Mind Master: Winning Lessons From A Champion's Life

by Viswanathan Anand

Sometimes, a goal can be such a big deal, such an all-consuming theme in our lives, that we just don’t know what to look forward to any more after we’ve achieved

Here’s a lesson in serendipity and limitless learning. Nothing you do, however unconnected it is to your livelihood or your life’s goal, goes waste. You never know when an idea that you’ve read about or heard of, or an activity you’ve dabbled in, will pay off. It’s wise, then, to keep your interests and your learning as varied and broad as you can.

Before a game, I’ve found that training for short bursts can be as effective as trying to work for a long time, especially when it comes to intense work where you absolutely block all distractions and focus on the problem. If you work for a long time, then inevitably, at some point, your mind will wander, and your energy and interest will both flag. You may end up squandering your resources. Short bursts, I’ve found, are the most productive – much like brief meetings, or indeed short working days – because they can be intense, focused periods when you stop thinking of everything else and quit multi-tasking. Naturally, when your work interests you, you’re able to work a lot harder during the short bursts. The best concentration exercise you can give yourself is working on something that really intrigues you. In areas you find unpleasant, setting yourself mini targets might be helpful.

(I started wearing it more out of compulsion than as a fashion choice. A player from Thane, Arun Vaidya, whom I ran into at national tournaments, had a nagging habit of swinging his keychain around his index finger and I began wearing a cap to shut out the jangling distraction.)

By this time, of course, my losing to him may have had a lot to do with our respective ages, but his strategy of making me play positions that I disliked also worked in his favour.

I may give the impression of being a guy who lives in Zen-like calm and could well be rolling prayer wheels at a monastery, but the truth is that I savour taking risks and jumping off the high board. My favourite pastimes reflect this. I find little else as exhilarating as the feeling of being one with the clouds and the sky while paragliding and feeling the sea spray on my face as I wind-surf or take off on a jet-ski, chasing the waves on holidays. Las Palmas in the Canary Islands has always been my favourite destination to tick off my bucket list brimming with my cravings for adventure.

When we were close to Sofia, the police stopped us again, this time for overspeeding. One look at my passport, and the officer exclaimed, ‘Ah, you’re Vishy Anand? You’re the guy we are searching for; please don’t drive as fast as you play!’

While Kramnik literally joined the team, getting down and dirty, going over lines for hours at a stretch and pulling all-nighters, Kasparov also chipped in with Skype calls and notes. He had, in fact, got in touch with me before the match, offering help.

My attitude towards winning and losing too has evolved. Earlier, success was the cog on which everything turned. In winning, now, the primary emotion is one of gratitude and I’ve also learnt not to fret over bad results. Worrying, I’ve come to realize, is just a dark, blind alley and I need to step out of it naturally. Again, even though the desire for the big wins and titles lingers, I’m no longer fixated on either. It doesn’t mean I’m not pursuing success; just that the trappings and fetters don’t matter any more. It’s almost like a journey from obsession to freedom.