Amidst 'very long meetings' and the running of the chess world, has Viswanathan Anand lost his 'hunger' for victory?

NEW DELHI: The English vocabulary sometimes feels at a loss for words to describe what Viswanathan Anand is to India and its chess legacy. There’s a strange kind of silence that follows the Chennai-born grandmaster into the room, the stillness of a man who solved most of what chess could throw at him decades ago and has nothing left to prove to anyone.For more than a month, that peace has been sitting on a completely different chair. On 24 July 2026, Anand became interim president of FIDE, the governing body of world chess, after Arkady Dvorkovich voluntarily stepped down from his duties under European Union and Swiss sanctions. The role is intentionally temporary as Anand’s term expires with the FIDE presidential election on September 26.But for the two months he’s been holding them, the man who has spent his entire life being the world’s most respected chess player is also literally playing the sport.“Right, (it’s) kind of what I expected,” the 56-year-old told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction with that familiar half-smile that sets up most of the talk before catching up on the next sentences.“It’s more work than being deputy president. When I was deputy, I only had to step in when Arkady (Dvorkovic) couldn’t. Now I actually have to conduct a large part of the federation. But mostly I did it outside India.”However, the additional weight of countless responsibilities did not mean more kilometers.“Actually, I traveled less, but because I already had such plans. I attended many, many more meetings, quite often, very long Zoom meetings with a lot of people from all over the world to discuss FIDE matters,” added the former five-time world champion.The intensity, he says, has already peaked and passed.“Last week was when it all came to a head,” he revealed. “Now everything, the agenda, is set for the general assembly in Samarkand at the end of the year. It’s been a little easier the last few days.”And with that, in the midst of Zoom and Federation calls, the game of 64 squares arose in a more familiar way.Anand returns to the Global Chess League (GCL) this year with the Alaskan Knights. It turned out that none of this administrative weight dulled his appetite for the board.“I can tell you that my hunger for the GCL trophy is still there. I really wish we could do it even though I’m playing with the Alaskan Knights this year. I’m very motivated and I hope to do my best and get us to the finals first,” remarked the Grandmaster, who has been one of the most prominent faces of the Ganga Grandmasters for the past three seasons.

Viswanathan Anand at GCL

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in your career. If you play this tournament, then you enjoy it and try to play. The GCL is not the type of event, the typical event that I’ve played before. It’s really a new kind of experience. I’m really enjoying it in the 10 days to two weeks.”It may be a new team this year, but the fundamentals haven’t changed for Anand. “A lot of players in the GCL have changed teams several times. I think once I go there and meet my teammates, it will feel normal on the first day. I’ve played with Arjun before; he was my teammate two years ago. There are familiar faces and you just adapt,” he noted.

I generally stick to my routine, that’s all. It’s not like I’m going to host a lot of FIDE meetings

Viswanathan Anand

Balancing a Federation crisis, family matters, and then chess on paper can seem like a nightmare. But ask Anand and you’ll see how silence follows.“In general, I stick to my routine, that’s all. It’s not like I’ll be doing a lot of FIDE meetings; if there’s some FIDE emergency, I might make a quick decision, but otherwise I don’t expect to have long meetings when I’m there. I’m very focused on the GCL,” he told the site, adding that he doesn’t plan as much ahead of time as when they arrive.“I know I’ve got to play against somebody tomorrow and I’m going to prepare for that.Within weeks, the presidency will pass to someone else. Until then, world chess is run by a man who, when the meetings are over, just wants to play. And according to Anand, the game offered between September 5 and 13 in Bengaluru will be as competitive as “anywhere else”.ALSO READ: ‘Praggnanandhaa is world number one’: Viswanathan Anand after India’s first Grand Chess Tour title“Obviously they’re (competitive). The way they play, you can think, ‘Oh, they’re not taking it seriously.’ But really, they’re just adapting their approach for quicker time control, for pressure to watch teammates and make decisions based on the match situation,” he concluded. “Once you factor in the different atmosphere, they’re just as competitive as anywhere else.”