Anand in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, July 22: Chess followers in the city pinched themselves twice to make sure they were not dreaming when five times World Champion Vishwanathan Anand was here on Sunday to award a scholarship to a young student.

The chess wizard, who was introduced to the game at the age of six by his mother, said he was glad that Odisha was following chess so passionately.

“It is good to see that players here are picking up the game at a young age. It is better that one actually plays first and then gets coached so he has questions to clarify from the coach. Though I have not met many players from here, Padmini Rout has been doing well and I wish her the very best. I have met Swayangsu in Spain yesterday. It felt good to interact with him,” said Anand, who visited Odisha for the first time.

Forty-two-year-old Anand, who retained his title in May last after beating Israeli player Boris Gelfand in a nail-biting match in Moscow, shared his experience of this victory with his fans.

“I had lost game seven and was so anxious about the next day, when we were supposed to play the next game, that I could hardly sleep for a couple of hours. I thought there was a chance to lose though there were five rounds left in the match,” said Anand.

“I woke up early, planning my moves for the day and the best part was that my team was also working on the next game and had found few weak points in my game that we could improve on. I was back to fight and with a complete focus on the board. I won the eighth game to level scores. The tie-breaker also was challenging,” said the champion, who clinched the World title scoring 2.5 to Gelfand’s 1.5 in the crucial tie-breaker.

Anand confessed this was the toughest game in his career. “Though it is a human tendency to forget previous challenges you have overcome and think of the most recent struggles, comparing all my matches, this one was really tough since it was the longest and involved tie-breaks,” he said.

Putting this as an example for the young students of the institute that had organised the event, Anand suggested that one should always add skills for their chosen career.

“It is difficult to know in advance what skills you need in your career. So, broadening your skill base and preparing yourself for a career of your interest while being ready to fight back during tough situations makes you a good student, professional and individual,” he said.