I think Anand is among the five great chess players of all time, says Alexander Grischuk
The Hindu
Alexander Grischuk, 17, shocked the chess world by reaching the semis of the World Championship. 23 yrs later, he won the Tata Steel Chess India tournament. He attributes his success to his hatred of losing & his admiration for Anand. He fondly remembers his visit to the Taj Mahal.
When Alexander Grischuk made his first visit to India, he was 17. He had arrived as the 46th seed for the World chess championship. The Russian caused a sensation, reaching the semifinal. He, however, went down to Alexei Shirov (who would then lose in the final to Viswanathan Anand).
It took Grischuk another 23 years to return to India, for the Tata Steel Chess India tournament in Kolkata. By that time, he had picked three World blitz titles, had been the World No. 3 and had become only the eighth player in history to cross 2800 Elo points.
He had also created a huge fan-base not just for his fascinating style of play but for his sense of humour as well. He didn’t speak much in Kolkata, but when he did, he made people laugh.
At the press conference, when he was asked about the chances of R. Praggnanandhaa becoming the World champion, he also took the names of D. Gukesh and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan. But he added, “There is also some weird guy called Magnus (Carlsen).”
Praggnanandhaa, who was sitting next to him, broke into a big smile. Grischuk may not have smiled as much, but he had every reason to, last Saturday evening at Kolkata’s National Library, where he won the blitz title of the Tata Steel tournament. At 39, he was the oldest player and he pushed behind him some of the world’s best young players.
“I hate losing, and that is the main factor that keeps me still going,” Grischuk told The Hindu. “I would rather stop playing completely than just be losing game after game.”
He isn’t surprised by India’s young talents taking the world by storm.