India's first Chess Grandmaster, Anand celebrates his birthday on December 11 as he turns 51 on Friday
Former World champion and India's Chess grandmaster, Viswanathan Anand celebrates his 51st birthday on December 11. Anand remains the milestone for the sport and in India he heralded its new era.
Chess, considered as one of the niche sports especially in India, needed someone like Anand, a five-time world champion, to popularise and ignite the interest in the sport amongst an entire population. One of the very few players to have surpassed the 2800 Elo Rank, Viswanathan Anand has broken and created many records from a very young age, to be reknowned as one of the best players to ever play this celebral game.
Let us look at some of interesting and unknown facts about 'Vishy':
1. International Master at 15
At an age when most of the children start to understand the subjects they are studying in school, Anand won the title of 'International Master' in 1984. Anand tasted his first success at the national level, a year before, where he won the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship in 1983.
International Master (IM) is the level that players attain before they become Grandmaster.
2. Grandmaster at 19
Since, IM is the first step towards the Grandmaster title, Anand certainly wasn't far off. Anand won his first National Chess Championship in 1986 and he won the title for three consecutive years till 1988.
1988 wasn't just an ordinary year for Anand. As, the three national championships almost confirmed the expected. And, he was awarded the title of 'Grandmaster' after he won the Shakti Finance International chess tournament in Coimbatore.
He was the first Indian do so.
3. Padma Shri at 18
Well, it wasn't a surprise since it was Anand who achieved it, but it was still a staggering achievement for a teenager.
Anand was awarded the fourth highest civilian award, 'Padma Shri' by the Government of India in 1987.
4. Lost the game? Let's go gymming
Yeah, you read that right. The handful of losses Anand has faced in his career, he used to go and workout superhard after that, to take his mind off the game and it can be at peace without thinking or worrying about the loss.
According to Anand, it is impossible to stay unaffected by failures. He believes that when failures stop affecting you, you stop being a sportsperson.
5. And the Oscar goes to...
Anand didn't work in a film or made one but he did won the Oscar. And, not once, twice or thrice, six times.
Yes, Anand won the Chess Oscar for six times in his career. He won it for the first time in the year 1997 and repeated the feat in 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008.
6. Not just Oscars, there's a planet in his name to...
Yeah, in 1988 a minor planet was discovered and has been officially named '(4538) Vishyanand'. Anand is only the third chess player after Alexander Alekhine and Anatoly Karpov to have a minor planet named after him.
7. First Sportsperson to receive Padma Vibhushan
After being receipient of Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, Anand added another one to his kitty. In 2007, he became the first sportsperson to receive Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in the country to be awarded by the Government of India.
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