When Aamir Khan plays chess, it helps the sport a lot, says Anand

For the past three decades, one sportsman whose name has been synonymous with excellence is Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand. A fivetime World Champion, Anand beat the reigning No. 1, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, at the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship 2017, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December. He has also received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Padma Vibhushan. Still, he feels, he has miles to go. “I want to keep improving chess,” says Anand. “I am at a stage where every win makes me happy. There’s always something to look forward to.”

His achievements make headlines often, so can we expect a biopic soon? Anand says, “There’s been some interest, but I don’t know what will happen.” When asked which actor he’d want to see portraying the GM, he replies with a laugh, “It [would be] nice to have a chess-playing actor. I always say Aamir Khan. That’s who I usually mention.”

Aamir and Anand first met in 2001, and their acquaintance has grown over the years. They’ve played a few chess matches, too. There was a public event in Mumbai in 2015 where the actor and the Grandmaster played for about 30 minutes. “Yes, [Aamir] is quite a chess fan and comes to play chess a couple of times. Obviously, that helps the sport a lot,” says Anand. “I have seen Dangal (2016)... that was very nice, and yeah, I’ve seen a fair number of his films.”

The chess champ, who likes watching a wide range of sports, is very enthused by India’s good showing at the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Australia. “It’s a very good result, a lot of heartening stories, and a morale-booster for the country,” he says, adding that this would help the country do better at the Asian Games or the Olympics.

Chess isn’t a part of the Olympics — it’s seen as a sport of the mind and not a hardcore sport. However, Anand feels differently about it. “Chess has always been a sport. I think it’s how you experience it… the thoughts that I go through, the emotions that I overcome, the efforts I put in are very similar to people in football or tennis or any other sport. Now, we can keep defining this game, but our experience is the same.”