Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand, the world's newly-crowned chess champion, combines a calm, modest manner with lightning brilliance on the chess board and relentless preparation.

Anand learned the game at age six from his mother because his brothers did not have the patience to play chess with him. He proved to be a good pupil.

By the time he was 13, Anand was India's junior champion and at the age of 16, he won the senior title. He was the world's junior champion in 1987 and in 1991 he won the prestigious Reggio Emilia tournament ahead of the Russian masters Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov.

In 2000, he became the first Asian to take the world title, but his victory was overshadowed by the chess world's two competing chess titles -- one by the International Federation of Chess and the Professional Association of Chess led by Kasporov.

Anand burnished his reputation with a triumph at the rapid chess Cap d'Agde tournament in France in 2003 and with his mastery of the "Advanced Chess" game created by Kasporov which allows competitors to play with the aid of a computer.

After being crowned the world's undisputed champion Saturday, Anand had an emotional chat with his original chess instructor, his mother, to tell her news of his victory.

"Vishy informed me of his second world title at 1:20 am this morning," Susheela Viswanathan told the Press Trust of India news agency in the south Indian city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state.

"With a choking voice, Anand said 'amma (mom), I have won. I am the world champion for the second time,'" she said.

His wife, Aruna Anand, likens his mind to a computer and that "his brain goes faster than others." But in addition to his talent, she said Anand puts in long hours every day refining his game.

Apart from Vishy, the diminutive of his first name, Anand has collected a number of nicknames over the years. When he beat Anatoly Karpov in 2000 he was dubbed the "Indian meteor" for the speed of his rise in the chess world.

His wife is amused by another nickname for her spouse, the "Tiger of Madras."

"In Madras, there are no tigers. There are perhaps two in the zoo," said Aruna, who accompanies her husband at all his tournaments.

But she said the moniker captures how Anand appears tranquil until he "seizes the advantage and is transformed into a tiger."

For his rapid pace of play, he's also been called the "Lucky Luke of chess," a reference to the French-Belgian comic book cowboy character who can shoot faster than his shadow.
Anand, however, used to play a more deliberate pace.

"Anand tried for some years to force himself to reflect a long time before each move, with the idea of finding an even better move. But he grasped that despite the extra time, he could not find other better moves," said Gerard Demuydt with the website europe-chess.com.

So he eventually "developed a natural way of playing," Demuydt said.

The stocky, bespectacled Anand, with a round, smiling face, divides his time between Madras, the United States and Madrid -- his base for tournaments in Europe.

He keeps himself physically fit with daily two-hour workouts, because while mental endurance is important, physical strength "can make the difference," according to Spanish grand master Leontxo Gracia.

When he leaves on vacation, he won't play chess, but he does turn on his computer to check on the latest matches played by his rivals.

During the world championship in Mexico, a marathon of 14 matches, Anand was at the peak of his craft. He never got into serious trouble and always maintained a serene, relaxed attitude, in contrast to other grand masters who appear more tense and withdrawn

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