Viswanathan Anand, India's first Grandmaster and our cover personality in 2010, has bounced back from setbacks and mastered the art of winning. The five-time World Champion, who is now at the forefront of mentoring the next generation to the top, reflects on how India has come to be recognised as a global chess powerhouse
India’s first Grandmaster, Viswanathan Anand
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Before I became India’s first Grandmaster (GM), the biggest barrier was probably mental. No one had become a GM and it had a climb Everest kind of feel to it. Â
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In those days, it was much harder to be a GM, since you had to compete against other GMs to become a GM. And the world supply of GMs back then was far more limited. One had to organise special tournaments to play GMs, and those had a far stronger playing field than today. So, we had to take every chance we got. Â
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(This story appears in the 16 June, 2023 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)