Daijiworld Media Network – Chennai

Chennai, Feb 12: Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand on Thursday said that in an era dominated by computer analysis and overwhelming data, deep understanding remains the only true differentiator in modern chess.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day chess workshop, Anand reflected on how the game has evolved alongside technology.

“Funnily enough, the more that is available for you to know, the less you can know. If every day you're subjected to 20 or 30 new conclusions, how do you make sense of it? I believe that the only thing that separates chess players today is deep understanding,” Anand said.

Drawing parallels with the period when he first adapted to computer-assisted preparation many years ago, the Grandmaster noted that while being open to new ideas is important, it is a deeper grasp of positions and concepts that elevates a player to the next level.

Anand clarified that chess mastery is built more on pattern recognition than rote memorisation. Having played between 6,000 and 7,000 competitive games in his career, he explained how the brain subconsciously absorbs and connects recurring patterns.

“Our brain puts together a lot more patterns than we are able to explain,” he said, adding that players often find new ideas surfacing weeks after watching a game, without realising they are drawing from something seen earlier.

Comparing chess to learning a language, Anand said theoretical knowledge alone is insufficient.

“You have to develop that feeling, just like a language — you cannot learn it only from dictionaries; you learn it by speaking it,” he remarked.

He described theoretical ideas as “material ingredients,” noting that the real “cooking” begins only when a player sits down to play a game.

Anand also supported efforts to popularise chess beyond Chennai, which has long been considered a stronghold of the sport in Tamil Nadu. He welcomed the vision of replicating Chennai’s success in cities such as Madurai, Salem and Coimbatore.

The event also marked the launch of Anand’s book Lightning Kid, published in association with the Velammal Education Trust.

The masterclass, organised by the Velammal Education Trust, is being held from February 12 to 14.

Notably, several leading Indian players — including Praggnanandhaa R (world rank 4), Vaishali R (rank 9), Gukesh Dommaraju (rank 9), and international masters Varshini S and Murali Karthikeyan (both ranked 64) — are alumni of the Velammal group of institutions.