New Delhi:
World Chess Champion Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday termed the controversy over his nationality as disappointing but said he does not want to stretch the issue too far and would prefer to move on.
"When the whole thing came about it was disappointing but I think by now I understand that these are bureaucratic things which happen and you can see the funny side of it. The silver lining is that people now know that I am really an Indian completely," Anand told TV channels.
Anand today found himself embroiled in a row after the University of Hyderabad delayed its plan to confer an honorary doctorate on him following questions raised by the Union Human Resources Development Ministry over his nationality.
"I have often trained in Spain but I never gave away my citizenship. That's always been clear. So I don't really know why this came up especially after we clarified the matter," he said.
"I don't want to analyse this too much. The mistake happened, the minister has apologised. I think we should leave it at that. I think we should move on," he added.
The four-time world champion Indian said he decided to decline the doctorate for now simply because he was busy and wanted to have a proper ceremony.
"I accepted the minister's apology. There was no issue in that. It was just that the day was simply filled up.
"Actually the main reason I came to Hyderabad was for this simultaneous chess game. I had to focus on my commitments here and then it looked like it would be a rushed ceremony so I thought we should do it properly sometime later. So, I will accept the doctorate in due course of time," Anand said.
Anand was all praise for his 40 opponents against whom he played simultaneous chess games.
"It took me a long time to break through," he said after beating 39 opponents while drawing a game with Srikar. Participating in 'Question and Answer' session with the participants, Anand said, "I would say the last 10 players who held on obviously they did it very tenaciously. I think Srikar is very impressive who held on finally."
Appreciating his opponents, Anand said, "A lot of people here played really very well and defended for very long. When I saved the game against Srikar then I started to relax. He punished my mistakes and I was basically busted."
He said against another player, he made a big blunder, saying, "The problem was I went from much better to worse very quickly and the only way was to defend and that was also a scary moment apart from game with Srikar. It's complicated and you need to analyse a lot."
In reply to a question, Anand said, "Chess is one thing you can teach very early and if more people do it then it will part of the mainstream."
Anand said his impression was that mathematics was similar to chess in a way.
"If kids get fascinated by mathematics early then it will stay with them all their life just like in chess," he said.
"Definitely mathematicians have longer careers than chess players but still it is very important to get the interest of people in mathematics when they are young."
When asked which one is thrilling, playing chess with 40 participants or with Gary Kasparov, Anand said, "Well they are two different kinds of things. Here if your concentration lapses then there is more unexpected in store for you.
"But, in case of playing with single player you can have more control as it is only one game. I tried to play all the games but inevitably in some games there is slip-up and that?s the charm of simultaneous games," he said.
Asked who first taught him chess, he said, "The first person to teach me chess was my mother and I was six when I learnt playing chess from my mother."
When Andhra Pradesh Tourism Secretary Jayesh Ranjan asked Anand on his impressions of Hyderabad, Anand replied, "I have been coming to Hyderabad pretty regularly and the food is always sensational.
"I think recently I am incredibly impressed with the infrastructure and it's so impressive to see all the new facilities. As a city, Hyderabad is one of the best in India." With the controversy surrounding Anand's nationality, the media was not allowed inside the HICC premises where the ICM event was held.
It was only late in the evening that the organisers asked the media to cover the Q & A session and they were told not to ask any question and that all the questions would be from the participants.
"When the whole thing came about it was disappointing but I think by now I understand that these are bureaucratic things which happen and you can see the funny side of it. The silver lining is that people now know that I am really an Indian completely," Anand told TV channels.
Anand today found himself embroiled in a row after the University of Hyderabad delayed its plan to confer an honorary doctorate on him following questions raised by the Union Human Resources Development Ministry over his nationality.
"I have often trained in Spain but I never gave away my citizenship. That's always been clear. So I don't really know why this came up especially after we clarified the matter," he said.
"I don't want to analyse this too much. The mistake happened, the minister has apologised. I think we should leave it at that. I think we should move on," he added.
The four-time world champion Indian said he decided to decline the doctorate for now simply because he was busy and wanted to have a proper ceremony.
"I accepted the minister's apology. There was no issue in that. It was just that the day was simply filled up.
"Actually the main reason I came to Hyderabad was for this simultaneous chess game. I had to focus on my commitments here and then it looked like it would be a rushed ceremony so I thought we should do it properly sometime later. So, I will accept the doctorate in due course of time," Anand said.
Anand was all praise for his 40 opponents against whom he played simultaneous chess games.
"It took me a long time to break through," he said after beating 39 opponents while drawing a game with Srikar. Participating in 'Question and Answer' session with the participants, Anand said, "I would say the last 10 players who held on obviously they did it very tenaciously. I think Srikar is very impressive who held on finally."
Appreciating his opponents, Anand said, "A lot of people here played really very well and defended for very long. When I saved the game against Srikar then I started to relax. He punished my mistakes and I was basically busted."
He said against another player, he made a big blunder, saying, "The problem was I went from much better to worse very quickly and the only way was to defend and that was also a scary moment apart from game with Srikar. It's complicated and you need to analyse a lot."
In reply to a question, Anand said, "Chess is one thing you can teach very early and if more people do it then it will part of the mainstream."
Anand said his impression was that mathematics was similar to chess in a way.
"If kids get fascinated by mathematics early then it will stay with them all their life just like in chess," he said.
"Definitely mathematicians have longer careers than chess players but still it is very important to get the interest of people in mathematics when they are young."
When asked which one is thrilling, playing chess with 40 participants or with Gary Kasparov, Anand said, "Well they are two different kinds of things. Here if your concentration lapses then there is more unexpected in store for you.
"But, in case of playing with single player you can have more control as it is only one game. I tried to play all the games but inevitably in some games there is slip-up and that?s the charm of simultaneous games," he said.
Asked who first taught him chess, he said, "The first person to teach me chess was my mother and I was six when I learnt playing chess from my mother."
When Andhra Pradesh Tourism Secretary Jayesh Ranjan asked Anand on his impressions of Hyderabad, Anand replied, "I have been coming to Hyderabad pretty regularly and the food is always sensational.
"I think recently I am incredibly impressed with the infrastructure and it's so impressive to see all the new facilities. As a city, Hyderabad is one of the best in India." With the controversy surrounding Anand's nationality, the media was not allowed inside the HICC premises where the ICM event was held.
It was only late in the evening that the organisers asked the media to cover the Q & A session and they were told not to ask any question and that all the questions would be from the participants.
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