I find it hard to hide my emotions if I am losing: Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand may not be able to pronounce Eyjafjallajokull. But he remembers it. Eyjaf jal lajokul l (aay-yahfyaht-lah-yo-kool) is the mountain in Iceland that belched out a big ash cloud over Europe in 2010. It twisted tongues of weathermen. And it almost chewed up Anand’s preparation for his world championship against Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov, as it led to the cancellation of the Indian’s flight to Sofia, the host city.

“It’s initially frustrating because it ruins your plans,” Anand, who won the match, says of the situation. “We were supposed to checkin on the night of April 15 [the match was to start April 23], have a good night’s rest and start working on the 16th. Instead, we sat three days in some other city. We didn’t know whether to unpack or stay packed. It brought a level of uncertainty. You try to work but nothing really gets done at the same efficiency.”

Anand, wife Aruna, and his team reached Sofia after a 40-hour road trip across 2,000 km. He requested organisers for a three-day postponement. He got only one. Recently, in the light of Virat Kohli’s “leave India” comment on social media, Anand said, “People are emotional and they lose control once in a while. It has happened to me even if I was more successful in not showing it.” Circumstances around the 2010 World Championship tested Anand’s composure.

Breakthrough
And then, in the van that was ferrying Team Anand to Sofia, he had a moment of clarity. “I had a feeling that matters were out of my hand and there was no point doing anything till we got to our destination,” Anand says. “It’s like there are five days till an exam, and you don’t study because there’s a power cut. You feel guilty, but it’s not your fault, in which case you must learn to let go. Of course, I’m saying this because Aruna was dealing with a lot of the practical problems (laughs). So, her experience of those three days would be very different.” During the journey, Anand watched 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, according to a blog on an Indian chess website. “The preparation wasn’t ideal,” Anand says. “But we had done a two-month training camp before. It was just the last-minute revision that didn’t happen. We finally got to Sofia and felt the relief of a nice bed to sleep in. Then it was work as usual.”

In sport, it’s about a poker face
Anand emphasises that emotions are not easy to handle and they don’t have a magic formula. “It’s not a problem you solve. It’s a problem you deal with every day,” he says. “First thing you learn [in sport] is to keep emotions hidden, which is different from keeping them in check. Some players do it better than others, some don’t even try. I generally try to keep my face. But you can’t help it sometimes. If I’m winning, I may be able to control it. But if I’m losing, I find it hard to hide it fully.”


Mickey to the rescue
A recent commercial shows Anand watching cartoons in a London cab. Asked if, for relaxation, he watches some in real life too, he says, “Yes, very much. Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry and Madagascar are some of my favourites. If there’s a problem that is unsolvable, you should switch off and go back to it the next day. Very often, either the problem will suddenly have a solution, or you will put it in perspective. Things like cartoons, something that makes you laugh and takes your mind off [the problem], are useful.” As for pronouncing Eyjafjallajokull, he says, “We just call it ‘the smoke’.”