: Im chuffed at the stimulating aspect of mentoring: Viswanathan Anand (Book Review) #IndiaNEWS #Other News By Vishnu MakhijaniNew Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Cool as a cucumber: thats five-times World Chess

Im chuffed at the stimulating aspect of mentoring: Viswanathan Anand (Book Review) #IndiaNEWS #Other News
By Vishnu MakhijaniNew Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Cool as a cucumber: thats five-times World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. Cooped up in Germany due to the Coronavirus pandemic, he returned home via a Vande Bharat repatriation flight, coped with the loss of his father, learnt Hindi, had the satisfaction of launching the WestBridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) to nurture Indias chess prodigies and is chuffed at the stimulating aspect of mentoring.
My approach towards the pandemic was not to fight the outlandish situation kicking and screaming, but to flow with the current without overthinking and making myself miserable. None of us could have been better or worse prepared for what we were up against, Anand writes in the bonus chapter of his memoir, Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champions Life with Susan Ninan (Hachette), that has been reissued as a paperback edition to mark the 44th Chess Olympiad that opened in Chennai on Thursday.
The Olympiad will see the participation of 343 teams from 187 countries, with 30 players from India matching their skills against the best in the world under Anands mentorship.
When I look back at the worst days of the pandemic, I realise the learnings have been plenty. Ive been forced to cope with the loss of a parent and that has drawn me closer to my family. When I peep into (son) Akhils room I see a child trying harder than the rest of us to accept the reality of online classes and his friends being turned into tiny picture panels on the screenI catch the proud smile on his face when my achievements appear as questions in his school assignments, Anand writes.
Reminiscing about his father, who in his early years doubled up as my manager and had to deal with a youngster who was trying to break free and discover himself, he writes that in his last years, the elder Anands Sunday afternoons were spent in the company of his grandson over ice cream scoops.
Every Sunday, we would buy ice creams and take them over to my fathers house. He would enjoy Akhil greedily grab spoonfuls from all of us. They adored each other and it was special to watch that bond from a distance. My dad lived a full life and spent ten years of it watching Akhil grow up. But to me his final days will be inextricably linked with the circumstances the pandemic brought about, which didnt allow us even one final visit before he left us. Though I rarely demonstrate it, the pain of his absence feels like a giant boulder bearing down on my chest, Anand writes.
The pandemic, he writes, presented two options: mope about not knowing what lies ahead or find an opportunity in the unexpected gift of time. We had all the time in the world, with no flights to catch and no office rush to beat.

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