinking during the chess to actually win. My dad spent money on chess mate books and took me to chess tournaments around Chennai. I am still the same beginner in chess and those 64 black and white squares are still grey to me.
Since the time, Vishwanathan Anand or in short Vishy was the man of the moment. Newspapers filled with his exploits in chess world and news snippets of him conquering blitz aka rapid chess was doing the rounds. I remember the crowded adyar streets when he came home the world champion in a chariot fit for a king who plays with one.When I read an article of his new book, I knew my next reaction and finished it within 3 days, surprising standards for a non-fiction by myself.I believe he is going to announce his retirement soon, given the fact he has spilled beans about his seconds, strategy, his weakness for the whole world to devour.
Everyone knows Vishy Anand, surprising in a cricket dominated India. He has been playing the game, that long, that consistent with overloaded humility and a smile. Sportsperson are sans politics but sports is not. Imagine a vegetarian lad from chennai, making it strong in an european backed game and Russia taking it as their un-official religion. But this person happened to avoid them all, leaving his games do the talking. He stayed out of FIDE / PCA politics. He says, “Shut the world out and play chess”. The detailing of the game and the preparation has been brought out beautifully. This is a game which is more mental than anything else. The book details on the seconds choosing strategy, how rivals choose your retired seconds, your press conference moves, interview antics to frustrate the players. He mentions a simple, “shut the bathroom door hard” strategy by a player unnerving you. A trickle of sweat at a time, is enough indication of a blunder move. It is a fascinating world out there.
Every chapter ends with a chess board picture of his moves, his strategy behind his win or loss. If you can draw lessons from team sports like football or cricket, you can draw more motivation from this single player game for your life. It is just you versus them in the board, controlling your temper, angst, boxing all your emotions into that 6cmx6cm board. Anand is a five time world chess champion, now at age 50, he has unleashed a chess revolution in this nation. He continues to guide youngsters, be a brand ambassador for youth sports. Very few players had a good winning score in classic, rapid and blind chess. He was dubbed the lightning kid for his moves.
Anand reminisces his childhood days and his mom being a pillar for his game. She continued to be a moral support on his game, he insists his notes of match post-mortem are still effective. He hated his tennis lessons, and shifted to this game entirely. Anand was the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India’s highest sporting honour. In 2007, he was awarded India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award. He became India’s first grand master at the age of 18.This book effortlessly caress through his years with a central tournament as the plot and run-up events to it. Interesting tidbits and unknown trivia are sufficiently dished to spice up interest.
The now famous 10,000 rule by Malcom Gladwell fits Vishy perfectly. He started chess at a young age, continued to practice, attend tournaments through the nation, had coaching lessons, updated technology boosting his game, unfervent support of his parents, feedback loop of his note taking helping his analysis. Surprising is the fact that he still does notes at age 50, periodic revision upping the ante of his game. Karpov, Kasparov, Topalov, Kamsky and his duels with them, and geo political tournaments being planned are vividly described in black and white.Chess is a game of emotions, it is not a sport where you can let the adrenaline rush guide you.
Susan Ninan is the collaborator for this book. She is an expert sports columnist, and all this beats you in the face via beautiful stories. It is very challenging to engage a reader with a boring game like chess. To be frank it is not audience friendly, is not quickie, no emotions shown, no physical showmanship. They both have painstakingly created an story universe you fall in love with.
Anand was one of the pioneers in using computers for chess when they were introduced, away from reams of russian chess books, he was an early adopter, that is one of the key reasons he manages to stay relevant in 2020 at age 50. Chess is a young man game, experience helps but bogs you down, and physical stress with this mental game is also high. Carlsen the current chess genius has completely grown with computers, and his view of chess is entirely from computers is a universe apart from a regular book reader.Chess openings like sicilian, kings gambit, queens gambit are sprinkled in chapters,but do not bore the non-chess reader. His mom and now wife have been a pillar for Vishy in his life and chess. Normal life should be taken care by a person for a chess player to focus entirely on his game. Mood swings cost you pieces, games , tournaments and often titles.
Chess games are won before they the pieces are drawn. Sometimes the venue is changed at last minute, you are made to reach venue in 36 hours road journey, air conditioning is high or low to jolt you down. You win these and then the game, Anand was an expert in not getting bogged down with these distractions. Putin jokingly said “so we brought it down on ourselves” after knowing that Anand trained in russian consulate in chennai. He was crowned the champion of Russia.
“Being average for a longer period is more difficult than being a star performer overnight”
Chess preparation and games are dry, often drier. You do not have any entertainment, aka peppy songs to boost your morale. Your mind has to be 100% into it, and it sags you down. Cardio is needed for you to stay in the board for more than 3 hours. Tournament preparation and run up to it are given movie style finishes, I am wondering there is more to chess than those wry press conferences. You leave the dessert for the grand finale, lovely rare photographs of Anand, his team mate, his family adorn the final pages of the book, and they are a complete refresher.
Strongly recommend this book for chess lovers and non chess lovers alike.
