Chess has given me a lot more than I could ask for. I have been able to feel special, travel the world and do what I truly enjoy. Moreover, chess players love being their own boss and hate having to wake up early!
Interpretation
Chess brings immense joy and opportunities to those who play it.
In this quote, Viswanathan Anand expresses the deep satisfaction and fulfillment he has gained from playing chess. He highlights how chess has enriched his life, allowing him to travel, feel valued, and pursue his passion, while also enjoying the autonomy that comes with being a chess player.
In practice
During a chess tournament, you might share this quote to emphasize the joys of pursuing one's passion.
It's important, according to me, to train in small doses so as to not lose the joy of playing chess. I personally think too many coaching and training classes may take away a child's interest in the game itself. The essential thing to do is practise often and, in case of a doubt, to consult a trainer.
Professional players work almost every day, for hours on end, and the emphasis is on the word 'work.' It can be with a partner or it can be alone, but professional chess is always a pursuit of something new and surprising.
It is important that you don't let your opponent impose his style of play on you. A part of that begins mentally. At the chessboard if you start blinking every time he challenges you then in a certain sense you are withdrawing. That is very important to avoid.
I would never suggest to anyone that they drop school for chess. First of all even if you can make it in chess, your social skills need to be developed there.
Grandmasters decline with age. That's a given. There is nothing special about the age of 40, but age eventually takes its toll. That much is clear. Beyond that it's about how long you can put off the effects and compensate for them. Mistakes will crop in but you try to compensate for them with experience and hard work.
I am still determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may be.
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
Find your happiness in yourself.
A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one's neighbor — such is my idea of happiness.
Pay close attention to the particular thoughts you use to deprive yourself of happiness.
Happiness comes only when we push our brains and hearts to the farthest reaches of which we are capable.
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