Super Grand Master Viswanathan Anand is an apt role model for aspiring sportspersons — high on achievements, low on flashing it. In fact, modesty and humility sit on the 34-year-old’s shoulders with equal ease as his successes.The Chennai-born Anand, who is now based in Spain says he’s still a learner who gets better with experience. ‘‘The going has been anything but smooth for me,’’ remarked the GM who has seen the transformation of the sport from an almost primitive stage to the high-tech new age.Now in contention for his third Chess Oscar, Anand doesn’t rate himself the best yet. Because, ‘‘I’ve to better my rating above 2800. That’s on top of my priority list.’’No doubt, the year 2003 has been incredible for the Indian legend. He’s won six of the nine events he played and the remaining saw him stay among the first three. But what seperates him from others’ is the manner in which he surges ahead unperturbed by failures. At various events he had a bad start and even lost a few games but he still managed to bounce back and emerge the champion. ‘‘I would win one day and lose the next. It happened quite often this year,’’ he recollects. Was it a ploy to lull the opponents? ‘‘I don’t maximise my defeats. I’m always consistent in hard work — continuously propelled by a desire to win,’’ a smiling Anand explains. And that proves a point. He has rarely given up, fought tooth and nail even in a losing position. ‘‘I make sure that my rivals suffers the most.’’Would he be up against Garry Kasparov again? ‘‘I would like to battle it out. But he (Kasparov) plays very little and the world championship bout has gotten stalled.’’
