Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Wednesday, 27 November 2013 00:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
About a week shy of his 23rd birthday, Carlsen led 6-3 before Friday’s game and needed just a draw to become the first champion from the West since American Bobby Fischer’s reign ended in 1975.
Speaking to the media in Chennai, the Norwegian said that Anand, like any other player, succumbed to the pressure after game three and four of the 12-match series ended in draws.
“I think, I mean my impression is that even very strong chess players, both young and older, they make mistakes when they are put under pressure. That’s what Anand did and that’s what people have done in the past,” said Carlsen.
A Grandmaster since he was 13, Carlsen has drawn unusually big crowds and non-stop television coverage in his native Norway. He played four draws early in the tournament, wearing down Anand who never recovered from blunders in the fifth game.
Admitting that Anand had a big influence on the early stages of his career, Carlsen said that he has now surpassed the 43-year-old.
“He obviously had a huge edge at the start of my career, he taught me number of things, both in our games and also in analysis. But I think it’s 
safe to say that I have surpassed him now and I hope that eventually I will gain an edge in our mutual matches,” added Carlsen.
Dubbed the “Justin Bieber of chess”, Carlsen’s boyish good looks have earned him lucrative sponsorships, a modelling contract and coverage on tabloid front pages.
Anand has won the title five times in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012.
Carlsen, described by chess great Garry Kasparov as a once-in-a-generation talent, earlier achieved the highest rating in the history of the game, beating Kasparov’s 1999 record.
