Pro chess players work almost every day for hours: Vishy Anand

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011

Hello everyone,

Here are quotes from an interview Eli Shvidler for Haaretz.com.

"Professional players work almost every day, for hours on end, and the emphasis is on the word 'work,'" says World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. He says. "It can be with a partner or it can be alone, but professional chess is always a pursuit of something new and surprising."

As regards being fit, he says, "That is a complex question. Preparedness for a game that usually lasts four-five hours requires good physical condition and also steady nerves. I don't know how many calories an average chess player burns per game, but it often exceeds that of a player in ball games. It is not only the chess as such: You need to be fit and undergo complicated preparation.""I personally prefer long-distance walking, but we are talking about pre-tournament preparation. During a tournament I make do with walking, mainly to concentrate before a game."

"As for the age of professional chess players, which is getting younger ... it is not a decisive factor," he explains. "The computer era is bringing many young talents into the game, and some of them are developing into a serious power in world chess. Magnus Carlsen, who is 19, is a full-fledged, top-ranking player, and there a few other mega-talents. But still, the 'veteran generation' - Boris Gelfand, me, Vladimir Kramnik, [Vassily] Ivanchuk, [Veselin] Topalov - all those who are scraping the age of 40 or have already passed it, are coping successfully with the challenge, at least for the time being."

You can read the full huge interview at this link. Enjoy.

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