Vishwanathan Anand: Exploring the mind and muscle of a true champion

Behind the 64 squares that make up a game of chess on a chess board lies a universe of intense preparation, physical resilience and mental discipline, which can be mastered by only a select few. Five-time World Chess Champion and Padma Vibhushan awardee Vishwanathan Anand is definitely one of them. In the latest episode of The Success Code, hosted by Rushank Shah, promoter of Hubtown, Anand offered a rare glimpse into the physical, mental and technological evolution of the sport.

The synchronisation of mind and body in chess

The discussion began with a core question about the nature of chess: “how much of chess is physical and mental,” Shah asked. Anand stressed on the inseparability of the two, highlighting the intense physical toll the ‘mental’ demands of the game take on the body.

“When the brain is working intensely for several hours, you are burning calories like crazy,” Anand explained, drawing parallels between the brain’s energy needs and physical exertion. He spoke about how the collapse during a long match of chess is rarely purely mental or purely physical – they are actually intertwined, with one often causing the other. Getting physically tired, for instance, leads to a mental collapse, and a dropping mood can deplete energy levels.

The champion detailed two approaches to sustaining focus over gruelling, six-to-seven-hour matches. One school, exemplified by players like Veselin Topalov, involves an energy-intensive strategy of maintaining maximum concentration at all times to “catch even the smallest imprecision”. Anand, however, was part of a more pragmatic school, focusing on consistency.

“Our idea was as long as you make good enough moves every move, it doesn’t have to be the very best move, I can keep the game going on,” he said. Ultimately, the key is knowing when the critical moment of the game is coming and knowing how to concentrate and peak at the right moment.

Longevity and the importance of fitness

For a sport like chess that’s often perceived as sedentary, Anand’s career longevity is attributed to his physical fitness. He recounted a period in his early career, around 1993-94, when he hit a “mini wall of consistency”. Recognising that his natural talent wasn’t enough, a friend advised him to pay attention to his fitness.

He took up running, and realised that exercise helped him break long-standing barriers. “I kept up my exercise routines while allowing for all possible exceptions and I've kept it up for decades. And the idea was I need to have the energy, the stamina and simply the ability to endure pain,” he said.

Shah asked if pure love of the game was the sole reason for his long career compared to his peers. Anand was clear: “Pure love of the game is not enough.” He explained that while every player at the top is gifted, sustained success comes from constantly working on one’s weaknesses. Talent must eventually meet the dedication of a hard worker.

Chess: Preparation, calculation and the power of intuition

When Shah asked about the composition of top-level chess – calculation vs instinct vs preparation, Anand provided a powerful analogy. “Intuition is developed by calculation and preparation. It’s like speaking a language. Each time you speak it, it comes faster the next time because your brain knows in advance,” he explained.

Just as repetition makes complex things instantaneous, endless hours of preparation refine the gut feeling. However, intuition is most crucial at those moments when, despite all preparation, something unexpected happens and the calculation runs out.

“There will come a moment when you have to think, can I trust my gut and go ahead with this?” he asked. This decision, made with incomplete information, is where deep self-knowledge – the secret knowledge of one’s own thought process – comes into play. Preparation, on the other hand, is simply “money in the bank”.

The advent of computers in chess

The conversation naturally moved to the disruptive influence of computers and AI on competitive chess. Anand, who witnessed the entire transition, offered a fascinating perspective on how the role of intuition and preparation has changed.

“A lot of uncertainty has gone,” Anand noted. Thirty years ago, one could work tirelessly for a week and still worry about an overlooked inaccuracy. Now, if a computer, even at a deep level, declares a forced draw in a 10-move line, it can be trusted 100%.

“We are taking conclusions to the board that we know to be true like laws of nature,” he said. This has removed much of the ‘grudge work’, freeing up human effort. The paradox, however, is that this certainty has pushed the game toward a ‘memory contest’ where both players know the computer’s conclusions. The new edge is found in the ability to remember, understand, and, most importantly, create surprise value.

The game is no longer just about knowing the best moves. As Anand put it, “You need to know the line but you need to know why exactly”, so that any deviation by the opponent can be successfully solved.

The mental game

Anand recounted a story from the 2010 World Championship, where rumours circulated that his opponent had access to more sophisticated computer analysis than he did, which was later found to be a technological asymmetry. This, he noted, was a big part of the mental game.

“Once you think there’s a snake in your bedroom, there’s a snake in your bedroom. Whether it is there or not is irrelevant. You can’t go to sleep,” he shared. The opponent’s goal was to induce doubt.

Anand’s team ran their own computers longer to catch up and, crucially, decided to steer the match into slightly more technical and placid positions. “We will take all the lines in our preparation which are less tactical and use them in the match,” he explained, minimising the danger that machine-aided analysis could help his opponent against highly tactical lines. This strategic choice was, in part, so that his “brain could trust you and go to sleep”. Shah acknowledged the psychological dimension of this move.

A champion’s legacy

Reflecting on his storied career, Anand recalled the famous anecdote from the 1991 Reggio Emilia tournament, which he won as a young Indian talent, despite a pervasive belief at the time that he lacked the scientific rigor of the Soviet school. He was dismissed as a “coffee house player” who was “tactically gifted enough that you can escape from bad positions, but that won't last”.

Anand took this in his stride, and focussed on improvement. He recalled the tournament, where the Soviet Union actually dissolved midway through and said: “My retort to that would be I am the last Soviet champion. and don’t you forget it”.

He concluded the interview by speaking about the world championship tradition. While embracing new, faster formats like Chess960 (Fisher Random) that co-exist with the original game, he stressed the importance of protecting the historical lineage. “The tradition is very valuable and worth keeping”, he said, emphasising that the evolution of chess as a science and a sport must continue to produce excitement and results for the public, while ensuring a livelihood for its players.

Watch the full episode now:

Note to the Reader: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Mint.