12: The Grandmaster of 64 Squares - Vishwanathan "Vishy" Anand

When a kid is asked, what do you want to be when you grow up? Vishwanathan Anand said, "I want to be a world champion." It may have seemed out of reach to many. After all, there was no grandmaster in Chess for India until 18-year-old Vishwanathan "Vishy" Anand took up that challenge. He is a five-time world chess champion. In April 2006, Anand became the fourth player in history to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list, after Kramnik, Topalov, and Garry Kasparov. He occupied the number one position for 21 months, the sixth-longest period on record. In this episode, I speak to Vishy Anand on his view of the movie The Queen Gambit, on his love for languages (He is fluent in German and Spanish). Anand was the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991–92, India's highest sporting honour. In 2007, he was awarded India's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices