The world marks International Chess Day on July 20, an occasion to celebrate the brilliance and mental artistry of the game. On the special day, Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand spoke about how the 64 squares extend far beyond the board and also offered his perspective on one of the most emotional modern chess moments: Magnus Carlsen’s fist-smash after losing to D. Gukesh at Norway Chess.
“I would not call this totally undeserved (win for Gukesh). Magnus is famous for converting things perfectly. So he of all people should know (how to win this). However, Gukesh was fortunate to have survived this far. Magnus was basically 99% of the way. It’s like falling and injuring yourself 2 metres before the finish line. That’s what happened to him. He was so angry that he hit the table. Quite understandable, and even in a sporting sense, he just produced a moment where everyone could see what chess players are going through. People often have a fixed image of chess players being very serious, and then they suddenly see emotions and enjoy it. So also it helps us break some stereotypes,” Anand said in an interview with Chess.com.
But did Anand ever react like that? “There was no point in doing it. There weren’t 20 cameras pointed at you. So what’s the point? The only reason to do this is to get on social media now,” said the
Talking about the viral incident, Anand said: “Even many non-Indians have seen this. So clearly, they enjoy seeing chess players do that. I enjoyed it as well, because, you know, it’s drama. From Magnus’s perspective, I also understand it very well. He was winning the game. He wanted to beat Gukesh in a sporting sense. He wanted to show, and he had the opportunity in the palm of his hands. He was going to beat him twice at Norway Chess in two games and make a point.
“At some point in that game, Magnus started to outplay him. So you can see Magnus’ pieces all coming for the kill,” he concluded.