New Delhi: Ever since Viswanathan Anand arrived into the world of chess, he's proved time and again that he is the best.
To play a sport is one thing, to play it well is quite another, but to have the talent to perform your craft better than anyone else on the planet is quite another.
Anand retaining his World Championship title was inevitable given his determination and hunger. Ever since he arrived on the stage, Anand's skill and determination have been unmatched.
Anand started winning chess titles from his teenage. He won the world Junior world chess title at 17 and since then his journey has been a story that will awe generations.
"It is the end of a long journey for me; it is the realisation of a dream. When I started out playing chess as a kid I thought I should be world champion. As a kid you have no idea what that means and you only sort of picture it. It is hard to imagine that I waited all those years and it happened in a late stage of my career," Anand said.
Acclaimed as the fastest brain in the world, It is his success on the world scene has made chess a mass sport in India.
Great players have come and gone. Some have won more matches, some have had longer runs of success and some, maybe more aggressive, but there is only one Anand.
"It is very funny for me to compare myself with them because in the 90s they were my contemporaries but in the 80s they were people I looked up to. I could not associate myself with them in any way. I grew up studying (former world champion Anatoly) Karpov's games. I think it is very difficult to see yourself objectively. I hardly ever compare myself directly," Anand said.
Anand's contribution to Indian chess goes a long way beyond being one genius in an ocean of mediocrity.
His feats have inspired two entire generations.
A horde of young boys and girls now have the confidence to take the world on, on their own terms. The talent pipeline started with Anand. It will not dry up after he retires.
That will perhaps be his most enduring legacy apart from the wonderful games he has produced over the years.
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