Viswanathan Anand with wife Aruna, in Moscow, on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture by V. Saravanan

Calcutta: The best way of reaching the iconic Viswanathan Anand, irrespective of where he’s playing, is to dial wife Aruna’s mobile.

On Wednesday evening, one had to try for almost two hours to get through. The world, after all, seemed to be calling Anand to congratulate him.

And, why not?

It was around 10 pm (IST) that The Telegraph finally spoke to Anand, in Moscow. Usually, he’s not the type to go overboard, but he sounded quite thrilled.

The following are excerpts

Q Five times world champion... Has it sunk in?

A (Laughs) The number probably hasn’t sunk in... The one thing I know is that world championship matches are tough... Very challenging... You know that, at the end of it all, only one man will be left standing. You hope you’ll be the one... You enter a hall in every world championship, see your opponent, but the feeling is different from match to match. Of course, you’re always aware of just what is at stake.

Is there anything left for you to achieve?

But I’m not looking at this achievement in that sense... I’m going to take a couple of weeks off chess completely, relax... After that, towards the end of next month, I have a tournament in Romania. I’ll be looking to do well there, that’s my attitude... I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied.

How will you challenge yourself, raise the bar even higher?

New challenges will come... That’s the way it is with life... Right now, I’m not thinking about the next challenge. As we speak, I’m just relieved that I managed to retain my title. In fact, it’s a huge relief, for it went right down to the wire.

In terms of the competition provided by the opponent, where would you place this win?

I’d say this one would be the toughest, for it went down to the wire... (Boris) Gelfand didn’t allow me to impose my game and I had to be patient like him... I had to sit and wait for my chance.

Bottom line is that you got it right...

Thanks.

You’re a master at the speed game. So, didn’t you then start as the favourite in the tie-breaker?

Actually, Gelfand is himself a very good rapid chess player... But, yes, there’s a higher premium on the (rapid chess) games if they’re to decide the world championship.

Midway during the face-off, Garry Kasparov was rather unkind towards you. Did that upset you or motivate you to prove a point?

Look, I kept away from what was being said and what was being written... I stayed in my own bubble, focused on the challenge I was facing. I’m sure you’ll appreciate that I already had enough on my hands.

People keep comparing you and Sachin Tendulkar, such mega achievers both... What’s your take?

I wouldn’t like to be drawn into this... Any sportsman has my respect.

[If it’s decided that the Bharat Ratna will go to a sportsman, then Anand and Sachin are going to be the top contenders. The former, for the record, has made it clear that he won’t be lobbying for the country’s highest award.]

The last one... How do you intend celebrating?

As you know, Aruna is here... We’re deciding... I’m looking forward to meeting (son) Akhil.